Gaming World News: Modern Warfare 4 Changes and More
The last 48 hours have delivered plenty for gamers to get stuck into, from a surprising new direction for Call of Duty multiplayer to another remarkable milestone for one of gaming’s most celebrated RPGs.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is grabbing attention with a new tactical multiplayer mode that takes clear inspiration from games such as Counter-Strike. Infinity Ward is also finally changing how Double XP Tokens work. Elsewhere, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has smashed its previous Steam concurrent player record following the arrival of its Remastered edition, while Blizzard is attempting to make amends with Diablo 4 players after Season 15’s troubled start.
Here are the biggest stories making waves in our latest Gaming World News round-up.
Modern Warfare 4 Introduces Counter-Strike-Inspired Collateral Mode
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is experimenting with a very different multiplayer formula through its newly revealed Collateral mode.
Designed for fans of Search and Destroy and competitive multiplayer, Collateral sees two teams alternate between attacking and defending two bomb sites. However, unlike traditional Call of Duty modes, players start with a pistol and earn in-game cash throughout the match. That money can then be spent between rounds on weapons, armour, perks and equipment.
It is a formula that will immediately feel familiar to Counter-Strike players.
There are some major departures from traditional Call of Duty gameplay, too. Players lose their loadout when they die, while money carries between rounds. Respawns, automatic health regeneration, Killstreaks and custom loadouts are all disabled.
That makes every life significantly more valuable.
The economy also creates another layer of strategy. Players will need to decide whether to spend immediately or save their cash for stronger equipment later. Available purchases include rifles, SMGs, shotguns, sniper rifles, armour, perks and equipment such as flash grenades, Molotov cocktails and smoke walls. Teams can even purchase a UAV.
For a franchise built around fast-paced gunplay and constant progression, Collateral could offer an interesting change of pace. It retains Call of Duty’s shooting mechanics while adding the risk, economy management and single-life tension associated with tactical shooters.
Modern Warfare 4 launches on 23rd October 2026, with Activision promising more information about Collateral closer to release.
The Witcher 3 Smashes Its Steam Player Record
More than a decade after its original release, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is somehow setting new records.
The release of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Remastered has sent players flooding back to CD Projekt Red’s fantasy RPG. Following the remaster’s arrival, the game passed 120,000 concurrent Steam players, setting a new all-time peak.
That is an impressive achievement for a single-player RPG first released in 2015.
Its previous Steam record was 103,329 concurrent players, set in January 2020 following renewed interest around Netflix’s The Witcher series. The original 2015 launch had peaked at 92,268 players.
Importantly, these figures only cover Steam. They do not represent players using other PC platforms or consoles.
The Remastered edition has provided a clear reason for veterans to return to Geralt’s adventure, particularly because existing owners can access the upgrade for free.
Eleven years after launch, The Witcher 3 remains capable of pulling in a huge audience. That says plenty about the staying power of CD Projekt Red’s RPG and the appetite for returning to the Continent.
Modern Warfare 4 Finally Fixes Double XP Tokens
Collateral is not the only Modern Warfare 4 update getting Call of Duty players talking.
Infinity Ward is also changing the way Double XP Tokens work. From Modern Warfare 4 onwards, activated tokens will count down according to actual in-game time rather than continuously running in real time.
It sounds like a small adjustment. In practice, it could make a big difference.
Previously, activating a 30-minute Double XP Token started a 30-minute countdown regardless of whether you were actually playing. Time spent sitting in menus, matchmaking or waiting in a lobby still ate into the token.
Modern Warfare 4 changes that.
The timer will now pause outside matches, meaning players should receive the full amount of boosted progression they have earned. Existing Double XP Tokens will also be usable in Modern Warfare 4.
For regular players, this is a welcome quality-of-life improvement. It removes the pressure to squeeze as many matches as possible into a fixed real-world window.
More importantly, it makes Double XP Tokens work in the way many players probably assumed they should have worked all along.
Blizzard Gives Diablo 4 Players a Rare Apology Gift
Finally, Blizzard is attempting to compensate Diablo 4 players following problems surrounding Season 15, Season of Hell’s Legacy.
The season experienced technical difficulties including server instability and delays affecting its seasonal realm and Solo Self Found mode. In response, some players have received an apology through the Horadric Post accompanied by a Resplendent Spark.
For Diablo 4 players, that is not a throwaway freebie.
Resplendent Sparks are highly valuable crafting materials associated with Mythic Unique gear, making the compensation considerably more useful than a basic cosmetic reward or small bundle of resources.
However, there is an important catch. Reports indicate that the reward has not appeared consistently for everyone. Some players have received the Spark, while others have reportedly found only the apology message or nothing at all. Blizzard has not publicly clarified the exact eligibility criteria behind the distribution.
So, while the gesture itself is notable, the rollout appears less straightforward.
Gaming World News Final Thoughts
From Call of Duty experimenting with tactical shooter mechanics to an 11-year-old RPG breaking its own Steam record, the latest Gaming World News cycle has delivered a surprisingly varied mix of stories.
Modern Warfare 4 is particularly worth watching. Collateral represents a genuine shake-up of the familiar multiplayer formula, while the Double XP change addresses a long-standing frustration. Meanwhile, The Witcher 3 continues to demonstrate extraordinary staying power, and Diablo 4’s Season 15 problems show how quickly technical issues can dominate the conversation around a live-service update.
With Modern Warfare 4 now less than a month from release, expect plenty more details to emerge before players finally get their hands on Infinity Ward’s latest Call of Duty.
