Last checked October 31, 2026, against Activision's official Modern Warfare 4 Season 1 announcement and the October 30 patch notes. X01 is not playable yet, so this page separates what is confirmed from what is not. We will update it once the site is live.
Quick answer (TLDR): X01 is a new DMZ location arriving with Modern Warfare 4 Season 1 at 00:00 ET on November 6 (21:00 PT on November 5). You reach it by deploying through Hajin, using an infiltration point on the northern border. Inside: a former GRANIT Arms black site held by the 100 Spirits faction, new DMZ Orders led by Ghost, a sealed Deep Vault, and a Juggernaut boss called The Captain. The catch is that the facility starts closing extraction points while you are inside. Activision has not confirmed a level gate, and it has marked the new enemies and items as classified.
X01 is the biggest DMZ addition since launch, and it changes the mode's rhythm. Hajin rewards long sightlines and open-map rotations. X01 is described as a sealed, multi-floor maze where your exit can disappear mid-run. Infinity Ward's own warning is blunt:
"The Facility will take extreme measures to remove intruders its forces have not been able to extricate. Make sure you always know where the nearest exfil is." (Activision)
If you are new to the mode, start with our MW4 DMZ explainer. If you just want the full season calendar, the Season 1 roadmap has it.
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When does X01 open in your time zone?
X01 goes live with Season 1. Activision published the ET and PT times below; the others are our conversions. US clocks change on November 1, so ET is five hours behind GMT by launch day.
| Region | Start time |
|---|---|
| Pacific (PT) | 21:00, Thursday November 5 |
| Eastern (ET) | 00:00, Friday November 6 |
| UK (GMT) | 05:00, Friday November 6 |
| Central Europe (CET) | 06:00, Friday November 6 |
| Moscow (MSK) | 08:00, Friday November 6 |
| Japan (JST) | 14:00, Friday November 6 |
| Sydney (AEDT) | 16:00, Friday November 6 |
The Season 1 update size has not been published as of October 31. Give the download some headroom: Season 1 also adds Warzone integration, and a stuck install is the last thing you want on launch morning. Our MW4 launch error fixes cover the common launcher problems.
How do you get into X01?
You get there from a normal DMZ deployment. The briefing says recon "along the northern border of North Korea has determined an infiltration point, allowing for deployment through Hajin." In practice, that means X01 is reached from the Hajin side of DMZ, and it is not a separate game mode you buy.
What Activision has not said matters just as much:
- Level requirement: none announced. Nothing in the post mentions a DMZ level, an Order you must finish, or a key.
- Exact entry marker: not published. The official intel card shows a satellite image of the site, but no pinned entry point. We will add an annotated map when the location is visible in-game.
- Warzone access: every mention of X01 so far sits under DMZ. Hajin itself is also a Warzone Season 1 map, and Warzone intel lands on the Call of Duty blog on November 2, so treat claims about X01 in Warzone as unconfirmed until then. Our Warzone Hajin page tracks that side.
DMZ itself is part of paid Modern Warfare 4, as our DMZ free-or-paid breakdown explains. The post lists no extra purchase for X01. The paid items in the DMZ section are the Battle Pass and BlackCell, and the one clear perk is BlackCell owners getting additional weapons and gear from the Vendor for DMZ Cash.
What is inside X01?
Activision describes a former Russian facility, now a seized GRANIT Arms site, "comprised of a dimly lit, labyrinthian network of passageways, tunnels, and linking chambers surrounding a clandestine weapons assembly line." The confirmed zones are vast cargo bays, vehicle depots, underground labs, production lines and the sealed Deep Vault.
Three details will shape how you play it:
- Fully enclosed, multi-floor layout. Ground-penetrating radar in the briefing shows "multi-floored vertical traversals." Expect stairs, shafts and blind corners rather than the long lanes of Hajin.
- Unique equipment. "X01 holds equipment unavailable elsewhere," so it will likely become a loot destination, not a one-time story visit. That last part is our read, not an official line.
- Shifting hazards. The post names "shifting hazards" and says squad coordination matters. It gives no specifics.
Veterans of the original DMZ will think of Building 21, the keycard-gated zone. It's a fair mood comparison, but nothing confirms X01 uses a key or an access card.
Who are the enemies and bosses?
Here is the part most X01 coverage blurs. The Boss Board update names four targets, but Activision only places one of them inside X01 directly.
| Target | Type | Where Activision places it |
|---|---|---|
| The Captain | Commander, a Juggernaut with an elite guard | Inside X01, via the Threat Briefing event |
| Autonomous patrolling Wheelson | Commander | Boss Board, location not stated |
| Tae-Hyun ("Knuckle") | Lieutenant | Boss Board, location not stated |
| Chol-Min ("The Wrench") | Lieutenant | Boss Board, location not stated |
Regular resistance comes from "troops and specialists from the 100 Spirits NK Faction." The briefing warns it "may be unwise to engage them in head-to-head combat," and that "stronger, more brutal" entities patrol the interior. Those new enemies are officially [CLASSIFIED], so any guide listing them today is guessing.
