Call of Duty promises a return to form - but can it compete with GTA?

Call of Duty is back - and it has a lot to prove. Modern Warfare 4 arrives on Friday with publisher Activision pulling out all the stops after a bruising year for the video game juggernaut.

Last year was a low point for the series. Its single-player campaign drew poor reviews and 2025's edition, Black Ops 7, slipped to seventh place in the American sales charts, according to analysts - a far cry from the days when Call of Duty sat top or close second in US sales since 2009. Fans also bristled at cartoonish novelty skins and pop-culture crossovers, while the game's inclusion on Xbox's Game Pass subscription service may have dented sales figures. Competition is fiercer too, from long-time rival Battlefield 6 to surprise hit Arc Raiders.

Chief marketing officer Tyler Bahl told BBC Newsbeat the company took the criticism on board: "I think we missed expectations with our community last year... So we took a step back, we listened to them." Players can now switch off the cosmetic changes that upset purists, and Activision is promising a return to form.

The marketing push is lavish: an installation recreating the game in London's Shoreditch and another in downtown LA, Obsession star and streamer Inde Navaratte promoting it at Fanatics Fest, a sponsorship of the Baller League six-a-side football championship, and Mr Beast showcasing the new DMZ multiplayer mode.

The game puts players in a war between North and South Korea, and Activision bills the campaign as the "epic conclusion" to the story of fan-favourite Capt John Price. The cast includes Casino Royale and Hannibal star Mads Mikkelsen, while Maria Elisa Camargo returns as cartel leader Valeria Garza.

The timing is daunting: it launches just weeks before GTA 6, arguably the most anticipated video game of the decade. But Bahl calls them "the two biggest games of the year" rather than direct rivals, arguing that a wave of new and returning console players will lift both.

Modern Warfare 4 sells for about 70 pounds in the UK. Bahl insists its real strength is social: "The number one reason people come to Call of Duty is not just for the combat or the gunplay... And so that social connection is so powerful."