In Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, the AK-47 can be picked up by the player in single player mode and is the most frequently used enemy weapon of the game by both Ultranationalists and OpFor militants. It is superior in terms of firepower and penetration when compared to most other rifles in the game, and it keeps an open field of view for spotting other targets nearby, although it suffers more in terms of recoil. It is important to note that the AK-47's recoil is purely visual (as it resets right back on the target before the next shot). The AK-47 is effective at medium range. In single player, the player may occasionally encounter a variant of the AK-47 called the AK-47 Grenadier, a standard AK-47 modified with an under-mounted GP-25 grenade launcher, functioning similarly to the M4A1 with an attached M203 grenade launcher. Oddly, the AK-47 Grenadier has a max ammo of 308 instead of 300. In Multiplayer, the AK-47 can be modified with the Red Dot Sight, ACOG scope, GP-25 Grenade Launcher, and suppressor. One of the flaws of this rifle is that attaching a silencer or Red Dot Sight reduces the damage from 30-40 to 20-40, making it considerably worse than other silenced and RDS automatics. Also, the AK-47 has the same sway amount as the M4 and same sway speed as the G36C. Its sway is further reduced when going prone. The AK-47 is also one of six Golden Weapons.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 features the AK47. It is equipped with polymer furniture and a side bracket scope mount. The upper and lower handguards are replaced by CAA polymer furniture, and the stock uses a VLTOR stock adapter and a Clubfoot Modstock.  The AK-47 now sports luminescent sights and a unique spiral flash hider/muzzle brake. The firing of the rifle sounds different to that in Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. The Ultranationalists still commonly use the AK-47.

In multiplayer, the AK-47 is unlocked at level 70, the last level of experience for MP players and when Prestige Mode becomes available, so it may not see much use before players Prestige. This is different from the first Modern Warfare, in which the AK-47 was one of the first weapons unlocked. This is most likely due to the low recoil, high power, automatic fire, and quick reload of this rifle. The rifle is very effective overall when used with most attachments. However, most of the sights like the ACOG Scope, Red Dot Sight, and Holographic Sight have part of the iron sight blocking the view. It is also very effective with a Silencer, killing just as fast as using the rifle without one in regular matches.

The Shotgun attachment is not needed in most matches when Steady Aim is used, due to the fact its hipfire accuracy becomes very good. The rifle is incredibly accurate for the first 2-3 shots while aiming down the sights, with the shot resetting back almost precisely, however it becomes less accurate with small shifts to the side, but mostly vertical climb. Therefore, firing in bursts is advised while fighting at long range. The rifle can kill with two hits at close to medium range, and 2-3 hits at long range with Stopping Power. The AK-47 has idle sway when using any attachment, with the exception of the ACOG Scope. Without attachments it has no sway. The sway is minor, and non-existent while prone. Some people believe the AK-47 does not have enough benefits to justify not entering Prestige Mode immediately, as the SCAR-H is somewhat similar to the AK-47.

When using an AK-47, try to avoid close quarters fights, the AK-47 has a high firing rate, but the TAR-21 still overpowers it in close quarters. When using an AK-47, make sure you have a fix on your target as the muzzle flash appears slightly onto the bottom of the sights.

The AK has the second highest damage output per second right behind the TAR-21 because the AK fires 50 rounds slower, but the AK sacrifices a little bit of that for the highest penetration rate in the game, better than a sniper rifle with or without FMJ, making it quite easy to gain Extended Mags for it.

Another feature is that the AK-47's grenade launcher takes about half the time to switch to as other assault rifles, due to the Grenade Launcher's grip and trigger being gripped at all times. This makes easy to quickly swap to the grenade launcher and fire off a quick shot.

If there are any disadvantages with the AK, its probably because the iron sights and its visual recoil makes the gun not good at shooting downwards making it very hard to shoot 'dropshooters'.

Trivia

• The version used in-game has many features of other AK variants, but may have been called the AK-47 as to not cause confusion with players.

• Drawings of the AK-47 can be found throughout the OpFor-based Single-player and Multiplayer levels on the walls of certain buildings.

• The reload time and the reloading animation are about half a second off, meaning you actually reload before the magazine is even inserted. Players can utilize this fact to reload slightly faster through Reload Cancelling.

• In Modern Warfare 2, if the player has an AK-47 equipped with only an ACOG sight and Steady Aim, the AK-47 will have no barrel sway.

• The AK-47 has a different fire sound in Modern Warfare 2 and different fire rate compared to the one in Call of Duty 4.

• In real life the AK-47 has heavy recoil and relatively poor accuracy compared to other assault rifles as it was not designed for accuracy but for firepower, pure durability, and reliability. The recoil can be ignored if fired on semi-automatic, and the effective range is 220 meters, but it is still substantially less range than the M16.

• The appearance of the AK-47 in the Russian forces in 2016 is odd, as the Russian military does not use the AK-47, but the AK-74 and the various models, such as the AK-103, AK-101, AK-74m. Some Spetsnaz forces use the AN-94 and the AK-103. However the AK-47 looks as if it has been updated significantly over the years and seems to hold up to other weaponry, including compatibility with most if not all weapon attachments.

• The AK-47 may be still used in 2016 if some small militias can't buy new items on the black market. But they may be supplied newer equipment by Russia or any other countries who "officially" use new AKs.

• The serial number of AK-47 in Modern Warfare 2 is 122874.

• In Modern Warfare 2, the AK-47 is claimed to be the most "Powerful Weapon" (non-Rocket/Sniper) of all.
• The AK-47 and M16A4, in game, appear to have the opposite bullet penetration abilities. The AK has incredibly high penetration compared to the M16 which has very little.

• In Modern Warfare 2, the AK-47 can be seen in every Campaign mission with the exception of No Russian, Just Like Old Times and Endgame.

• In Modern Warfare 2, the wooden foregrip is changed into polymer with rails, also, it looks less rounded.

• When the AK-47 is equipped with the GP-25 grenade launcher in Modern Warfare 2, it is called the "AK-47 Grenadier", rather than "AK-47 Grenade Launcher." This name is similar to the Call of Duty 4 singleplayer versions.

• In real life the AK-47 has been equipped with the M203 grenade launcher, but it was tricky to use, as they were never meant to be used together.

• The Modern Warfare 2 AK-47 uses the pickup icon of the MW1 AK-47.

• In reality, the AK-47 is best known for its wide areas of proficiency, and that it was made to be resistant to most forms of weather. Because of this, it is still considered a reliable and powerful weapon which would warrant its inclusion in this game.

• In real-life, the GP-25 grenade launcher is retired from Russian service; it is now replaced by the GP-30, a two phase launcher (hits a target, bounces, and explodes about 1 second later).

• The AK has a much weaker gunmetal sound in MW2 as in CoD 4, it had a loud noise and a formidable profile
• The STG-44 or the MP44 was the gun that inspired the AK-47 to be made.