Screenshots & trailers
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 75 | 113 |
| Creator reviews (3 tracked) | – | 65 | 3 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 80% | 74 | 1000 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | – | 0 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 79% | 73 | 176 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: since the last significant patch (Aug 26, 2026) · 31 reviews sampled · 176 total reviews in window · weighted 18.2 up / 3.6 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (152)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 80
“Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War lends itself as a bombastic, yet short-lived game. We can only hope that this project will be well-received by Activision higher-ups, and that Raven Software will finally make name for themselves.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War managed to balance two sides of the weights: if you play Call of Duty because of the campaing, you'll be undoubtedly satisfied. Singleplayer brings inovations, that transform classical „run and gun“ missions to think-through spy operations, that looks on Call of Duty beautifully. It doesn't depend if you look on choices, decryption or investigative puzzles or plesant stealth. Cold War breaks the unfortunate old concept used by older parts. On the other hand multiplayer and zombie mode go in the other direction. Instead of changes and inovations we get gunplay, which is still fun, but not that fun. All the inovations that were brought with Modern Warfare don't work in cold war anymore. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War can be great part to the series. But in the same way it can be average. All stands on what you prefer better.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“An average Call of Duty game with three usual modes which doesn't wow or surprise, and sometimes looks bland compared to its predecessor.”
read full review ↗ - 50
“Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War's multiplayer is terrible, its campaign is forgettable and its zombies are okay, which all makes for a game that feels like a much worse iteration of previous installments into the franchise.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War is the best COD game in recent years.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“My best recommendation is to wait on Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“While "Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War" is undoubtedly a Call of Duty with a lot of effort behind it, it’s unable to fully convince, taking two steps behind and just one ahead. However, one thing is for certain: Black Ops wants to come back, and there are reasons to believe in a bright future for the franchise.”
read full review ↗ - 50
- 80
“Is Cold War a step up from Modern Warfare? It is hard to say considering we are very much at the peak of first-person shooter games, and that Call of Duty games always tread the line between realism and arcade-style shooting gallery. All things considered, it is a great game by its own right, confidently taking the baton from Modern Warfare and confidently making the race its own.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“A strong entry in the long-running series and a fascinating dive into the Cold War.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Thankfully, a few of the early bugs were ironed out of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, and subsequent season passes have patched up modes and maps that were lacking. The campaign is genuinely intriguing but may not appeal to those who just want to run and gun. Zombies and Multiplayer modes are plentiful and there should be something for everyone to thoroughly enjoy. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War should be used as the poster child for PlayStation 5's DualSense controller which has been put to full use for an immersive experience. Casual players will be somewhat put off by the sheer storage space required to fully experience everything that is on offer, especially given that SSD capacity is this generation's gold dust, but Call of Duty die-hards will most likely overlook this.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War takes some getting used to. There are various bugs that will need to be patched, weapons, and equipment that need to be balanced, skill-based matchmaking tweaks to be done, spectator mode has some improvements to be made and there are occasional glitches on the Theatre Mode for older generation consoles, but all in all, Treyarch have delivered a smooth, enjoyable base game that should get better and better with updates.”
read full review ↗
GameMAG
INDIANTVCZ
3DNews
Jump Dash Roll
eXputer
Seasoned Gaming
SpaceNerd.it
The Angry Joe Show
Kakuchopurei
VGChartz
Cubed3
Nexus Hub…and 140 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Modern Warfare 4 Open Beta: Weekend Two IntelAug 26, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- Modern Warfare 4 Open Beta: Everything You Need to KnowAug 21, 2026significant · resets scoring window