The Boss Board itself needs your second DMZ Order done, according to the official FOB guide. An October 30 fix also resolved a bug where some players could not buy Intel there, which had been blocking the Information Power Order. If you were stuck on that, retry it this week.
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How does extraction work in X01?
This is the main difference from a Hajin run. Activision says that "as the facility starts to close off extraction points, complete the required steps to escape, or die trying!" The steps themselves are not explained yet.
The existing DMZ rules still tell you what is at stake on a failed run:
- Anything not in a Secure Slot is lost if you fail to exfil. Secure Slots come with the upgraded Backpack, and the Medium Backpack is the first one the official guide lists with them.
- Cash found during a deployment only reaches your Bank "after a successful exfil."
- An eliminated Operator goes MIA. Recovering them costs DMZ Cash, and the price rises with their Trait Points.
So treat your first X01 runs as scouting. Take a cheap Operator with few Traits, or use the Free Loadout, which Activision says you keep if you extract. Learn the route and the closing sequence before you bring your best gear in. That is our advice for an unseen map, and we will revise it after hands-on runs.
What are the X01 events and rewards?
Two Season 1 event types tie directly to DMZ progression, and Activision says its DMZ events are "available to all DMZ Operators."
| Event | Where | What you do | Reward type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Threat Briefing: The Captain | X01 | Fight The Captain, gather helmet sections, exfil | Greater rewards per section, including rare gear and Survival Kits |
| Threat Briefing: Battle Tank | Hajin | Remove tank parts, one per deployment | More parts means a better reward |
| Resupply Run | POIs across DMZ | Find listed items and trade them in | Self Revives, 3-Plate Carriers |
The best detail for squads: "All Squad members receive credit if one of them exfils with a scavenged part from a Commander." You only need one player to get out. Decide who carries the part, and have the rest cover them.
Season 1's cross-mode Wager Match also has challenges in DMZ, with Trophies as the currency. Its Apex Attachment rewards and the rest of the season's new gear are covered on our Season 1 weapons page, and the DMZ Survival Kits in the pass are on our Battle Pass page.
What should you do before November 6?
You have six days, and the timing helps. Infinity Ward raised DMZ cash payouts on October 30:
| Activity | Old Cash | New Cash | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dynamic Ops | 5,000 to 10,000 | 10,000 to 20,000 | 2x |
| Side Ops | 500 | 2,000 | 4x |
| Mission Steps (per step) | 300 | 500 | +67% |
Source: October 30 patch notes.
That makes this week a good one to stock up. One r/DMZ player estimated about $25k per deployment, or closer to $50k if you focus only on Ops. That's a single player's number, not an official figure. Here is the order we would work in:
- Finish your DMZ Orders. X01 brings "multiple pages" of new ones, and Activision has not said whether they need the current pages done. Clearing them removes that risk.
- Get to the key FOB unlocks. The Vendor opens at DMZ Level 5, the Gunsmith at 10. A full progression rundown is on our DMZ page.
- Upgrade your Backpack for Secure Slots. It's useful protection against a closed exfil.
- Run Dynamic Ops for Cash and bank it. Keep enough to recover a high-Trait Operator.
- Build close-range weapons. Our read is that SMGs, shotguns and short-barrel builds will suit X01's corridors. The new CSG-35 SMG, one of the pass's two free base weapons, is rated by Activision for targets "within 20 meters." The official post puts it at Battle Pass Tier 36.
One thing many players miss: weapon levels are shared. Activision's FOB guide says progression across Multiplayer and DMZ is one global system, and the attachments you can build in the Gunsmith depend on the weapon's level and your shared attachments. Weapon access is separate, though: building a new base weapon in the Gunsmith needs an extracted Weapon Manual. So levels you earn in Multiplayer carry straight into your DMZ builds. Our DMZ weapon carry-over guide has the details.
Short on time before X01 opens? Level your close-range guns in Multiplayer so the Gunsmith options are ready on day one. We'll handle the setup, on your own account.
- MW4 Bot Lobbies: private hosted sessions for fast kills and weapon XP, played by you.
- MW4 Weapon Leveling: max any gun and unlock its attachments.
- MW4 Account Leveling: skip the level grind.
- All MW4 services: see everything on one page.
FAQ
When does X01 come out in MW4? With Season 1, at 00:00 ET on November 6, 2026, which is 21:00 PT on November 5 and 05:00 GMT on November 6.
How do you get to X01 in DMZ? Activision says it is reached by deploying through Hajin via an infiltration point on the northern border. The exact entry location has not been published yet.
Do you need a certain DMZ level for X01? No level requirement has been announced. Activision has also not said whether the new Orders need earlier Order pages completed, so finishing them now is the safe move.
Is X01 in Warzone? Activision has only described X01 as DMZ content so far. Warzone's Season 1 intel arrives November 2, so check back after that post.
Who is The Captain in MW4 DMZ? A Juggernaut Commander with an elite guard. In the Threat Briefing event you fight him in X01, collect sections of his helmet and exfil to earn rewards.
What happens if the exits close in X01? The briefing says you must complete "the required steps to escape." Those steps are not detailed yet. If you fail to exfil, you lose anything outside your Secure Slots, plus any Cash found on that run.
