Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

This page is for the original 2007 release. For the updated 2016 version, see Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered. For the 2019 reboot, see Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

Developers
	Infinity Ward
macOS (OS X)	i5works
macOS (OS X)	Aspyr Media
Publishers
	Activision
OS X	Aspyr Media
Russia	Noviy Disk
Engines
	IW 3.0
Release dates
Windows	November 5, 2007
macOS (OS X)	September 26, 2008
Reception
Metacritic	92
IGDB	88
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase
Microtransactions	None
Modes	Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Pacing	Real-time
Perspectives	First-person
Controls	Direct control
Genres	Action, FPS, Shooter
Art styles	Realistic
Themes	Europe, Middle East, Contemporary
Series	Call of Duty: Modern Warfare

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Subseries of Call of Duty
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare	2007
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2	2009
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3	2011
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered	2016
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	2019
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered	2020
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II	2022
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III	2023

Warnings

The macOS (OS X) version of this game does not work on macOS Catalina (version 10.15) or later due to the removal of support for 32-bit-only apps.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is a singleplayer and multiplayer first-person action, FPS and shooter game in the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare series.

General information

Official Call of Duty series site

Steam Community Discussions

CallofDutyMaps - A detailed Website for all included multiplayer maps.

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		Campaign EXE Uses SafeDisc v4 DRM. Key Required for install and Multiplayer Servers but the Multiplayer EXE has no DRM.
Steam
Amazon.com (unavailable)
GamersGate (unavailable)
Games for Windows Marketplace (unavailable)
Humble Store (unavailable)
Mac App Store (unavailable)

SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows Vista and later (see above for affected versions).

Demo

DLC and expansion packs

Name	Notes
Variety Map Pack	Available for free. Included with Patch v1.6 (v1.7 for OS X) and any digital release of the game. See Patches for a download link.

Essential improvements

Patches

There are 8 patches in total, but only the last three are required.

The Steam version is already patched

The retail GOTY edition is patched to version 1.6

• v1.6 patch (includes the Variety Pack)
• v1.6 to v1.7 patch (Windows)
• v1.7 patch (OS X)
• Official security fix for 1.7

CoD4X Mod

A client and server modification for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare multiplayer that adds enhanced functionality and security to servers, bug fixes, and its own server list.

IW3SP-MOD

A singleplayer client for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare that adds enhanced functionality as: achievements from Xbox 360 version, controller/gamepad support with aim assist, increased asset limits and more. Steam version is required to launch this client

PunkBuster

To play on protected servers, multiplayer requires a PunkBuster update which is no longer hosted on EvenBalance's website. Obtainable here, here, or here.

Skip intro videos

Use the seta com_introplayed "1" command line argument

Game data

In-game general settings.

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\players\profiles\<user-id>\config.cfg
macOS (OS X)
Steam Play (Linux)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/7940/pfx/

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\players\profiles\
macOS (OS X)
Steam Play (Linux)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/7940/pfx/

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
Steam Cloud

Video

In-game graphics settings.

In-game textures settings.

Graphics feature	State	WSGF	Notes
Widescreen resolution
Multi-monitor			Use Widescreen Fixer.
Ultra-widescreen			Use Widescreen Fixer.
4K Ultra HD			In-game AA must be disabled. If stuck in black screen, set seta r_aaSamples to "1" in 'config.cfg'/'config_mp.cfg'. Force AA externally.
Field of view (FOV)		65-80° in multiplayer only without sv_cheats 1; see Field of view (FOV).
Windowed		See Windowed.
Borderless fullscreen windowed		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)		Up to 16 samples.
Anti-aliasing (AA)		Up to 4x MSAA. 16 SSAA or MSAA can be forced using console "r_aaSamples" "16"
Vertical sync (Vsync)
60 FPS and 120+ FPS		Unlocked in Singleplayer. For multiplayer, see High frame rate.
High dynamic range display (HDR)		See the glossary page for potential alternatives.
Ray tracing (RT)

Field of view (FOV)

Modify FOV using a console[citation needed]
Press ~ and the in-game console will appear. If it does not appear, go to Game Options and make sure the console is enabled. In order to permanently change the FOV, write the command seta cg_fov XX, where XX is the desired horizontal field of view (e.g. seta cg_fov 90). The command "seta" permanently writes commands following it to the config. Notes Weapon models are affected by changes in FOV.

Windowed

Enable windowed mode using console[citation needed]
Press ~ and the in-game console will appear. If it does not appear go to Game Options and make sure the console is enabled. In console, type in /r_fullscreen 0 to enable windowed mode (or /r_fullscreen 1 to enable fullscreen mode) and press ↵ Enter. Type in /vid_restart and press ↵ Enter to restart the game's renderer and apply new settings.

High frame rate

Unlock frame rate[citation needed]

Enable console in options Press ~. Type /com_maxFPS # where # is what you want the frame rate cap to be. Notes In order for the fixe to work, Vsync needs to be turned off from the game's settings if the screen's refresh rate is less than the required FPS. The setting for Vsync is listed as "Sync Every Frame" under the Graphics tab in the game Options and needs to be set to "No". Some servers do not allow you to have a frame rate above 250 due to possible cheating. High frame rates can influence aspects of the game's mechanics (such as jump height), and this weakness of the engine is exploited by some players to gain an advantage.

Input

In-game control settings.

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support

Audio

In-game audio settings.

In-game voice settings.

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls
Surround sound		Only 5.1
Subtitles		Under Game Options.
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
EAX support		Set 5.1 speakers in options and use DSOAL for binaural HRTF mixing.
Royalty free audio

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
French
German
Hungarian				Fan translation, link #1, link #2.
Italian
Polish				Only available in Polish retail release.
Brazilian Portuguese				Fan translation; Gamevício.
Russian				Retail only. Patch for digital release here.
Slovak				Fan translation.
Spanish

Network

In-game multiplayer settings.

