Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 Patch Restores 120Hz Access for Users Without VRR Displays

Last month we reported that despite Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4's huge technical advancements in some areas, it also comes with some extra restrictions - including the removal of 120Hz support for users with monitors or TVs that don't support HDMI Forum Variable Refresh Rates (VRR). This meant that owners of 120Hz displays weren't able to access that the more responsive "Performance Mode (120Hz)" experience, putting them at a (modest) competitive disadvantage.

Since that reporting went live, Modern Warfare's Season 1 patch has gone live, bringing with it a welcome reversal of the restriction. In short, it's now possible to access 120Hz mode on older displays without VRR, which are often ones lumbered with HDMI 2.0 support rather than the current HDMI 2.1.

Given that it was possible to use 120Hz modes without VRR on prior COD titles, it's not too surprising to see that ability return - though it doesn't really explain why it was absent in the first place. Developer Infinity Ward does note that "for the best experience, VRR is recommended." Fair enough.

Other changes in the Season 1 patch, which landed on November 5th, include four new maps, grind mode and two new weapons. There was also a reduction to player health in hardcore mode, several UI tweaks and other crash or bug fixes.

Since then we've also seen two smaller patches, with one on November 6th that includes a fix for a brief stutter when editing a loadout in-game, a couple of progression issues and an improvement to the damage recap UI to make it more comprehensive, and one on November 7th centred on stability improvements.

Thus far, there hasn't been any sign of a fix for PSSR fizzling and artefacting on PS5 Pro, which we identified as an issue in our PlayStation and Xbox MW4 review - even a toggle that allowed you to optionally select SMAA in the 60Hz mode would be a welcome improvement.

Are you playing Modern Warfare 4? What's on your bug fix wishlist? Let me know in the comments below.

My particular complaint is the intrusive stutters I experienced the last time I booted up the game in multiplayer, encapsulated in this bleet. I haven't yet figured out if it's the game or, more likely, my computer, but I might have some time this evening to spend an hour or two "troubleshooting the problem". Good times.