No, the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 campaign has no co-op, online or local: it is a single-player story. An Activision representative confirmed it to Digital Foundry when the game was revealed in May, writing that the “campaign mode is single player only,” and nothing Activision has published since describes any way to play the sixteen missions with a friend.
If you want to play with friends, DMZ and Multiplayer are where co-op lives in Modern Warfare 4. Below is exactly what Activision and the store listings say, why this campaign is different from last year’s, and the best ways to team up instead.
What Activision Has Said
The clearest answer came at the reveal. On May 28, 2026, Digital Foundry’s preview reported that an Activision representative had confirmed the campaign is a single-player experience, quoting the reply: “confirming that campaign mode is single player only.”
Activision’s own campaign announcements back that up by what they describe. The Campaign Early Access announcement says the story “plays out across sixteen action-packed missions” in which you “play the role of Private Park Hyun Jun as he and his squad fight back against a full-scale invasion across the Korean Peninsula,” while Captain Price hunts the man behind it. Every official description of the campaign is built around those two characters, and none mentions co-op, squads of players or drop-in partners.
Compare that with how Activision describes DMZ on the official Modern Warfare 4 site: “Deploy solo or with a squad into a volatile conflict zone.” When a mode supports playing together, Activision says so.
What the Store Listings Show
The store pages tell the same story:
- Xbox Store: the Modern Warfare 4 listing shows Single player and Online multiplayer for 2 to 60 players, with no online co-op feature listed.
- Steam: the Steam store page lists Single-player alongside Online Co-op and Online PvP. Those tags cover the whole game, though, and the page’s own campaign description talks about trench warfare in Korea, chases through Paris and SAS night raids in Mumbai without any mention of playing it together. The co-op tag fits DMZ.
Why This Campaign Is Single-Player
Last year’s Black Ops 7 went the other way, with a campaign built around co-op, and Digital Foundry’s preview welcomed the change, calling Black Ops 7’s “built for co-op” campaign “widely-panned.” Modern Warfare 4 returns to the format Infinity Ward used for Modern Warfare (2019) and Modern Warfare II (2022): a scripted solo story, with co-op saved for other modes.
The campaign itself is built like a solo story, too. You switch between two leads, Private Park on the front lines in Korea and Captain Price on an off-book hunt, with Ghost and Gaz sent to bring him in. Activision describes trench warfare, close-quarters fighting in New York, chases through Paris and SAS night raids, the kind of scripted set pieces Infinity Ward’s campaigns have long built around a single player.
How to Play Modern Warfare 4 With Friends Instead
DMZ is the co-op mode. You and your squad deploy into the Hajin exclusion zone, take on objectives and AI forces, loot, and try to exfil before the storm closes in, with rival squads competing for the same loot. If your friends are offline, Activision’s Squad Fill option drops you in with two other players. DMZ is already open for digital pre-orders through early access, and our DMZ beginner guide covers your first runs. Our DMZ early access guide explains who gets in before launch, and our DMZ Traits guide covers how to build an Operator for squad play.
Multiplayer opens for everyone at launch on October 23. You can party up and play on the same team in any mode, and our crossplay guide explains how friends on PS5, Xbox, PC and Switch 2 play together. Progress you make together counts toward the shared level track and Prestige, as our Prestige guide explains.
Zombies is not part of this year’s game: Modern Warfare 4 launches with Campaign, Multiplayer and DMZ, and DMZ takes the co-op slot Zombies held in recent years. Our Modern Warfare 4 Zombies explainer has the details.
What to Know Before You Play the Campaign Solo
The campaign has sixteen missions, and it is already playable through campaign early access for digital pre-orders, as our campaign early access guide explains. How long it takes, and the full mission list, are in our campaign length guide.
Finishing it alone still pays off in the modes you play with friends: Activision says the campaign’s completion rewards, including eight Base Operators, are all usable in Multiplayer and DMZ once the full game launches. Playing the story first means you join your squad with those Operators already unlocked. Every Modern Warfare 4 guide we publish is on our Call of Duty hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you play the Modern Warfare 4 campaign with a friend? No. An Activision representative confirmed to Digital Foundry that the campaign is single player only, and Activision has announced no co-op for it, online or local.
Does the Modern Warfare 4 campaign have split screen? No. With no co-op of any kind in the campaign, there is no split-screen campaign either. It is played by one person.
Which Modern Warfare 4 mode is co-op? DMZ. Activision describes it as a mode you can deploy into solo or with a squad, and Squad Fill matches you with two other players if you need teammates.
Was the Black Ops 7 campaign co-op? Yes. Black Ops 7’s campaign was built for co-op play, which is one reason Modern Warfare 4’s return to a single-player campaign drew attention when it was confirmed.
Is the Modern Warfare 4 campaign worth playing solo before multiplayer? For many players, yes. Activision says the completion rewards, including eight Base Operators, carry into Multiplayer and DMZ at launch.