Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 launches on Friday, October 23, 2026, at midnight local time on PS5, Xbox Series X and S, PC and Nintendo Switch 2, which is when multiplayer and the full game unlock for everyone. Digital pre-orders start sooner: PC preloading opened Thursday, October 15 at 9 AM PT (noon ET), the campaign went live at 10 AM PT (1 PM ET) on Friday, October 16, and DMZ follows on Tuesday, October 20.
Because the launch rolls out by time zone, players in New Zealand and Australia get in first, and the PlayStation Store already lists a release time for each region. Below is the full timeline, the time on each platform, what Activision has and has not confirmed about the early access hours, and a time zone cheat sheet. The store listings were checked on October 13, 2026, and the early access details on October 16.
Updated October 16, 2026: campaign early access went live at 10 AM PT (1 PM ET) today, when Activision posted its launch announcement, so the campaign times below are now confirmed rather than expected. DMZ early access is still dated October 20 with no hour attached.
Modern Warfare 4 Release Timeline at a Glance
| What unlocks | When | Who gets it |
|---|---|---|
| PC preload | Thursday, October 15, 9 AM PT (12 PM ET) | Digital pre-purchases on Xbox on PC, Battle.net and Steam |
| Console download | No separate preload date announced; digital pre-orders can download the game now for campaign early access | Digital pre-orders on PS5, Xbox and Switch 2 |
| Campaign early access | Friday, October 16, 10 AM PT (1 PM ET), live now | Any digital pre-order, any platform |
| DMZ early access | Tuesday, October 20 (PT), hour not announced | Any digital pre-order, any platform |
| Full launch: multiplayer, DMZ and the campaign for everyone | Friday, October 23, midnight local time | Every edition, physical copies included |
| Season 1 and the Warzone tie-in | “Shortly after” launch, no date yet | Everyone |
The dates come from Activision’s Modern Warfare 4 editions page, its PC launch post and its October 16 campaign early access announcement, and each one carries the same caveat: “Actual play time subject to possible outages and applicable time zone differences.”
The Full Launch: Midnight Local Time, Region by Region
Activision’s wording is plain: “The full game releases on October 23 at midnight local time.” That makes it a rolling release rather than one worldwide moment, so the game reaches the western Pacific first and the Americas last.
The PlayStation Store listing shows how that plays out, because each regional store carries its own timestamp. As of October 13, it lists:
| PlayStation Store region | Listed release (UTC) | Local time | US Eastern time |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand | Oct 22, 11:00 | Midnight, Oct 23 | 7 AM, Oct 22 |
| Australia | Oct 22, 13:00 | Midnight, Oct 23 (Sydney) | 9 AM, Oct 22 |
| Japan | Oct 22, 15:00 | Midnight, Oct 23 | 11 AM, Oct 22 |
| Germany | Oct 22, 22:00 | Midnight, Oct 23 | 6 PM, Oct 22 |
| United Kingdom | Oct 22, 23:00 | Midnight, Oct 23 | 7 PM, Oct 22 |
| United States and Canada | Oct 23, 04:00 | Midnight Eastern, Oct 23 | Midnight, Oct 23 |
The US and Canadian stores list a single moment for the whole region: midnight Eastern, which is 11 PM Central, 10 PM Mountain and 9 PM Pacific on Thursday, October 22. If Sony holds to that listing, PS5 players on the West Coast can start the evening before the official date.
Release Time on Each Platform
- PlayStation 5: the regional times in the table above. Online play needs PlayStation Plus.
- Xbox Series X and S, and Xbox on PC: Activision’s midnight-local-time launch applies, and one Xbox Store purchase covers both console and PC through Xbox Play Anywhere. The Xbox Store says online multiplayer on console needs a Game Pass Essential subscription.
- Steam: the Steam store page lists the release date as October 22, a day earlier than Activision’s date, in every region we checked (the US, the UK, Germany, Japan, Australia and New Zealand). That points to a single worldwide unlock on Steam that lands on the evening of October 22 in the Americas, rather than a separate midnight in each time zone. Activision has not posted a Steam hour, so read it as a strong hint, not a confirmed time.
