94% positive rating from over 4,000 reviewers – multiplayer incoming
The big picture: Ahead of its official launch later this week, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is offering early access to its campaign for players who pre-order the game. As expected, thousands of players are taking advantage of the opportunity, and the vast majority apparently seem impressed with the gameplay, graphics, and storyline.
Nvidia has released DLSS 4.5 Ray Reconstruction, bringing its 2nd-gen Transformer model to all RTX GPUs. The upgrade promises improved lighting, temporal stability, and detail in motion, while reducing artifacts such as ghosting. An early access update to the Nvidia App lets users enable this in 30 supported games, including Cyberpunk 2077, Alan Wake 2, and Resident Evil Requiem, with a wider release coming in September.
Something to look forward to: Activision has finally pulled back the curtain on Infinity Ward's latest Call of Duty game, confirming prior reports regarding its setting and platform availability. As the franchise takes ripped-from-the-headlines storytelling to a new level, Modern Warfare 4 promises higher technical specifications, a revamped movement system, the return of DMZ mode, and more.
Bottom line: Amid Microsoft's ambition to turn Game Pass into gaming's dominant business model, one of its most valuable assets is showing signs of strain. Call of Duty, a $35 billion global franchise known for annual billion-dollar releases, appears to be in decline less than two years after Microsoft completed its acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
Reviewers praise Black Ops 7 for its ambitious scope, polished multiplayer, and inventive Endgame mode. Its co-op options, Zombies, and nostalgic callbacks help it stand out, with some outlets calling it one of the franchise's strongest entries in years. However, despite the high notes, an uneven campaign and inconsistent storytelling keep it from reaching its full potential.