Multiplayer types

Type	Native	Players	Notes
LAN play		64
Online play		64

Connection types

Type	Native	Notes
Matchmaking
Peer-to-peer
Dedicated
Self-hosting
Direct IP		Go to Favorites and add a new favorite with the IP as the source.

Ports

Protocol	Port(s) and/or port range(s)
TCP	28960
UDP	28960

Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status is unknown.

Useful networking console commands

Use cl_maxpackets "100" Maximum number of packets sent per frame (Domain is any integer from 15 to 100)

Use seta snaps "30" Snapshot rate (Domain is any integer from 1 to 30)

Read more about these commands and how they relate to com_maxfps

http://www.funender.com/quake/console/q3connection.html

http://wiki.modsrepository.com/index.php?title=Call_of_Duty_:_A_Study_on_FPS

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/246033-truth-about-91-fps-in-the-new-call-of-duty/

https://steamcommunity.com/app/7940/discussions/0/528398719800788355/?ctp=2#c527273452881706687

VR support

3D modes	State	Notes
Nvidia 3D Vision		See Helix Mod: Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare fix.
vorpX		G3D User created game profile, see required FOV and shadow tweaks here: vorpx forum profile introduction.

Devices
3RD Space Gaming Vest
Novint Falcon

Issues fixed

Missing d3dx9_43.dll or similar .dll file

This issue is caused by a broken DirectX installation, to fix simply reinstall DirectX 9.

Game won't start on Windows 7

Enable stereo mix[citation needed]
On some PCs the sound driver crashes the game before it starts Plug in a microphone Alternatively: Go to Control Panel Open Sound settings Click the recording tab Enable stereo mix (you may need to right click and select "Show disabled devices" for it to be visible).

Game sound is replaced with microphone input

Disable recording device (Windows)
From Control Panel, open the Sound menu. Under the Recording tab, disable any input devices.

Stuttering issues with high-end graphics cards

The game randomly stutters (not related to FPS) with higher-end graphics cards (e.g. Nvidia GeForce GTX 680 and above)

Enable "Dual Video Cards" option in Graphics settings

Stuttering and sudden frame drops on Nvidia GPUs

Disable frame rate limiter in Nvidia Control Panel
If you have the Frame Limiter enabled, it will cause random stutters and fps drops to occur during gameplay. You can either disable the frame limiter for the game only by changing its program settings and setting the frame limiter option to off, or disable the limiter entirely in the global settings.

Disable Fast sync in Nvidia Control Panel
If you have the Fast Sync enabled, it will cause periodic frametime stutters and fps drops

Ambient occlusion issues on Nvidia GPUs

Ambient Occlusion set to Performance.

Ambient Occlusion set to off.

Disable Ambient Occlusion inside NVIDIA Control Panel
iw3sp.exe is for singleplayer, iw3mp.exe is for multiplayer. Open the Nvidia Control Panel. Go to 3D Settings, Manage 3D settings, Program Settings. Click Add, Browse and select iw3sp.exe or iw3mp.exe inside <path-to-game>. Set Ambient Occlusion to Off.

"Unable to initialize PunkBuster. PunkBuster is disabled." error

Update PunkBuster manually
See #PunkBuster.

Black/flickering textures on older Nvidia GPUs

Black/flickering textures on older Nvidia GPUs[citation needed]
On Windows XP, older Nvidia GPUs like the GeForce 7900 GTX would display black or flickering textures when running on the latest available drivers (307.83). Downgrading drivers to 195.62 appears to solve this.

COD4X installation issues on Linux

Switch to Proton 5.0-10 to install COD4X. Once the installation is completed, you can switch back to your preferred Proton version.

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	9.0c
OpenGL	2.0	macOS only.
Shader Model support	2, 3

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows
macOS (OS X)			32-bit only.

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Audio	FMOD, Miles Sound System
Cutscenes	Bink Video
Multiplayer	Demonware
Anti-cheat	PunkBuster	The PunkBuster version provided is no longer supported and needs to be manually updated to connect to protected servers. See PunkBuster

Show FPS Counter

Show FPS counter[citation needed]
Enable console in options Press ~. Type /cg_drawFPS 1 Notes Adjust position of FPS counter on screen using /cg_debuginfocorneroffset XXX YYY, XXX adjusts horizontal axis, YYY adjusts vertical axis. /cg_debuginfocorneroffset 88 464 will place the counter in the bottom right corner of the screen for 1920x1080 16:9 displays.

Mods

World at War blood for CoD4

Replaces the blurry and blocky low res blood with the gorier and higher quality ones from World at War, Black Ops, or Black Ops 2

System requirements

Windows

macOS (OS X)

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	XP, Vista
Processor (CPU)	Intel Pentium 4 2.4 GHz AMD Athlon 64 2800+ Any 1.8 GHz Dual Core	2.4 GHz dual core or better
System memory (RAM)	512 MB (XP) 768 MB (Vista)	1 GB (XP) 2 GB (Vista)
Hard disk drive (HDD)	8 GB
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia GeForce 6600 ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128 MB of VRAM DirectX 9.0c compatible	Nvidia GeForce 7800 ATI Radeon X1800 256 MB of VRAM Shader model 3.0 support

macOS (OS X)
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	10.7.5	10.9
Processor (CPU)	Intel Core 2 Duo 2.2 GHz	Intel Core i7
System memory (RAM)	1 GB	2 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	9 GB
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia GeForce 7300 ATI Radeon X1600 128 MB of VRAM

The Intel Integrated GMA 950 and Intel Integrated X3100 chipsets are not supported