Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 Campaign Early Access Starts Today: Release Times, Price, Editions and Game Pass Explained

The campaign comes first this year. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 does not fully launch until Friday, October 23, but players who pre-ordered a digital edition can start the story today, Friday, October 16 — and that early window is the main reason to buy digitally rather than on disc.

Modern Warfare 4 campaign early access time

Campaign Early Access opens on Friday, October 16, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. PT / 1:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. BST / 7:00 p.m. CEST. It is a simultaneous global unlock, so in Japan and Australia it lands in the early hours of October 17.

Only the campaign is playable in this window. Multiplayer stays locked until the full launch, and DMZ gets its own early window next week.

To qualify you need a digital pre-order — either the Digital Standard Edition or the Vault Edition, on any platform. Physical copies do not include early access.

The full MW4 launch schedule

• October 16: Campaign Early Access for digital pre-orders
• October 20: DMZ Early Access for the same digital pre-orders, also at 10:00 a.m. PT / 1:00 p.m. ET
• October 23: Full launch for everyone, including multiplayer, at midnight local time
• Season 1: follows shortly after launch, bringing Warzone integration

Preload is already live, and it is worth doing early — this is a big download.

Modern Warfare 4 price and editions

• Standard Edition: $69.99 — the full game. Digital pre-orders include campaign and DMZ early access, plus pre-order items including the Hunter Killer Operator Skin, the Gilded Pearl Camo Pack and the Inner Circuit weapon blueprint at launch.
• Vault Edition: $99.99 — everything in Standard, plus the Hostile Alliance Operator Pack (four skins including Price and Ghost), the Special Forces Operator Pack (four skins with local-language voice packs), a Signature Weapon Collection of five weapons, one season of BlackCell (Battle Pass, 20 tier skips, 1,100 CP and more), and a DMZ Deployment Bonus.
• Vault Upgrade: $30.00 — digital Standard owners can upgrade later; physical copies cannot.

Eligible returning Call of Duty players may also see a 10% loyalty discount on the Vault Edition — check your storefront at checkout.

Modern Warfare 4 platforms

MW4 launches on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC and Nintendo Switch 2. On PC it is available via Steam, Battle.net and Xbox on PC, and Xbox Store purchases support Xbox Play Anywhere across console and PC.

There are no PS4 or Xbox One versions. Notably, this is Call of Duty's return to a Nintendo console — the series' first Nintendo launch since Ghosts in 2013.

Is Modern Warfare 4 on Game Pass?

No — and this is the big change this year. After Black Ops 6 and Black Ops 7 launched day one into Game Pass, Microsoft and Activision have moved new Call of Duty releases to a windowed model: MW4 will be sold as a standalone purchase for roughly a year first, and is expected to join Game Pass around the following holiday season, in late 2027.

Older Call of Duty titles remain in the Game Pass catalog in the meantime, but if you want MW4 at launch, buying it outright is the only option.

What is the MW4 campaign about?

The story opens with a North Korean invasion of the Korean Peninsula. You play in part as Private Park, a young South Korean soldier in his first live combat, fighting alongside his squad on a collapsing front line that takes in trench warfare in Korea, close-quarters fights in New York, chases through Paris and night raids in Mumbai.

Running in parallel, Captain Price is now operating outside the system he once served — effectively an outlaw being hunted while he pursues his own mission. The two threads are set to collide as the war spreads.

PC requirements at a glance

On PC you will need an SSD with 115 GB of free space, plus TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot enabled for the Ricochet anti-cheat system. Minimum spec targets a GTX 970/1060-class GPU with 8 GB of RAM, while the recommended spec steps up to an RTX 3060 Ti-class GPU with 16 GB of RAM. The Xbox Series X|S download is larger, reported at around 163 GB.

FAQ

When does Modern Warfare 4 come out? The full game launches Friday, October 23, 2026 at midnight local time. The campaign unlocks early on October 16 for digital pre-orders.

What time does campaign early access start? October 16 at 10:00 a.m. PT / 1:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. BST.

How do I get campaign early access? Pre-order any digital edition — Standard ($69.99) or Vault ($99.99). Physical copies are excluded.

When does DMZ early access start? Tuesday, October 20, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. PT / 1:00 p.m. ET, for the same digital pre-orders.

Is Modern Warfare 4 on Game Pass? Not at launch. Activision has said new Call of Duty games will join Game Pass about a year after launch, so MW4 is expected in late 2027.

Is Modern Warfare 4 on Switch 2, PS4 or Xbox One? It is on Nintendo Switch 2, PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC. There are no PS4 or Xbox One versions.

How much storage does MW4 need on PC? 115 GB on an SSD, with TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot required.