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- Modern Warfare 4 release date and every date Activision has confirmed
- Is Modern Warfare 4 out on October 23 or October 28?
- Modern Warfare 4 Campaign Early Access: October 16 for digital pre-orders
- What unlocks on October 23 that early access does not include
- Modern Warfare 4 launch times: what is confirmed and what is not
- Modern Warfare 4 preload: no date announced yet
- How to get ready before Modern Warfare 4 unlocks
- Modern Warfare 4 accounts and launch-day services
- Frequently asked questions
- Sources and update history
The Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 release date is Friday, October 23, 2026, worldwide on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Battle.net, Steam and Nintendo Switch 2. Campaign Early Access starts Friday, October 16 (PT) for anyone who pre-orders a digital edition. Activision has not published unlock times or a preload date for the full game.
Modern Warfare 4 release date and every date Activision has confirmed
The date has been the same since the reveal. Activision’s announcement post on May 28, 2026 said the game “will launch on October 23, 2026,” and the most recent official mention, a story recap published on September 16, 2026, still points at “the October 23 launch date.”
| Date | What happens | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Friday, October 16, 2026 (PT) | Campaign Early Access opens for digital pre-orders and pre-purchases | Confirmed by Activision |
| Friday, October 23, 2026 | Modern Warfare 4 launches worldwide: Campaign for everyone, plus Multiplayer and DMZ | Confirmed by Activision |
| Shortly after launch, no date given | Season 1, when Warzone starts integrating Modern Warfare 4 content and seasonal progression | No date announced |
| Not announced | Unlock clock times and full-game preload windows | Not confirmed |
Everything below separates what Activision has actually stated from what it has left open. Where there is no official answer, this guide says so rather than guessing.
Is Modern Warfare 4 out on October 23 or October 28?
October 23. There is no official October 28 date for Modern Warfare 4 anywhere in Activision’s material; October 28 was the launch date of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II in 2022, which may explain some of the confusion. Microsoft’s Xbox store listing also states “Available October 23, 2026.”
One storefront does show something different. The Steam store page listed the release date as October 22, 2026 when it was checked on September 17, 2026. Neither Steam nor Activision has explained the one-day difference, and Activision has not published a launch hour for any platform, so treat October 23 as the release date.
Modern Warfare 4 Campaign Early Access: October 16 for digital pre-orders
A week before launch, the full Campaign opens for people who bought a digital copy in advance. Activision’s support article on Modern Warfare 4 editions puts it plainly: “Preorder or prepurchase any digital edition of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 on any platform and get Early Access to the full Campaign, starting Friday, October 16 (PT).”
Three details matter here. It covers all digital editions, so the Digital Standard Edition qualifies as well as the Vault Edition. It does not cover physical discs. And the same page carries a footnote that “actual platform availability and start date subject to change,” so the October 16 date is not a contract.
If you are still deciding which version to buy, the differences are set out in our guide to the Standard vs Vault Edition.
MW4 Standard Edition Steam AccountDigital Standard Edition on Steam, the edition tier that qualifies for Campaign Early Access from October 16.From $44.90View offerWhat unlocks on October 23 that early access does not include
Early access is the Campaign and nothing else. Multiplayer and DMZ arrive with the full release on October 23, which is how Sony’s PlayStation Blog post framed the game from the start: Campaign, Multiplayer and DMZ launching October 23.
Activision says Multiplayer opens with 12 Core launch maps, each with its own infil, alongside dedicated Gunfight maps, Big War maps and the Kill Block training facility. Rewards you earned in the August Beta also land in the full game at launch rather than before it. For what does and does not come with you from Black Ops 7, see what carries forward from Black Ops 7.
Modern Warfare 4 launch times: what is confirmed and what is not
No unlock time has been published. Activision has given the October 23 date and, for early access, the date plus a Pacific Time label, with no hour attached. Because there is no official clock time, there is nothing to convert into other time zones, so any launch-hour table you see is somebody’s estimate rather than Activision’s schedule.
The company does normally state times when it has them. For the Beta, the pre-Beta intel blog of August 19, 2026 gave exact figures: Early Access Beta at 11:00 AM PT on August 21, Open Beta at 10:00 AM PT on August 28. Expect the same treatment for launch day whenever Activision posts it; this guide will add a converted time table once an official hour and time zone exist.
