Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 launches worldwide on Friday, October 23, 2026, on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and, for the first time, Nintendo Switch 2.
It’s a current-gen-only release. PS4 and Xbox One are left out, and those older consoles are losing Warzone support too.
Campaign: war on the Korean Peninsula
Infinity Ward is going big and grounded this year. The campaign opens with North Korea launching a full-scale invasion of South Korea.
The lead is Private Park, a young South Korean soldier seeing live combat for the first time. Meanwhile Captain Price runs his own revenge mission away from the main front.
Expect trench warfare in Korea alongside close-quarters fighting in New York and high-speed chases through Paris.
This was also the first Call of Duty beta to include a playable campaign mission, called “Entrenched.”
DMZ is back
The extraction mode returns. Squads drop in, grab loot and fight their way to exfil. Infinity Ward says DMZ has been reworked extensively based on player feedback from the beta.
Multiplayer
- 12 modes at launch
- No more bloom: weapon bloom has been removed as part of a broader gunplay overhaul
- Kill Block: a compact, Shoothouse-sized training facility that changes during a match
- Beta maps included Rooftops, Silkworm, Transit 213, Cachette, Lotus, Lithium and Kill Block
What the beta told us
The beta ran across two weekends: early access August 21–25, and an open beta August 28 through September 1. Search & Destroy, Kill Block and a Training Mobility Course were all playable.
The campaign mission in the beta drew plenty of attention. It’s a smart way to sell people on the story before launch.
Our take: a fresh setting, DMZ’s return and Switch 2 support make this one of the more interesting CoD launches in years. The real test is whether the campaign can live up to the original Modern Warfare’s legacy. We’ll find out on the 23rd.
Sources
- PlayStation Blog — MW4 Campaign, Multiplayer and DMZ launch Oct 23
- Windows Central — MW4 Open Beta dates
- Press Start — MW4 reveals DMZ
Header image: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 © Activision
