STACK #264 October 2026

GAMING FEATURE

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MULTIPLAYER MOVES

When asked for top tips for multiplayer, Jack Hoppus suggested… “Play to your strengths. If you know you’ve got incredible aim, try to take 1v1s and outplay by pure mechanics. Maybe you’re a team player and need to hold down and support your team with Trophy Systems or Munitions Boxes. Really, it’s just leaning into your specialty and playing with your team.”

GENRE: Shooter MULTIPLAYER: Yes

FORMAT:

We’re heading to the Korean Peninsula this year in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 .To learn more about the game, we had a chat with developer Infinity Ward’s Jeff Negus (narrative director) and Jack Hoppus (technical multiplayer designer). Words Amy Flower THIS IS THE MODERN WAY

“Whenever we design something, we view it through the lens of ‘If I’ve been playing Call of Duty every year, what’s new and exciting for me, but also for the newer player, if this is my first time playing this mode or map, can I understand what’s happening?’ Hoppus reveals. “This carries through our entire multiplayer – if I’m a dedicated Call of Duty fan that’s played every title, is this exciting and new for me? If I’m a new fan, how do I learn and master these systems?” This ethos led to a new addition to the Call of Duty arsenal. “To test our movement, we built a mobility course to stress-test our new mechanics internally, and it was so popular developers were staying up late getting competitive, sharing their times. We ended up having so much fun with it that we introduced it to the public in the beta and will be launching with the mobility course.” This year it’s all next-gen hardware – including a debut on Switch 2. This has helped to bring a more advanced experience to players. “We’re excited to develop on next-gen hardware, to ensure that Modern Warfare 4 both

S o, why the Korean Peninsula for campaign mode? “The impact that Korean culture and media have had on the world has been massive and, as we've done for the past few games, we felt strongly about bringing a fresh cultural perspective to Modern Warfare 4 ,” says Negus. “When considering narrative implications and the region’s divided history and tensions, we felt there was a unique story to tell and a fresh perspective through which to experience it.” The Modern Warfare games have always balanced realism with entertainment. As Negus explains, this allows the developers to challenge players, as well as entertain. “ Modern Warfare has always ripped from the headlines – grounded fiction that you could imagine takes place in the real world. To me, the compelling part of the realism in the entertainment is how the characters respond to the conflict they're met with. We're always looking for ways to bring the large-scale action into a palpable experience through the eyes of the people experiencing it. “We're particularly interested in pushing boundaries that would ask challenging questions of the player thematically – what would you do if you were in this situation? I feel like the more realistic the drama, and the more the characters show who they are through conflict, the more entertaining it is.”

runs and looks great,” enthuses Hoppus “It’s allowed us to really lean on features like dynamic weather and volumetric smoke to enhance gameplay and better connect the players to the world they’re playing in.” When pushed to name any one mission or moment that especially excites them, Negus couldn’t decide, however Hoppus was keen to chime in. “We’ve been having an insane amount of fun on Kill Block, and I’m stoked to have players get their hands on it. It really shines in Gunfight, but from the start we’ve been making sure our other modes work great on it as well. Search and Destroy on Kill Block is something special.”

This year’s model sees improvements in two key components of the experience: movement and gunplay. “We’ve put a huge amount of effort and focus into making our movement and gunplay both intuitive and satisfying,” Hoppus tells us. “We like to say that the gun is the foundation of the game, so it’s deserving that each shot you fire feels powerful and reactive, but also incredibly satisfying and responsive. “For movement, our goal was to design systems that were simple to grasp but have enough depth that players can really master them. Mechanics like the supine slide aren’t difficult to input, but real knowledge is when to use it for pure traversal, versus supine slide peeking to throw your opponents off.” With multiplayer promising new modes, maps, weapons, and more, we were curious as to how new players are catered for while keeping old hands satisfied.

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is out Oct 23

IF YOU LIKE THIS, YOU’LL LOVE THESE:

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, Hell Let Loose: Vietnam, Battlefield 6

OCTOBER 2026

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