'Modern Warfare 4' Brings The Stars Out At Fanatics Fest

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 was officially announced and revealed back in May, and now it took over Fanatics Fest in New York City for four days.

Now, I know you’re wondering why in the world Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, the latest installment in the Infinity Ward-developed world of Call of Duty, is at a sports convention? Well, the answer is quite simple: Call of Duty is the one thing that unites all professional sports together because you can literally find a superstar athlete from each league who picks up the sticks for the extremely popular first-person shooter video game.

So, it was a brilliant move to bring the game to Michael Rubin’s version of Comic-Con, but for professional sports fans and sports memorabilia fanatics.

Kevin Durant & Inde Navarrette Talked Their Love For Call of Duty

Case in point, there was a panel moderated by Katie Nolan, featuring NBA champion and superstar Kevin Durant, an avid COD player, COD fan and streamer, Inde Navarrette, who is now movie star thanks to her breakout performance in the recently released thriller/horror film Obsession, where they discussed the popularity of the game, and the hold it has on them with Infinity Ward’s co-studio head, Mark Grigsby and Activision’s Chief Marketing Officer Tyler Bahl.

They also touched on their favorite Call of Duty moments, why they feel it resonates so much, and responded to some wild moments from the audience.

Durant, who’s not afraid to speak his mind, had something to say to a fan who called cap on his kill/death ratio.

Of Course I Got To Take The New Mode For A Spin

The good folks at Activision and Infinity Ward invited us out to experience the weekend, allowing us to get hands-on with Kill Block. This new multiplayer mode features an evolving map comprised of “slabs” of previous parts from popular COD multiplayer maps.

I have to be honest: my COD skills are not where they used to be, and I got my ass handed to me during my session so that some practice would have helped.

Despite my poor play, I definitely enjoyed my time with Kill Block, and I’m sure it will be one of the more popular multiplayer modes when the game officially drops on October 23, 2026.

The Stars Went Boots On The Ground During Celebrity Grudge Matches

Finally, Modern Warfare 4’s presence at Fanatics Fest wouldn’t have felt right if they didn’t include some friendly competition.

During the convention. fans were treated to celebrity grudge matches featuring their favorite athletes.

On day 1, it was New York Yankees stars Cody Bellinger and Jazz Chisholm Jr. going up against each other in Kill Block.

The match between the two teammates was intense, but Cody Bellinger kicked things off by winning the first Modern Warfare 4 / Kill Block grudge match and taking home the belt.

For day 2, it was a battle of the pro leagues with Dallas Mavericks rising star Cooper Flagg taking on Arizona Cardinals running back Jeremiyah Love.

Jeremiyah Love came into the day confident in his COD skills, but when it was all said and done, Cooper Flagg proved he was the better player, beating Love not once, but twice, to win the belt.

Day 3 was definitely the marquee match of Fanatics Fest, which was supposed to be New York Knicks NBA Finals MVP Jalen Brunson facing off against big man Karl-Anthony Towns.

Unfortunately, due to a wrist injury, Brunson came in as a sub, Josh Hart.

It would turn out that Hart wasn’t ready for the moment, and he was getting roasted by Brunson the entire time for his lack of Call of Duty skills.

Bodega Kat easily defeated Hart to earn the belt on Day 3, and it’s not a surprise because Towns is a seasoned Call of Duty player.

Finally, it was time for the WWE x Call of Duty grudge match that was originally supposed to be Jey Uso taking on his brother Jimmy.

Jey couldn’t participate, so Dominik Mysterio stepped up in his absence and easily won the final grudge match championship belt.

It was the perfect way to close out the action-packed weekend. We definitely can see Call of Duty being a huge part of Fanatics Fest for the foreseeable future.