Kind of crazy how we're already talking about the next Call of Duty game. I absolutely love Black Ops 7, and the content has been outstanding so far. With Season 3's launch in the rear-view mirror, however, and of course, the looming specter of Grand Theft Auto VI haunting anything releasing in November, we might see what's next for Call of Duty sooner than we think. The assumption would be Infinity Ward delivering Modern Warfare 4, as rumors have pointed to it alongside a four-year dev cycle. Bearing that in mind, let's talk about what I'd like to see in whatever 2026's Call of Duty brings to the table.
Manage the pace – Don’t slow it down
If the last three years have taught me anything, it’s that Modern Warfare can be painfully slow and wildly unforgiving. Sliding around a corner at a snail’s pace only to instantly get killed in two bullets just isn’t fun. I appreciate tactical play as much as the next guy, but Call of Duty isn’t Rainbow Six. Infinity Ward needs to deliver alternatives to players so they don’t get caught just because a guy is holding a power position.
In my opinion, the team needs to have taken a really close look at Modern Warfare III. The time-to-kill was near-perfect, with four to five bullets usually sealing the deal, along with a snappy movement style. I get it; this is present-day war, we don’t need to be wall jumping or hyper mantling. But you can still provide a responsive pace without making slower players miserable. There’s a balance that has to be struck, and MWIII had that. Follow that blueprint. No Tac-Sprint while you’re at it.
Map flow is key
I feel like I say this for every title, but the map flow has to be intentional. Modern Warfare II had egregious spawn trapping (looking at you, Al Bagra Fortress), and some ridiculous design choices (WHAT WERE WE DOING WITH SANTA SENA BORDER CROSSING?!). Verticality was out of control, giving you even more areas to clear as you fought to break map sections. We also all know that there are too many doors. I’m not as overly concerned with the doors – they can be okay in the right dosage, but not every entry point needs something worth closing. If the pacing can be done right, this is another area where Modern Warfare III needs to be in front of you – the DLC maps were immaculate.
Locations like Rio, Six Star, Vista, and even Departures felt amazing. Those had doors, but not so many as to hamper the spaces. There were defined lanes fitting the classic three-lane format, with plenty of flanking routes to take out power positions – if you were smart enough to take them and play your timings right. Give players positions to fight off incoming attackers, but don’t make them so infrangible both in approach and pace that they’re impossible to break. Also, let’s stop using so many licensed locations that get pulled immediately because of a lawsuit.
Multiplayer needs a coat of paint, not retooling
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Modern Warfare III and Black Ops 7 are two of the finest multiplayer games we’ve had in modern Call of Duty. They prove that many things that were introduced in Modern Warfare II didn’t need to be. We don’t need (or want) red dots removed. We don’t need Dead Silence replacing an actual Ninja perk. We don’t need reduced ADS effectiveness on 1.25% optics. We don’t need weapon tuning or ten weapon attachment guns.
We do need more color in the maps (brown and gray don’t count). We do need more than just ten maps at launch, given at least two of them will be huge Ground War maps. We do need more than two multiplayer maps per season. We do need Rio back as a remaster, but the same map as it was in MW3 (non-negotiable). Multiplayer has the potential to be incredible in Modern Warfare 4, but it can regress if the above points aren’t heeded.
Copy/Paste Ranked Play from Black Ops 6/7 and add aggressive cheat deterrents
Not everyone is going to agree with me here, but Treyarch’s approach to Ranked Play has been the right one. It doesn’t always work, and seasonal content has often broken it both in systems and cheating, but the actual implementation is fantastic. There is no reason to throw away the system, but there should be one adjustment.
I don’t know a lot about anti-cheat, but at this point, make Ranked Play hell for cheaters and regular players. Introduce the most aggressive measures possible to weed out hackers, and add the most intrusive, kernel-level anti-cheat models available. I’m a platinum player, and at this point, even I see cheating in my lobbies. Get these people out so I can enjoy one of the best Ranked Play modes out there.
Don’t overcomplicate Warzone
Warzone 2.0 was not well-received, and it didn’t make me want to play it much either. Part of it was going overboard with mechanics – there were so many backpacks, vests, strongholds, and more to deal with. Running at someone who had five precision airstrikes was a pain in the butt. I feel like Al Mazrah ended up as wasted potential, even though I could tell the team was trying hard to bring something new to the table.
This time around, especially as I could see a fresh Warzone reset on the horizon, focus on refining what worked over the past few years. I’m fine with figuring out something original, just don’t be so excessive this time around. If Warzone is going to rebound, it needs care and something unique, but we don’t need to see a thirty-page blog of new mechanics and gameplay elements we’re going to have to learn.
DMZ 2.0 needs to be mindful of PVP tendencies
I do think the team should go nuts with DMZ, however. Go as over-the-top as you would like. That said, we need to talk about the griefing that underscored the end of the Modern Warfare II cycle. I couldn’t jump into a match without being instantly sniped or run down. I don’t know how you do it beyond simple spawn protection, but something has to be done to keep people from being able to wreck players so easily.
Understandably, this is an extraction mode, and you’re going to be risking your kit, but this problem was substantial and made DMZ not fun to play. Maybe there can be a certain amount of time to go by before you’re allowed to engage with hostile players? Perhaps they can go the “aggression-based matchmaking” route ARC Raiders supposedly employed. Again, this is a PVPVE mode, so you can’t simply kick players for fighting someone who doesn’t want to battle. But you can keep players from griefing others regularly.
Weeklies need to be back
I don’t care if you have to find another team to do it – Weeklies have to be a permanent thing across all Call of Duty games. The grind is a great thing; focused activities that engage players with your game. As I type this, my dad is literally working on the challenges he missed while out of town over the weekend. I still need to complete my latest week, and that’s driving me to play.
The lack of weekly challenges was felt in Black Ops 6. That can’t happen again. Not every reward is worth it; I don’t always care for the camo, and not every weapon or “Aftermarket Part” is useful (like the harpoon attachment that was recently dropped). But I have fun every week working towards the goal of the final camo and earning everything. The regular grind is great, but the weeklies have been tremendous.
Open lobbies
This is an ask that I highly doubt will come to fruition. Infinity Ward tends to prioritize the casual audience, and that’s understandable, at least from a business perspective. Even so, the open lobbies have pulled me into Call of Duty like never before. It’s tiring to always be in a lobby where people are sprinting at you. I know I can be one of those “sweats”, but I’m nowhere near as good as they are. If we can’t get open lobbies back, could we at least have skill-based matchmaking toned down?
No more riot shields
Similar to what’s above, I know I’m not getting this one. Modern Warfare is the poster child for these annoyingly frustrating pieces of gear. I’m sure plenty will agree with me, the last two years have been so much better without stupid riot shields being in Call of Duty. Stop giving people an item that lets them cheese a mechanic and hide for an entire match. It’s too overpowered of a mechanic, and if it’s in MW4, there needs to be more punishment for using it. The ADS is way too fast, and players can move too quickly with one. Heck, you can swap to your firearm in milliseconds with previous variants. I shouldn’t have to hope to hit someone with a perfect grenade or thermite throw (and they can put on the Flak Jacket perk anyway) just to get rid of them. Search and Destroy is unbearable versus these kinds of people – GET RIOT SHIELDS OUT.
All of the above is my hopes, but I'm excited for what Infinity Ward is cooking (or is supposedly cooking) in 2026. What do you want to see from the Call of Duty teams in their next game? Tell us in the comments below!