The editions footnote is also worth reading before you plan an evening around it: play time is “subject to possible outages and applicable time zone differences.”
Modern Warfare 4 preload: no date announced yet
Activision has not announced when preload opens for the full game on any platform, and there is no support article covering it as of September 17, 2026. For the Beta, Activision listed preload at 9:00 AM on Thursday, August 20 for the Early Access Beta and 9:00 AM on Wednesday, August 26 for the Open Beta, without a time zone on those two lines. That was the Beta, so it does not tell you when full-game preload opens.
Two things from the same blog tell you what the install will look like. Activision said an updated install UI and UX would arrive before Campaign Early Access begins, and confirmed that at launch Modern Warfare 4 stays part of the connected Call of Duty experience alongside Warzone, so the two titles share content where possible to help keep overall file sizes down.
How to get ready before Modern Warfare 4 unlocks
PC players have the clearest homework. Activision’s PC system requirements article, updated August 20, 2026, lists an SSD with 70 GB of available space at launch for both minimum and recommended specs, and requires TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot to be switched on. The published table is written for the Beta, and Activision has said Beta specs may differ from the full game’s, so treat 70 GB as the current official figure rather than a final one.
- Free the space early. Activision lists 70 GB on an SSD.
- Check TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot now if you are on PC. Both are required, and both live in your motherboard firmware rather than in the game.
- Bank your 2XP. Double XP earned from the promotion covered in our Monster Energy rewards guide sits in your account until you spend it, so there is no need to burn tokens before launch.
- Keep playing where the rewards land. Several pre-order items unlock in Black Ops 7 first, and Black Ops 7 Season 6 went live on September 17, 2026, so it is the season on the board ahead of the Modern Warfare 4 launch.
Modern Warfare 4 accounts and launch-day services
If you would rather have the edition and the tokens sorted before October 23, these are the Modern Warfare 4 products we list. Full details for each are on our Modern Warfare 4 accounts page.
MW4 Standard Edition Steam AccountStandard Edition on Steam: the digital tier that gets Campaign Early Access from October 16.From $44.90View offer
MW4 Vault Edition Steam AccountVault Edition on Steam: the digital edition with the extra Operator and weapon content on top of early access.From $74.90View offer
MW4 Double XP + Double Weapon XP Tokens (60 Min Each)Double XP and Double Weapon XP tokens, banked and ready to spend once the game unlocks on October 23.From $8.99View offerFrequently asked questions
What time does Modern Warfare 4 unlock on October 23?
Not confirmed. Activision has published the date but no clock time or time zone for launch day.
When can I preload Modern Warfare 4?
Not confirmed. No preload date had been announced for the full game as of September 17, 2026. During the Beta, preload opened before each Beta weekend, but those dates do not set the full-game preload schedule.
Does everyone get the Campaign on October 16?
No. Campaign Early Access is limited to digital pre-orders and pre-purchases on any platform. Physical disc copies are not included, and everyone else gets the Campaign on October 23.
Is Modern Warfare 4 coming to PlayStation 4 or Xbox One?
No. Activision confirmed at the reveal that the game is on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC and Nintendo Switch 2 only.
How much space does Modern Warfare 4 need?
Activision’s current PC Beta requirements list 70 GB of SSD space, and Activision says the full game’s specs may differ. Console install sizes have not been published.
When does Season 1 start?
Not confirmed. Activision has only said Season 1 follows shortly after launch, when Warzone begins integrating Modern Warfare 4 content.
Sources and update history
- Call of Duty blog: Announcing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 (May 28, 2026)
- Call of Duty blog: Modern Warfare 4: The Story So Far (September 16, 2026)
- Call of Duty blog: Call of Duty: NEXT and Modern Warfare 4: Early Intel, PC Specs, Pre-loading, and More (August 19, 2026)
- Activision Support: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 Editions (updated September 14, 2026)
- Activision Support: PC System Requirements for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 (updated August 20, 2026)
- PlayStation Blog: Campaign, Multiplayer, and DMZ launches October 23 (May 28, 2026)
- Xbox store: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 (checked September 17, 2026)
- Steam store: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 (checked September 17, 2026)
Update history: Published September 17, 2026. Facts last checked September 17, 2026 against the sources above.
