Modern Warfare 4 is introducing several PC-focused features designed to improve performance, visibility, and customization when the game launches. From a new Enhanced FOV option to updated weapon behavior and precompiled shaders, PC players will have several tools to fine-tune their experience.
Some of the additions could also have an impact on competitive gameplay, particularly the changes to field of view, bullet placement, and visibility during firefights. Here’s a breakdown of the major PC features coming to Modern Warfare 4.
Modern Warfare 4 PC Features Explained
Enhanced FOV
One of the most notable PC-exclusive features in Modern Warfare 4 is Enhanced FOV.
Rather than simply increasing the entire field of view, the feature uses physically accurate lens effects to expand the player’s peripheral vision around the edges of the screen while keeping the center FOV unchanged.
This gives players additional visibility around the sides of their screen without requiring them to use an extremely high FOV setting. It could be particularly useful for spotting opponents approaching from the sides while maintaining a more comfortable view of targets directly ahead.
Enhanced FOV is exclusive to PC and will not be available on PS5, Xbox, or Nintendo Switch 2.
Weapon Bloom Changes How Bullets Are Placed
Modern Warfare 4 is also changing the way bullet placement works with its new Weapon Bloom system.
In previous Call of Duty games, bullets could randomly land within a defined area, introducing some variation into where shots connected. MW4 instead calculates the direction of a bullet based on the position of the weapon’s barrel.
The system applies to both aiming down sights and hipfire, making bullet placement more closely tied to the direction of the weapon itself. Players can also equip a laser attachment to get a clearer indication of where their shots are traveling.
HDR10+ and Weapon VFX Masking
Visibility is another area receiving improvements on PC.
HDR10+ allows the game engine to dynamically interact with a display’s brightness settings. The system adjusts contrast and lighting as players move between darker and brighter environments, potentially making opponents easier to see without requiring constant manual adjustments to brightness.
Weapon VFX Masking works alongside this by reducing muzzle effects around the player’s point of aim. The feature is designed to preserve the visual impact of weapon effects while making enemies easier to track during sustained firefights.
This could be particularly noticeable when using weapons with heavy muzzle flashes, such as assault rifles and LMGs.
90 FPS at Recommended PC Specs
Modern Warfare 4 will support 90 FPS at the game’s recommended PC specifications without requiring players to manually change settings to reach that target.
Higher frame rates can provide smoother camera movement and aiming, while also making it easier to track opponents during fast-paced Multiplayer matches.
Ray Tracing and Upscaling Options
PC players will also have access to ray tracing across Modern Warfare 4‘s Campaign, Multiplayer, and DMZ modes.
Ray tracing adds more advanced reflections, shadows, and lighting to the game. Players can then choose from several image-scaling and anti-aliasing technologies depending on their hardware.
The available options include:
- NVIDIA DLSS 4.5 — Uses NVIDIA RTX technology and deep-learning techniques to improve performance while maintaining image quality.
- AMD FSR Redstone — Generates higher-resolution frames from lower-resolution inputs to improve performance.
- Intel XeSS 3 — Uses machine learning-based super sampling to increase performance while maintaining image quality.
- Filmic SMAA T2X — The default post-processing option for reducing visible jagged edges.
These options give players more flexibility when balancing graphical quality and performance according to their PC hardware.
Advanced Shader Delivery
Another PC improvement comes in the form of Advanced Shader Delivery, or ASD.
Previously known as Shader Preloading, the system allows MW4 to deliver precompiled shaders ahead of time on supported PC platforms. The goal is to reduce the preparation time required when launching the game or installing updates.
Players are advised to have the Xbox PC app installed ahead of launch, regardless of which PC platform they use, so Advanced Shader Delivery can provide precompiled shaders during installation and live updates. Keeping graphics drivers up to date is also recommended.
Updates Won’t Require a Restart During Game Boot
Modern Warfare 4 is also streamlining the update process on PC.
Updates will no longer require players to restart the game during the boot process, reducing the time between launching the game and entering a match.
There will still be a restart if an update becomes available while players are already in-game, although this is expected to happen between matches. The game will also feature streamlined menus to reduce the amount of time players spend navigating before getting into a match.
Modern Warfare 4 PC Features Could Improve Competitive Play
Several of these PC-focused additions go beyond graphical improvements. Enhanced FOV can provide additional peripheral awareness, Weapon Bloom changes how players understand bullet placement, and Weapon VFX Masking is designed to make opponents easier to follow during intense firefights.
Combined with 90 FPS support and multiple upscaling technologies, Modern Warfare 4 is giving PC players several ways to improve both visual clarity and performance.
The game is also introducing Collateral Mode, a Multiplayer experience featuring an in-game economy inspired by other competitive FPS titles.
Modern Warfare 4 PC Features Explained
PC players will have access to several features that are not available on consoles, including Enhanced FOV, which expands peripheral visibility while keeping the center FOV unchanged. Weapon Bloom also changes how bullet placement works by calculating shots based on the weapon’s barrel position in both ADS and hipfire. Meanwhile, ray tracing will be available across Campaign, Multiplayer, and DMZ, while DLSS 4.5, AMD FSR Redstone, Intel XeSS 3, and Filmic SMAA T2X provide different options for balancing image quality and performance. The PC version will also support 90 FPS at the recommended specifications, while Advanced Shader Delivery is designed to reduce preparation times when launching the game or installing updates.
With Modern Warfare 4 bringing these PC-specific improvements alongside its new gameplay features, Gamelevate will continue covering the latest Call of Duty news, updates, and developments.
