Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare differs from previous installments of the Call of Duty series. Previous Call of Duty games have a distinct three country-specific campaign style, while Call of Duty 4 has a more film-like plot with interlaced story lines from the perspectives of Sgt. Paul Jackson of the Marines 1st Force Recon and Sgt. 'Soap' MacTavish of the British 22nd SAS Regiment.

The Game of the Year Edition includes a code for the Variety Map Pack, adding 4 new multiplayer maps: Broadcast, Creek, Chinatown and Killhouse.