Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 — October 25 Launch Patch: XP Boost, Bomb Fix Rollback and DMZ Changes Explained
Infinity Ward's October 25 update for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 triples Search & Destroy and Collateral kill XP, rolls back a controversial bomb-stretching fix, and closes several DMZ exploits just two days after the shooter's October 23 launch. Here's everything that changed, from Gunsmith and Prestige fixes to what's coming next for Infected and Possession mode.
Two days after Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 launched worldwide on October 23, Infinity Ward has shipped its first major post-launch patch. The October 25, 2026 update, published on the official Call of Duty patch notes site, triples Search & Destroy and Collateral kill XP, rolls back a controversial "bomb stretching" fix, closes several DMZ exploits, and cleans up a long list of Gunsmith, Prestige and UI bugs.
Here is everything that changed in the October 25 update, what Infinity Ward says is still being tracked, and what's coming next for Modern Warfare 4's first week.
1. Search & Destroy and Collateral XP Triples
The headline change is a big one for competitive-minded players. Infinity Ward says it has been "looking at XP earn rates in Multiplayer modes" and is starting with Search & Destroy and Collateral, the game's two round-based modes.
- Kill XP in Search & Destroy and Collateral rises from 100 to 300 per elimination.
- Infinity Ward frames this as the first of several planned XP adjustments, not a one-off change.
Collateral is one of Modern Warfare 4's new launch modes: a round-based mode that mixes Search & Destroy-style elimination rounds with a Buy Phase, where players start with a pistol and $800 and spend cash earned from objectives and kills between rounds.
The Bomb-Stretching Rollback
Alongside the XP change, Infinity Ward reversed an earlier fix for "bomb stretching" in Search & Destroy after it caused a worse problem: players being unable to pick up the bomb at all in certain positions. The studio says it will revisit bomb stretching again in a future update once it has a fix that doesn't break bomb pickup. In the meantime, the original stretching exploit is back in the game.
2. Multiplayer Bug Fixes and Quality-of-Life Changes
Beyond XP and the bomb rollback, the October 25 patch cleans up several issues players reported during launch weekend:
- Fixed an issue on Collateral where the bomb could disappear after players interacted with it.
- Fixed an issue where the game could briefly freeze when editing a Loadout for the first time mid-match.
- Fixed an issue where the announcer's game-mode introduction wouldn't play at the start of Frontline or Hijack matches.
- Addressed players being AFK-kicked while spectating in some Multiplayer modes.
- Fixed an Xbox and PC issue where players using the full Korean language setting couldn't launch Black Ops 7 from within Modern Warfare 4.
- Closed various other Multiplayer exploits.
Hijack, the new Data Spike-carrying objective mode, and Frontline, a returning classic, were both singled out for the announcer-audio fix — a small but noticeable polish issue for a launch week where first impressions matter.
3. Gunsmith, Prestige and Weapon Classification Fixes
Modern Warfare 4 shipped with two Prestige paths for the first time in Call of Duty history, plus a deep Gunsmith system with Optic Rail Placement and custom reticle tuning. The October 25 patch addresses several rough edges in both systems:
- Weapon stats now display for locked Attachments in Gunsmith, so players can see what an attachment does before unlocking it.
- The Prestige reset process now properly clears Loadouts when a player Prestiges.
- Fixed a visual issue in the Optic Rail Placement menu.
- Fixed an issue where the Resource Management Trait description would scroll too fast to read.
- Fixed an issue where the Patriot XMR, Oden and Cronen Squall were incorrectly classified as Battle Rifles throughout the game's menus — no stat changes were listed alongside the reclassification.
- Fixed an issue where DMZ Lieutenant Intel unlock requirements and the eliminated indicator could disappear when hovering over previously eliminated Lieutenants on the Boss Board.
4. DMZ Changes in the October 25 Update
DMZ, Modern Warfare 4's extraction mode, got the longest fix list of any mode in this patch:
- Closed a way to bypass the Hospital Elevator objective during the Critical Extraction story mission.
- Decreased Drill Charge damage against the enemy Colossus (no specific numbers were given).
- Fixed an issue where a Sedan could be missing from its marked location on the Tac-Map.
- Fixed an issue where purchasing saved Builds from modified Blueprints could incorrectly charge players the full cost of the original Blueprint.
- Fixed an issue where players could attempt to deploy while items remained in their Overflow Stash — Operators must now reconcile their Overflow Stash before their next deployment.
- Fixed several issues in the Breaking New Ground onboarding mission.
- Closed various other DMZ exploits.
The Overflow Stash change in particular closes a loophole some players were using to stockpile gear across deployments without properly managing their stash limit.
5. What Infinity Ward Is Still Tracking
The official patch notes page doubles as a running list of known issues, updated alongside each patch rather than reset every time. As of October 25, Infinity Ward had already addressed a batch of day-one problems from its earlier October 20–21 hotfixes, including crashes tied to breaching doors in Breaking New Ground, an After-Action Report bug that could show 0 XP after a player's first match, and a bug that let players get double completion credit for story missions.
Infinity Ward points players to its official channels for the latest status on anything still open, rather than publishing a single static known-issues list — a sign the studio is treating launch week as an active, rolling support window rather than a one-and-done patch cycle.
6. What's Coming Next for Modern Warfare 4
The same patch notes page confirms two modes still to come: "Infected and the new Possession mode are also dropping next week as a Halloween treat," according to Infinity Ward, timed to the game's first seasonal event. The studio has also confirmed that Call of Duty: Warzone's next version — which already previewed an operator skin toggle built for Modern Warfare 4 — won't go live until Season 1 launches; selecting Warzone during pre-installation before then only installs the currently live version of the game.
That timeline lines up with how Modern Warfare 4 shipped as a standalone release outside Xbox Game Pass rather than folding straight into the existing Warzone ecosystem on day one. For players spending their first week in DMZ, it's also worth revisiting how Hajin and the Forward Operating Base work, since several of the October 25 fixes touch deployment and Overflow Stash mechanics directly tied to that FOB loop.
Quick Recap: October 25 Modern Warfare 4 Patch
- Search & Destroy and Collateral kill XP triples from 100 to 300.
- The bomb-stretching fix was rolled back; a new fix is coming later.
- Multiplayer gets several bug fixes, including a Loadout-edit freeze and missing announcer audio in Frontline and Hijack.
- Gunsmith and Prestige both get bug fixes, plus a weapon-classification correction for the Patriot XMR, Oden and Cronen Squall.
- DMZ closes the Hospital Elevator exploit, cuts Drill Charge damage to Colossus, and blocks deployment with items left in the Overflow Stash.
- Infected and Possession mode are confirmed for next week; the new Warzone won't arrive until Season 1.
For the full map and mode lineup Modern Warfare 4 launched with, see our complete breakdown of every launch map, mode and the new Ballistic Authority gunplay system, or browse our full Call of Duty coverage for more on Black Ops 7, Warzone and the rest of the franchise.