Our first look at Modern Warfare 4 multiplayer gameplay arrived, not as part of a Call of Duty: Next event, as is tradition, but through a handful of livestreams from a select few who got to play the game at Fanatics Fest NYC, which took place 16th-19th July.

As developer Infinity Ward revealed prior to the event's start, the demo was of the new Kill Block game mode, which dynamically creates maps from pre-set fabs based on Modern Warfare series maps, resulting in an ever-changing arena that reassembles itself after each two rounds. The concept of a Shipment-sized, ever-changing map is exciting on its own, but anyone who tuned in really did so to watch multiplayer gameplay.

There was such a hunger for raw gameplay of MW4 that most Twitch streamers and YouTubers were content to just livestream themselves watching the two or three creators who livestreamed from the event. The hours of footage that came out was enough for a lot of players to form an opinion on the upcoming game.

If you've been following the broader discourse around COD multiplayer in recent years, and Modern Warfare 4 specifically, you'll no doubt be familiar with how controversial the topic of player movement speed has become. Unsurprisingly, the reaction on Reddit has reflected that divide.

FULL Modern Warfare 4 Multiplayer Gameplay Breakdown: Guns, Movement, Maps & MORE DEEP DIVE! Watch on YouTube

One of the most popular posts on the MW4 subreddit in recent days has been one featuring two livestream clips showing a character cover a massive distance with a jump mid-firefight in one instance, and sliding for a considerable period in another.

"Why do they keep doing this?" Reddit user f2pmyass wondered. "It's like COD just can't step away from overly dramatic sliding and overly dramatic momentum," they added. "Even in the second video it's almost at a standpoint going that far lol."

While far from the worst offender to come out of the footage, this one is at least supposed to be a visual bug. "That video is from the alpha build of Kill Block that the Infinity Ward team will correct for the upcoming beta," a Call of Duty community manager noted. "You're supposed to see the sliding player pop up between those two slides, because it's a slide after a slide cancel," they added.

When the 2019 Modern Warfare reboot introduced the faster tactical sprint, players quickly realised that momentum can be carried into a slide, then later discovered you can cancel out of a slide to get your gun up even faster. That and other such movement tech has become such a core part of COD multiplayer that it turned the series into a movement shooter.

In the years since, multiple COD titles have sped up player movement further, and allowed for even smoother transitions between different animations, creating a pace that is at an opposite end to that of early 2010s CODs.

Image credit: Infinity Ward, Activision.

Though some argue for keeping the movement as fluid, but slowing down the pace instead, there is a consensus that MW4 clearly has fast movement. Depending on which side of that argument you happen to fall, this is either a welcome addition or something that's put you off the game.

"No one wants cracked movement where you can super sprint and slide and everyone is getting tired of all of this," argued gigantic_motor_221. "This was okay to do in MW2019 as the game felt fresh and a step forward when everyone was getting tired of COD but this doesn't work anymore."

But there may be a way to split the difference, assuming Infinity Ward cares about catering to both cohorts. The answer is Classic mod, following the example of Black Ops 7, which introduced it as a limited-time playlist and ended up keeping it after it became very popular.

Many players have been asking for its return in MW4, and it's clear the mode's seen as a solution that should keep everyone happy.

"The community is split on movement, so it makes sense to have a Classic mode," explained another user. "Seeing the super fast [time-to-kill], visual recoil that's leaning toward[s] MW[2] 2022, everyone sliding around like they are on ice, and no mention of what matchmaking will be, it's making me think this game isn't going to be for me," they added.

One Reddit user polled players on whether or not they want Classic mode at launch. Out of 478 votes, 303 said yes. I have also argued for the need for a Classic mode in Modern Warfare 4 at launch, after playing BO7's version and remembering how much better COD used to feel before it turned into a movement shooter. And 'launch' is the key word here, as the developer could introduce it months later, but it risks turning away everyone who would've bought the game at launch if it had the mode. According to one content creator in attendance at Fanatics Fest, at least, Classic mode at launch is not happening.

Image credit: Infinity Ward, Activision.

As we get closer to the summer beta, the debate about Modern Warfare 4's movement will continue to rage. For most players, the decision of whether or not to buy it likely won't be made until they've spent enough time playing the beta.

The MW4 beta does not have a target date, but September is a good guess, given recent history. The full game arrives 23rd October on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S and Switch 2.