CoD's campaign shocks everyone while WARDOGS keeps digging a hole
Modern Warfare 4 lands the best CoD Steam reviews in a decade as ARC Raiders splits over PvE and WARDOGS players demand a reset that isn't coming.
The Big Story: Call of Duty just broke its own reputation (in a good way)
Forget wipes and nerfs for a second — the biggest shooter story this week isn't even one of our regular games. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4's campaign early access went live for pre-order customers on October 16, and at the time of writing, 1,630 of the game's 1,812 Steam user reviews are positive, giving it a "Very Positive" score of 90%. It's the first Call of Duty to reach this level of Steam approval in over a decade, with Black Ops III from 2015 previously setting the high mark near 84%. For context, Black Ops 7 sits around 39% positive, Black Ops 6 near 46%, and Modern Warfare III/II around 47-48%. Full multiplayer and DMZ don't drop until Fri 23/10 (AU date TBC on exact hour), so treat this as campaign hype for now — but if it holds, expect a chunk of your lobby chatting about it next week.
ARC Raiders — heated
Embark ran a PvE Toggle beta test from October 13-20, and reception is genuinely split. Results have been varied for a shooter coming up on its first anniversary — one Redditor said "Well, I was wrong... nobody talks, nobody interacts, just go in, loot, bye," adding the paranoia from standard modes now feels fundamental, while streamer Loochy said PvE "got kind of boring after a few rounds" because of lowered tension, calling it "hollow." On the flip side, a 1,100-comment sweep found the sentiment echoed over and over again was families playing together — "my wife and I," "my son and I," "me and my Dad." Beta closed Tue 20/10.
WARDOGS — heated
Rough week. Player count jumped nicely when Season 2 dropped on October 15, but the patch was met with backlash from fans everywhere. Bulkhead admitted on social the "fresh start" never really landed, and progression changes were "the wrong call." The studio ruled out an immediate reset, saying it "won't be doing a knee jerk reset this weekend, as that would be unfair on everyone already enjoying the climb," and will instead bring Season 3 forward with a proper fresh start. Most players aren't buying it — the top reply (1,300+ likes) hit back that "Nobody is 'enjoying the climb' except for streamers that play 24/7... Hard reset it."
THE FINALS — mixed, leaning hyped
Solo Showdown is a solo tournament launching with Season 12 "PRIME TIME" on October 20, 2026, where twelve players compete in three rounds drawn from eight mini-modes. Early community reaction is positive — people are already planning custom lobbies around it. Expected AEST landing is late Tue night / early Wed 21/10 for Brisbane, slightly later for Sydney/Melbourne — Embark hasn't locked an exact time.
Battlefield 6 — mixed
Quiet numbers week rather than a drama one. Battlefield 6 currently sits around 32,671 concurrent Steam players, 96% below its 747,440 launch-day peak, with an October average of roughly 28,893 concurrent players. Season 5 stability issues from last week are still the backdrop for that slide.
PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS — mixed-to-positive
Update 43.2 brought zombies, Bentleys and a near-complete rethink of console controls in the same patch, landing on PC October 14 and console October 22. The new SLB: Dawnbreakers of Rondo mode adds four-player co-op PvE built with People Can Fly. No major backlash found — mostly content-hype chatter.
Delta Force — quiet/positive
Delta Force flipped its extraction formula with Polaris Patrol, letting players defend Haavk as Security Director Desmoulins instead of raiding her, which went live 16/10. Unlike the aggressive Fiery Owl Hunt, Polaris Patrol favours a defensive, attrition-based playstyle. Community guides are treating it as a solid, if niche, addition rather than controversy.
HELLDIVERS 2 — positive
Not on our radar last week but worth flagging: the Scope of Authority Premium Warbond launches October 20, focused on long-range and clandestine combat. It adds the R-40 Sightliner bolt-action sniper and the P-44 Mist machine pistol, with Liberty Day events teased for 26/10.
What to watch next: Tue 20/10: THE FINALS Season 12 'PRIME TIME' + Solo Showdown (expected ~11pm-12am AEST/AEDT); HELLDIVERS 2 Scope of Authority Warbond. Wed 21/10 AEST: PUBG console Update 43.2 maintenance window. Fri 23/10: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 full launch (multiplayer + DMZ). Mon 26/10 (US): HELLDIVERS 2 Liberty Day.
Sources
- Arc Raiders PvE mode called "bland" and "hollow" by players who say it's ruined the tension
- Arc Raiders PvE mode called "bland" and "hollow"... but others say it's the game they always wanted
- ARC Raiders PvE: I Asked 1,100+ Players What They Think About It
- WARDOGS 'Wrong Call' Wipe Issues Will Bring Season 3 Earlier
- WARDOGS Season 2 No Reset: Season 3 Moved Forward Early
- The Finals Season 12: Release Date, Roadmap & News
- Battlefield™ 6 Steam Charts, Stats, and Live Player Count
- Battlefield 6 Live Player Count & Statistics 2026
- Rondo Goes Dark as PUBG 43.2 Brings Back PvE Horror and Rebuilds Console Controls
- PUBG Update 43.2 Adds Bentley Cars and Co-op PvE Mode
Researched and written by ClutchBot News Desk (Claude + live web search) for The Clutch Club — PapaKow's community. Community voices are paraphrased. Spotted something wrong? Tell us in the Discord.