Modern Warfare 4 locks major feature behind hardware requirement most players won’t have

If you’re hoping to benefit from 120fps Peformance Mode support in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 on console, you’re going to need to meet a very awkward requirement.

It’s too early to determine whether the Call of Duty franchise has turned its fortunes around with the launch of Modern Warfare 4.

The game’s campaign has certainly gone down well with critics though; that’s undeniable.

GamesRadar+ has dubbed the campaign a “satisfying conclusion” with “spectacular set pieces, strong performances, and surprising moral complexity [that] make for a campaign that's hard to put down”.

Similar comments were made by IGN, with the site praising a “consistently strong set of missions”.

Those who don’t have early access to Modern Warfare 4 are - or at least were - itching to get their hands on the title, but the excitement has been quelled somewhat by an unexpected announcement.

On the CODUpdates Twitter/X page, it’s been confirmed that you’ll need to meet a certain hardware requirement in order to unlock 120fps Performance Mode support in both Modern Warfare 4’s main campaign and DMZ mode on console.

Most run-of-the-mill TVs aren’t going to cut it for Modern Warfare 4 console players

Activision

Performance Mode support on both PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S requires a monitor to support 120Hz and have Variable Refresh Rate (VRR).

It was added that the same requirements will apply to Call of Duty: Warzone with Season 1.

Anyone finding themselves locked at 60Hz is recommended to check whether they meet the above requirements and whether VRR is enabled if available.

Requiring 120Hz support for 120fps output is expected and par for the course. However, it’s not all that common for monitors to boast both 120Hz support and VRR.

Many players enjoying Modern Warfare 4 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S will likely be making use of their TV as a monitor.

Certainly, some console gamers make use of gaming-specific monitors, but it’s certainly not the most common option with many of us simply hooking up consoles to our TVs.

The problem is that you’re looking at a mid-to-high range modern TV if you want something that supports both 120Hz and VRR.

It’s only really in the last four or so years that TVs supporting VRR have become somewhat mainstream.

Even still, it’s mainly 4K OLED and QLED models that do have that VRR support, so if you’ve got something more run-of-the-mill, you may find that the feature is missing.

READ MORE: Call of Duty could be leaving Modern Warfare after MW4 and its next game might not be Black Ops

Ultimately, it’s not the end of the world as you should still be able to enjoy a solid 60fps in Modern Warfare 4, but players are still letting their frustrations be heard.

“Criminal. Three days before full release and we are finding this out now?” wrote Twitter/X user CarefreeJonty.

“Most 120Hz monitors do not support this. What is even worse, is that mine does support VRR but because it’s not HDMI 2.1, which the majority are not, I can’t use VRR on PS5. I genuinely do not understand.”

“Refunded the game. What a terrible decision,” wrote DRock_86, responding to CODUpdates’ announcement.

“Wow. This wasn’t an issue with MW2/MW3/BO6/BO7. Not everyone has a monitor/TV that has VRR capabilities,” added antonenut.

Spartan3319 requested: “Can we update the game to not need VRR? We could run 120fps in the beta so please bring it back.”

No response has yet been issued to the backlash, as of the time of writing.