Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 beta Steam player count falls by 65% amid mixed reviews

Activision’s latest shooter hopes to impress after the struggles of Black Ops 7. The first Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 beta weekend started strongly, but Steam player counts are plummeting. Mixed reviews highlight performance problems and an overly precise aim assist.

The initial playtest runs from August 21st to August 25th on PC and current-gen consoles except for the Switch 2. Gamers who pre-ordered the title or received a beta code can join, while the second session opening on August 28th is free to play.

The player count rollercoaster

Valve’s PC marketplace only represents a portion of the shooter’s audience. That said, developers may need to revamp the gameplay to convince skeptics ahead of the October Modern Warfare 4 release date. SteamDB showed a peak concurrent player count of 115,145 on August 21st. However, as the weekend progressed, that number fell to under 38,000, a drop of over 65%.

Followers are often curious about changes in a longstanding franchise. It’s not unusual to see the highest activity early on in a playtest. Regardless, participation declined as Steam reviews grew increasingly lackluster.

What players want fixed

Choppy visuals despite high frame rates are among the most common technical complaints. Even gamers who own high-end GPUs and CPUs are suffering from frame-pacing issues. Other PC users describe laggy mouse controls, and the input delays make targeting enemies frustrating.

As with past Call of Duty games, aim assist is controversial in the Modern Warfare 4 beta. Steam reviews argue that controllers have an advantage, and that the target assistance ruins game balance. Treyarch tweaked its accuracy in Black Ops 7, and Infinity Ward could follow their lead.

The studio has already released a patch that addresses a too-short time-to-kill and overpowered weapons. Likely more difficult to improve, not all fans are convinced by the multiplayer maps. Smaller than anticipated, they encourage frantic arcade-like action rather than tactical combat.

Before panicking about Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 Steam player counts, it may be wise to wait until the free-to-play beta weekend. Activision can also take comfort in pre-order sales, which look more substantial than those seen with Black Ops 7.