Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 returns to premium roots

Activision and developer Infinity Ward have confirmed that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 launches on October 23, 2026, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2. The release skips PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The game will not be on Xbox Game Pass at launch, so players need to buy it outright.

Early access and pre-order bonuses

Players who digitally pre-order or pre-purchase the Standard or Vault Edition get campaign early access from Friday, October 16, and early access to all of DMZ from Tuesday, October 20. Pre-order bonuses include the Hunter Killer Operator Skin, the Gilded Pearl Camo Pack, and the Inner Circuit weapon blueprint. The Vault Edition adds the Hostile Alliance and Special Forces Operator Packs, the Signature Weapon Collection, one season of BlackCell, and a DMZ Deployment Bonus. Online multiplayer on Xbox consoles also requires a Game Pass Essential subscription, sold separately.

A Korean Peninsula campaign

The campaign opens with North Korea launching a full-scale invasion of South Korea. Players control Private Park, a young South Korean soldier facing live combat for the first time alongside his squad. Captain Price, now operating outside the system he once served, pursues a separate mission in parallel.

DMZ and the Hajin exclusion zone

DMZ returns as an extraction mode set in Hajin, an exclusion zone created when a nuclear reactor melts down during the campaign. The area sits in a tri-point region bordering Russia and the Korean peninsula, where rival forces fight over abandoned military technology. Players deploy solo or in squads to recover that technology and extract with it, while shifting weather and a Bounty system that tracks players who hunt others raise the risk. Progression runs through Trait Trees for each Operator and upgrades to the Forward Operating Base.

Multiplayer and gunplay

Multiplayer launches with 12 new core 6v6 maps set around the world, alongside large-scale Ground War maps. Infinity Ward’s Ballistic Authority system, which it calls a weapon-first technology stack, ties together aiming, weapon handling, audio, and visibility, and removes bloom so bullets follow recoil. Digital Legends is developing the Switch 2 version natively with Infinity Ward, while Beenox helps optimize the PC version.