Modern Warfare 4 Release Date & Countdown: Exact Launch Day, Preload, Campaign Early Access (Oct 16) & Every Edition (2026)

The Modern Warfare 4 Open Beta is over — servers close as the final extended window ends late on September 1 — and the only question left is: when do you actually get to keep everything? Here's the full countdown to the real thing, with the exact release date, campaign early access window, preload details, editions, and a straight answer on what carries over from the beta.

Key Takeaways

• Full release date: Friday, October 23, 2026, worldwide, at midnight local time on most platforms.
• Campaign Early Access: Friday, October 16, 2026 (PT) — a full 7 days early for anyone with a digital pre-order (Standard or Vault). Disc copies do not get it.
• Countdown from today (Sept 1): about 52 days to full launch, 45 days to campaign early access.
• Price: Digital Standard $69.99, Digital Vault $99.99 ($30 upgrade). Physical Standard on disc for consoles.
• Beta progress: your rank, weapon levels, and unlocks reset — only cosmetic Beta Rewards tied to your Activision account survive to launch.
• Developer: Infinity Ward (with Digital Legends handling the Nintendo Switch 2 build).

When does Modern Warfare 4 come out?

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 launches Friday, October 23, 2026. That is the official, global date confirmed by Activision — not a leak or a placeholder. In the studio's own words from the Call of Duty blog:

"Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 development is led by Infinity Ward, and will be available globally on XBOX Series X|S, PlayStation 5® and PC via Battle.net, XBOX on PC, Steam, and Nintendo Switch 2 on Friday, October 23rd, 2026."

For a Friday launch, Call of Duty games historically unlock at midnight in your local time zone on release day, so most players worldwide get in as October 23 begins where they live rather than waiting on a single global unlock clock. Activision will confirm the exact per-platform unlock time closer to launch; expect it to follow the usual local-midnight pattern.

As of September 1, 2026, that puts the countdown at roughly 52 days to full launch — and, more importantly for pre-order holders, 45 days to the campaign.

Can you play Modern Warfare 4 before October 23?

Yes — and this is the part most people miss. Campaign Early Access begins Friday, October 16, 2026 (PT), seven days before the full launch, for anyone who digitally pre-orders or pre-purchases Standard or Vault Edition. Activision's support page states 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 things to know about early access:

• It covers the Campaign only — multiplayer and the free-to-play battle royale go live for everyone on October 23.
• Physical/disc copies are excluded. The early campaign is strictly a digital pre-order perk.
• You keep all campaign progress and any campaign-completion rewards when the rest of the game unlocks.

If you want the deeper breakdown of the story setup and what early access includes, we covered it in our MW4 campaign early access guide.

When can you preload Modern Warfare 4?

Activision has not yet published the official full-game preload date or file size — those details typically drop in the week or two before launch. Based on how recent Call of Duty releases have handled it, plan for the following:

• Campaign Early Access preload: expect it to open roughly 24–48 hours before October 16 so early-access players can start the campaign the moment it unlocks.
• Full-game preload: typically opens 2–3 days before October 23 on console and PC.
• File size: Activision hasn't confirmed a number, but modern Call of Duty installs are large. The MW4 Beta already ran in the ~25–35 GB range, and full-game installs across recent CoD titles have climbed well past 100 GB once all modes are installed. Free up space early rather than scrambling on launch night.

One thing that is confirmed for PC: TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot are required to play, exactly as they were in the beta. If you hit a Secure Boot or BIOS wall, sort it now — our MW4 BIOS / Secure Boot fix walks through it — so you're not troubleshooting your motherboard on October 23.

What platforms is Modern Warfare 4 on?

MW4 is a current-gen and PC release only. Here's the full lineup:

Platform	Available at launch	Notes
PlayStation 5	✅ Oct 23	Digital + disc
Xbox Series X\	S	✅ Oct 23	Digital + disc; Xbox Play Anywhere
PC — Battle.net	✅ Oct 23	TPM 2.0 + Secure Boot required
PC — Steam	✅ Oct 23	TPM 2.0 + Secure Boot required
PC — Xbox on PC	✅ Oct 23	Xbox Play Anywhere
Nintendo Switch 2	✅ Oct 23	Built natively by Infinity Ward with Digital Legends

Two hard limits to note: Modern Warfare 4 is not coming to Xbox One or PlayStation 4, and it is not on Game Pass at launch. If you're on last-gen hardware, this is the game that finally leaves it behind.

How much does Modern Warfare 4 cost, and which edition should you buy?

There are three editions. Standard gets you the entire game and every mode; Vault is the loaded pre-order bundle.

