Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 — Preload, Early Access Dates and PC System Requirements Explained
Modern Warfare 4 rolls out in stages before its October 23 launch: PC preloading opens October 15, Campaign Early Access begins October 16, and DMZ Early Access opens October 20. Here's every confirmed date, plus the final PC system requirements.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 launches worldwide on Friday, October 23, 2026, but the countdown to that date has several earlier checkpoints that digital pre-order customers need to know about. Between PC preloading, Campaign Early Access and DMZ Early Access, there are three separate dates before launch day itself — and missing one of them means missing out on playing early. Here is everything Activision and Infinity Ward have officially confirmed about the rollout, plus the final PC system requirements for anyone planning to play on a gaming PC.
1. The Launch Countdown: Every Confirmed Date
Modern Warfare 4 is rolling out in stages rather than unlocking everything at once. According to the official Call of Duty blog and Activision's own support pages, the schedule is:
- Thursday, October 15 — PC preloading opens at 9 AM PT (12 PM ET) on Steam, Battle.net and the Xbox app for anyone who has digitally pre-ordered or pre-purchased.
- Friday, October 16 — Campaign Early Access begins for eligible digital pre-orders.
- Tuesday, October 20 — DMZ Early Access opens, also for digital pre-orders.
- Friday, October 23 — Full global launch, including Multiplayer. Activision has targeted midnight local time on PC; console unlock times had not been confirmed as of this writing.
Console preload windows and exact storage figures for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch 2 had not been published by Activision at the time of writing, so console owners should check the official Call of Duty blog closer to launch for confirmation.
2. Campaign Early Access: Who Qualifies and What You Get
Campaign Early Access is the first real head start Modern Warfare 4 offers, and it is narrower than some players expect. Only the Standard Digital Edition and Vault Edition qualify, and only if they were pre-ordered or pre-purchased digitally — the Physical Standard Edition does not include early access, since retail discs can't ship before the general release date. Eligible platforms are Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, PlayStation 5, Battle.net and Steam. Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders were not yet available as of this writing; Activision has said Switch 2 pre-orders will open later this year.
What you actually get on October 16 is the single-player campaign only — Multiplayer and DMZ are not part of this window. Per Activision's official blog, the campaign casts players as Private Park, a young South Korean soldier experiencing his first combat as North Korea launches a full-scale invasion of the peninsula. Captain Price returns as well, now operating as an outlaw outside the chain of command, pursuing a personal hunt tied to a powerful weapon.
3. PC Preload: Times and Download Size
PC preloading opens Thursday, October 15, at 9 AM PT (12 PM ET), available to anyone with a digital pre-order on Steam, Battle.net or the Xbox app. Activision's official PC system requirements page states that the game needs an SSD with 115 GB of available space at launch, with the note that mandatory day-one updates may require additional free space on top of that. An SSD isn't just recommended — it's a requirement at every specification tier, including minimum.
Activision has not published console preload dates or install sizes for PS5, Xbox Series X|S or Switch 2 as of this writing. Given that the PC figure reflects PC-specific asset compression and features, it should not be treated as a stand-in for console download size.
4. PC System Requirements: Minimum, Recommended and Ray Tracing
Activision published final PC specs alongside a dedicated PC trailer in September. The page explicitly states these are launch requirements, not beta figures (the earlier open beta used lighter, non-final specs). Three tiers are listed:
Minimum
- OS: Windows 10 64-bit (latest update)
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1400 or Intel Core i5-6600
- RAM: 8 GB
- GPU: AMD Radeon RX 470, NVIDIA GTX 970/1060, or Intel Arc A580 (3 GB VRAM)
- Storage: SSD with 115 GB free
Recommended (targeting 90 FPS multiplayer at High settings)
- OS: Windows 11 64-bit (latest update)
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 or Intel Core i7-8700K
- RAM: 16 GB
- GPU: AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT, NVIDIA RTX 3060 Ti, or Intel Arc B580 (8 GB VRAM)
Ray Tracing (4K upscaled, High ray tracing)
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X or Intel Core i7-10700K
- RAM: 32 GB
- GPU: AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT or NVIDIA RTX 5070 Ti (16 GB VRAM)
Two requirements apply regardless of tier: TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot must be enabled, and only Intel or AMD processors with AVX support are compatible. Intel Arc GPU owners also need Resizable BAR enabled.
5. PC Features Worth Knowing About
The September PC trailer detailed a handful of features specific to the PC version:
- Upscaling support: NVIDIA DLSS 4.5, AMD FSR Redstone, and Intel XeSS 3, alongside Filmic SMAA T2X as the default anti-aliasing method.
- Ray tracing is supported across Campaign, Multiplayer and DMZ, not just one mode.
- Display support for 4K, 1440p, 1080p and ultrawide monitors.
- Enhanced FOV, a PC-exclusive field-of-view option beyond what consoles offer.
- A built-in benchmark tool and over 800 combined graphics and gameplay settings.
- RICOCHET Anti-Cheat, combining server-side detection with kernel-level hardware protections — the same system used across recent Call of Duty PC releases.
6. DMZ Early Access and What's Held Back for Launch Day
DMZ, the extraction mode returning from earlier Modern Warfare entries, gets its own early access window on Tuesday, October 20 — three days before the full launch and four days after Campaign Early Access opens. Like campaign access, it is limited to digital pre-orders. Multiplayer is not available early in any form; Activision has confirmed it unlocks only at the October 23 global launch alongside everything else. If your goal is a head start on multiplayer progression or camo grinding, there is currently no way to get that before launch day.
7. Who's Building Modern Warfare 4
Infinity Ward is the lead developer on Modern Warfare 4, with the PC version built in partnership with Beenox and the Nintendo Switch 2 version developed alongside Digital Legends. Activision's credits also list Activision Central Design, Activision Central Technology, Activision QA, Activision Shanghai, Demonware, High Moon Studios, Raven Software, Sledgehammer Games and Treyarch as contributing studios — the same multi-studio structure the Call of Duty franchise has used across recent annual releases.
Quick Recap
- PC preload: October 15, 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET, digital pre-orders only.
- Campaign Early Access: October 16, digital Standard or Vault Edition pre-orders only (not physical).
- DMZ Early Access: October 20, digital pre-orders only.
- Full launch with Multiplayer: October 23, worldwide, on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC and Nintendo Switch 2.
- PC requires an SSD with 115 GB free, plus TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot enabled.
For more on what's coming to the game, see our breakdown of Modern Warfare 4's editions and its Warzone integration plans, the details on the Hajin Forward Operating Base coming to DMZ, and our look at the new Kill Block multiplayer mode. For every other guide on the site, visit the full walkthroughs archive.