Activision has once again pledged not to use silly skins in Call of Duty this year, and has promised to maintain the campaign tone after the release of Modern Warfare 4.
“Every aspect of Modern Warfare 4 is grounded in the game’s narrative,” Infinity Ward said. “Every feature, every decision must feel authentic to what Modern Warfare is, and that includes looks and collaborations. We're committed to keeping this grounded and transparent, and we want to hear from you about what you want to see in our game.”
But not everyone is convinced. Black Ops 7 made the same promise, and while it didn't offer skins as completely outlandish as Beavis and Butt-Head or Stan Smith, it still had collaborations with franchises like Fallout (as with MW3). This means that Milsim operators wear bright blue and yellow Vault-Tec suits. “Screenshot this tweet to throw their faces in when they decide to put Lady Gaga, Omni-Man, or some other stupid collaboration into the game,” said one skeptic.
“No Lady Gaga, no Omni-Man, no Teletubbies, no SpongeBob,” the Community team responded. “Keep your receipt.”
Generative AI is as out of place as stupid skins
Sticking to the 'no stupid skins' ethos is all well and good, but Infinity Ward and the community team have remained quiet about the controversial AI slopes that have plagued the game recently. WIRED reports that generative AI tools were used to generate Yokai skins in Modern Warfare 3 in 2024, and that this trend continued into Black Ops 6 and 7 through AI-generated calling cards and promo art.
It may not have caused as much backlash as the stupid skin, but AI-generated zombie Santas with too many fingers are now ubiquitous in Black Ops 6, while user reviews for Black Ops 7 are filled with complaints about AI-generated calling cards and how they reduce the satisfaction of completing in-game challenges.
In fact, Treyarch's use of AI is so blatant that it even caught the attention of U.S. Congressman Ro Khanna. Ro Khanna called for regulation to “prevent companies from using AI to kill jobs to make more profits.”
So Modern Warfare 4 may again move away from silly skins to ensure post-launch support stays true to the campaign's grittier tone, but even if we trust that unreasonable collaborations won't happen, the continued use of spawn AI throughout the series isn't appropriate and should be subject to as much scrutiny.
- released
-
October 23, 2026
- multiplayer
-
Online multiplayer, online co-op