Edition	Price (US SRP)	What you get
Digital Standard	$69.99	Full game + all modes, Open Beta Early Access, Campaign Early Access, Hunter Killer skin + Gilded Pearl Camo Pack (usable now in BO7/Warzone)
Digital Vault	$99.99	Everything in Standard plus Hostile Alliance Operator Pack (Price, Valeria, Ghost, Blix), Special Forces Operator Pack, Signature Weapon Collection, BlackCell (1 season), DMZ Deployment Bonus, and MW2 Campaign Remastered (2020)
Physical Standard	Retail (~$69.99)	Disc copy for PS5 / Xbox Series X — no campaign early access

Regional Standard pricing runs $69.99 / £69.99 / €79.99 / ¥9,800. The Vault Edition is effectively a $30 upgrade over Standard, and you can start on Standard and upgrade to Vault later on the same platform for that same $30 — useful if you're undecided on the season pass content. If you're weighing it up, our Vault Edition breakdown compares every bonus against the base game.

Does your MW4 beta progress carry over to launch?

Short answer: almost none of it. Your beta rank, weapon levels, attachments, and loadout unlocks all reset when the full game launches — that's standard for every Call of Duty beta. The only things that survive are the cosmetic Beta Rewards you unlocked (the skins, blueprints, and charms), because those are tied to your Activision account and reappear in MW4 at launch.

So if you grinded to Level 30 in the beta for all eight rewards, you keep the rewards — not the levels. Full detail (and exactly which items transfer) is in our MW4 beta carry-over guide and the beta rewards list.

What actually launches on October 23?

Everyone starts fresh on release day with the full package:

• Campaign — playable a week early (Oct 16) for digital pre-orders, live for everyone on Oct 23.
• Multiplayer — the full MW4 map and mode lineup previewed in the beta (Kill Block and the rest), with real progression this time.
• Warzone integration — the new MW4-era Warzone that the beta's Zodiac Resurgence weekend previewed continues as the free-to-play battle royale. If you missed it, we broke down the MW4 Warzone Zodiac Resurgence XP farm and changes.

Because multiplayer progression resets to zero for everyone on October 23, launch week is the single biggest level playing field of the year — the grind to max rank, gold-tier camos, and the first battle-pass tiers starts from scratch for the entire player base.

How to hit the ground running at launch

Launch day is a race. Weapon XP, prestige, ranked placement, and the season's first camo challenges all reset, and the players who bank the most progress in week one set the tone for the season. A few ways to skip the slow part:

Get ahead the moment MW4 goes live:

- CoD Account & Weapon Leveling — skip the grind and start the season at the rank you want, done by pro players.

- CoD Bot Lobbies — easy lobbies to farm XP, camos, and challenges fast.

- CoD Camo Unlocks — mastery-camo unlocks handled fast and secure.

- All Call of Duty services — the full lineup for launch week.

While you wait for the servers, warm up your XP muscle memory with our MW4 beta fast-leveling tactics — the same map-and-mode logic carries into the full game — and if you want to check out the free portion before you commit, here's how to play the MW4 open portion free.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Modern Warfare 4 release date? Modern Warfare 4 launches worldwide on Friday, October 23, 2026, on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X	S, PC (Battle.net, Steam, Xbox on PC), and Nintendo Switch 2. It is not releasing on Xbox One or PlayStation 4.

Can I play Modern Warfare 4 before October 23? Yes. If you digitally pre-order the Standard or Vault Edition, you get Campaign Early Access starting Friday, October 16, 2026 (PT) — seven days early. Multiplayer and Warzone still go live for everyone on October 23. Disc copies do not include early access.

When can I preload Modern Warfare 4? Activision hasn't published the official preload date or file size yet. Based on recent Call of Duty launches, expect campaign preload to open a day or two before October 16 and full-game preload 2–3 days before October 23. Clear space early — recent CoD installs run well past 100 GB with all modes.

How much does Modern Warfare 4 cost? The Digital Standard Edition is $69.99 (£69.99 / €79.99 / ¥9,800) and the Digital Vault Edition is $99.99. You can upgrade Standard to Vault later for $30 on the same platform. Modern Warfare 4 is not free-to-play — only Warzone is free.

Does my beta progress carry over to the full game? No. Your beta rank, weapon levels, and loadout unlocks reset at launch. Only the cosmetic Beta Rewards you unlocked carry over, because they're tied to your Activision account and reappear in MW4 on October 23.

Is Modern Warfare 4 on Game Pass? No — Modern Warfare 4 is not on Game Pass at launch. You'll need to buy an edition (or upgrade from Standard to Vault) to play the premium content; only the free-to-play Warzone mode is accessible without buying the game.