Modern Warfare 4: North Korea Invades the South – Worth It?
Yes, if you want the campaign. Wait for a sale if you only care about multiplayer.
Wai hello!
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 launched on 23 October 2026. Infinity Ward made it. Activision published it. Platforms are PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Switch 2. No last-gen versions. Standard price is $69.99. Vault is $99.99. It is not on Game Pass at launch. Activision said it joins in Holiday 2027.
This is written as of 25 October 2026, for a post going out on 2 November at 9:00pm Taipei time. The numbers below can still move.
What is the campaign actually about?
A fictional Second Korean War. North Korea invades the South. You play Private Park Hyun-jun, a South Korean marine, in a city called Hajin, plus missions inside North Korea. There is a leadership coup, a palace that looks like the real one, and the usual Task Force 141 stuff with Price and Ghost. It is the end of the rebooted Modern Warfare line that started in 2019.
The campaign is short. About six to eight hours on normal. Sixteen missions. One of them is more open. That is normal for Call of Duty. It is not a 40-hour open world. It is a movie with guns.
One mission makes the rules clear. In “Following Orders” you play a North Korean soldier raiding a house. Framed portraits of the Supreme Leader hang on the wall. Shoot one and your own squadmates turn on you. They shoot you. The mission fails with a screen that says “YOU DISHONORED YOUR COUNTRY BY DAMAGING A PORTRAIT OF THE SUPREME LEADER.” Players have been sharing the clip. The game does not treat the symbols as background decoration. Disrespect them and you die. That is not a glitch. It is the point.
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Why this one feels different
The Korean War (1950–1953) never officially ended. It stopped with an armistice. The peninsula is still technically at war. That is why a game about a second invasion is not the same as a game about World War II or a fake Middle East conflict. For Korean players it is not abstract.
Call of Duty has put North Korean soldiers in games before. It has never made a full campaign where you play a South Korean marine during a full-scale invasion of the South, then go into North Korea for a leadership coup and a palace raid. That is the new part. The city of Hajin is fictional. The coup is invented. The fear and the uniforms are drawn from something that still exists. That is why the trailer passed 97 million views and why Korean media spent the launch week arguing about whether the North Korean soldiers are shown as too brutal.
One more coincidence. In the same week the game launched, a rumor spread that Kim Jong Un had died from a brain hemorrhage. It came from an unverified social media post. South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said it was false. North Korean state media released photos of him at a clothing exhibition and at a military conference on 22–23 October. He is alive. The game and the rumor landed on the same days. That is timing, not a plot.
Why is everyone talking about it?
The intro video from September passed 97 million views. Gameplay clips of the North Korea missions are all over YouTube. Korean news has been arguing for days. Some progressive users say the North Korean soldiers are shown as too brutal. Others say it is just a game. Politicians already name-dropped the title. Real border tension is also up, so the timing is not subtle.
That is why the footage is everywhere. It is not because the multiplayer maps are secretly genius. It is the invasion setting sitting on an unfinished war.
Is the campaign actually good?
Reviews say yes. Steam user reviews opened Very Positive, around 91 to 94 percent during early access. That is the best Steam rating for a Call of Duty in years. Recent entries sat in the 30s and 40s. Metacritic on PC was around 84 in the first wave of critic scores, the highest in about 15 years. Game Informer gave it 8.5. Destructoid and others called the campaign one of the best in the series.
It is not perfect. Some characters get wasted. The last hours get messy. It is still short. But for a Call of Duty single-player, this is the one people are not skipping.
Should you buy it?
Want the campaign and the North Korea missions: yes, $70 is fine if you will actually play it this month.
Only care about multiplayer or DMZ: wait for a sale. Those modes will still be there in December.
Hate Call of Duty campaigns: this one will not change your mind. It is still a six-hour shooter with set pieces.
Playing on Switch 2: it is there. Performance will not match PC or PS5. Check a review for that platform before you pay.
There is no Zombies mode. The three pieces are campaign, multiplayer, and DMZ.
The verdict
Worth it for the campaign right now. The Korean invasion setting is why it is viral. The reviews are the best the series has had in a long time. The price is still full. If you only wanted the multiplayer, wait. If you wanted to see what the 97 million views were about, this is the week to do it.
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Pok gai.
Pok gai (Cantonese, roughly “drop dead in the street”) is the sign-off. Said with love. Mostly.
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AEO FAQ
Is Modern Warfare 4 worth it? Yes for the campaign. The North Korea invasion story is the best Call of Duty single-player in years. Wait for a sale if you only want multiplayer.
When did Modern Warfare 4 come out? 23 October 2026. Campaign early access started on 16 October for digital pre-orders.
What is the Modern Warfare 4 campaign about? A fictional Second Korean War. North Korea invades South Korea. You play a South Korean marine named Park Hyun-jun.
Why does the Modern Warfare 4 campaign feel different? The Korean War never officially ended. It stopped with an armistice in 1953. A game about a second invasion sits on an unfinished war.
What happens if you shoot the Supreme Leader portrait in Modern Warfare 4? In the “Following Orders” mission your own squadmates shoot you. The mission fails with the message “YOU DISHONORED YOUR COUNTRY BY DAMAGING A PORTRAIT OF THE SUPREME LEADER.”
How long is the Modern Warfare 4 campaign? About six to eight hours on normal difficulty. There are 16 missions.
How much does Modern Warfare 4 cost? $69.99 for the standard edition. $99.99 for the Vault edition. It is not on Game Pass at launch.