Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 invites you to "keep the receipts" as it fights to be a more "authentic", "grounded, and transparent" shooter experience

"No Lady Gaga. No Omni-Man. No Teletubbies. No SpongeBob. Keep the receipts."

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4's community team insists players can "keep the receipts" as it fights to remain "authentic to what Modern Warfare is".

Activision and Infinity Ward revealed Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 earlier this week, confirming its launch on Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2 on 23rd October, 2026. In a series of marketing posts shared since the reveal, the team has stressed that it aims to keep the shooter "grounded and transparent", including in relation to its cosmetics and collaborations.

In one post shared on X/Twitter, for instance, the team wrote: "Every aspect of Modern Warfare 4 is anchored in the game's narrative. Every feature, every decision needs to feel authentic to what Modern Warfare is, and that includes cosmetics and collabs. We're committed to keeping it grounded and transparent, and we want to hear from you on what you'd like to see in our game."

The assurances come after the team acknowledged last summer that the series had "drifted from what made Call of Duty unique in the first place" after it collaborated with a number of, er, unusual partners, including Beavis and Butthead, American Dad, and Nicki Minaj.

When one unhappy player highlighted this and suggested fans "screenshot this tweet to throw at their faces whenever they decide to toss in Lady Gaga, Omni-Man, or some other goofy collaboration into the game", the team acknowledged the comment, writing: "No Lady Gaga. No Omni-Man. No Teletubbies. No SpongeBob. Keep the receipts."

ICYMI, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 will feature three main game modes: a campaign, multiplayer, and the long-awaited return of its extraction shooter mode, DMZ, while a lot of bold changes are planned for the multiplayer, too

These include new movement improvements, 'apex attachments' which drastically change what each weapon can do, and perhaps most impressively, a new bullet trajectory system. This removes randomised weapon bloom that previously sent bullets flying semi-randomly from weapons.