Modern Warfare 4 Launch: Everything We Know Before Release

Modern Warfare 4 launch is set for October 23, 2026 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC and Nintendo Switch 2, with Campaign, Multiplayer and DMZ included in the premium release.

The September 29 PC update fills in several launch-day blanks that were previously still unknown on The Click. PC now has a confirmed 115 GB SSD requirement, October 15 preload, 90 FPS recommended target, launch specifications and a newly announced Collateral Multiplayer mode.

Modern Warfare 4 launch: dates and access

Modern Warfare 4 launch Image Activision.

PC preload	October 15 at 9:00 a.m. PT
Campaign Early Access	October 16 for eligible digital pre-orders or pre-purchases
Full release	October 23 at midnight local time
Platforms	PS5, Xbox Series X\|S, PC, Nintendo Switch 2

PC players can use Modern Warfare 4 PC Preload for local preload times and eligibility. The older beta download window is not the same thing as the retail launch preload.

Campaign Early Access begins a week before the full release date, while Multiplayer and DMZ belong to the October 23 launch rather than the Campaign-only early window.

Final PC requirements are now official

The PC release requires a 115 GB SSD and publishes separate minimum, recommended and ray tracing tiers. Modern Warfare 4 PC System Requirements has the complete CPU, GPU, RAM and VRAM table.

The recommended tier targets 90 FPS Multiplayer at High settings, while the high-end Modern Warfare 4 Ray Tracing tier is for 4K upscaled ray tracing.

Campaign

The campaign opens with war on the Korean Peninsula while Captain Price fights a parallel battle outside official channels. The Modern Warfare 4 Campaign guide and Campaign Characters guide cover the story setup without mixing it into the PC specification pages.

Eligible digital buyers can start the Campaign on October 16. Activision’s September 29 PC article confirms the date but does not publish a new start hour for that access window.

Multiplayer and Collateral

Modern Warfare 4 Multiplayer already includes the core 6v6 lineup, Kill Block and Ground War, and now adds Modern Warfare 4 Collateral Mode. Collateral uses one life, two bomb sites, a cash economy and purchased upgrades between rounds.

The existing Modern Warfare 4 modes guide has also been updated so Collateral sits alongside the previously confirmed launch modes.

DMZ and PC ray tracing

DMZ returns as a full extraction mode in Hajin with persistent systems, missions, PvP and an upgradeable FOB. The Modern Warfare 4 DMZ guide covers those systems.

Activision confirms ray tracing works in DMZ as well as Campaign and Multiplayer, which gives the high-end PC graphics tier relevance across all three premium modes.

What PC players should do before launch

Confirm Modern Warfare 4 Secure Boot and TPM 2.0, leave more than the minimum 115 GB of SSD room for updates, preload on October 15 if eligible and install the latest GPU driver.

Players who want the new precompiled-shader system can also prepare Modern Warfare 4 Advanced Shader Delivery before Campaign Early Access.

Modern Warfare 4 launch is now based on final launch information rather than beta estimates. Check the exact requirement or feature that matters to your setup, then use the linked Modern Warfare 4 guides for the wider launch, multiplayer or DMZ context instead of mixing separate systems together.

The updated Modern Warfare 4 launch should now treat 115 GB storage and the October 15 PC preload as confirmed facts. Earlier wording that told readers to wait for final file size information is no longer current after Activision’s September 29 PC announcement.

Keep Modern Warfare 4 launch broad: dates, modes and platform milestones belong here, while exact GPU tables and graphics settings belong in the dedicated PC cluster. That prevents the launch overview becoming impossible to maintain.

For Modern Warfare 4 launch, the most important change is that the unknown PC section is no longer unknown. The launch overview can now state the preload date, storage requirement and recommended performance target directly, while the dedicated PC guides hold the long technical tables.

That structure keeps Modern Warfare 4 launch useful to console readers as well. The launch page stays platform-wide instead of turning into a PC specification article with a few console sentences around it.