- Battle.net: Activision groups it with the other PC storefronts under the same midnight-local-time launch and has not given it a separate hour.
- Nintendo Switch 2: it launches the same day as every other platform. The Nintendo eShop listing shows October 16, the day campaign early access opened, as its release date, but multiplayer and DMZ still arrive with the full launch. Online play needs Nintendo Switch Online.
Preload Dates and Download Sizes
PC. Preloading opened Thursday, October 15 at 9 AM PT for digital pre-purchases on Xbox on PC, Battle.net and Steam. Activision asks for 115 GB of SSD space at every spec tier, and PC players also need TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot turned on. If you want precompiled shaders through Advanced Shader Delivery, Activision says to install the Xbox PC app ahead of time “no matter what your PC platform.” Our Modern Warfare 4 PC specs story has the full requirements and driver versions.
Consoles. Activision never posted a separate console preload date. Campaign early access went live on PS5, Xbox and Switch 2 on October 16, so a digital pre-order on any of them can download the game now. Activision has not published console download sizes.
A new launcher look. Activision said it would roll out an updated interface for the Call of Duty install before campaign early access, so the menu you launch from may look different from last year’s.
Stay online. Modern Warfare 4 streams textures in every mode, and Activision says multiplayer (private matches included) and DMZ need a continuous internet connection.
Campaign and DMZ Early Access Times
Both early windows come with any digital pre-order of the Standard or Vault Edition, on every platform. Physical copies wait for October 23.
- Campaign: live since 10 AM PT (1 PM ET) on Friday, October 16. Activision’s announcement that it was “officially live” went up at that time for all six platforms (the copy it posted on Steam is stamped 1:00 PM ET), the same hour this year’s open beta weekend and Modern Warfare III’s campaign early access started. Access runs until the full launch on October 23. Our campaign early access guide explains how to qualify, the sixteen missions and the rewards you bank for launch.
- DMZ: Tuesday, October 20. Dated in Pacific time with no hour attached, and Activision’s October 16 announcement repeats only the date. Activision confirmed it on October 9 in its DMZ guide, which opens “all of DMZ” to digital pre-orders three days before launch.
When Multiplayer and DMZ Go Live for Everyone
- Multiplayer has no early access. It unlocks with the full game at midnight local time on October 23, on every edition.
- DMZ opens to everyone, physical copies included, at that same moment. Digital pre-order players will have had three days in Hajin by then, and DMZ runs its own 1 to 70 progression track, separate from multiplayer’s, as our Modern Warfare 4 DMZ breakdown explains.
- Season 1 starts “shortly after” launch, per Activision, and that is when Warzone picks up Modern Warfare 4’s content and seasonal progression. Activision has not dated it yet, and Warzone on PS4 and Xbox One stops being playable once it begins.
If you are saving Double XP tokens for launch week, they now only count down during matches, as our 2XP token story covers.
Time Zone Cheat Sheet
The PC preload and campaign early access start times, both confirmed, in major time zones:
| Time zone | PC preload (confirmed) | Campaign early access (confirmed) |
|---|---|---|
| Pacific (PT) | 9 AM, Thu Oct 15 | 10 AM, Fri Oct 16 |
| Mountain (MT) | 10 AM, Thu Oct 15 | 11 AM, Fri Oct 16 |
| Central (CT) | 11 AM, Thu Oct 15 | 12 PM, Fri Oct 16 |
| Eastern (ET) | 12 PM, Thu Oct 15 | 1 PM, Fri Oct 16 |
| UK (BST) | 5 PM, Thu Oct 15 | 6 PM, Fri Oct 16 |
| Central Europe (CEST) | 6 PM, Thu Oct 15 | 7 PM, Fri Oct 16 |
| Japan (JST) | 1 AM, Fri Oct 16 | 2 AM, Sat Oct 17 |
| Sydney (AEDT) | 3 AM, Fri Oct 16 | 4 AM, Sat Oct 17 |
For the full launch there is nothing to convert: it is midnight on October 23 where you live, with two things to watch, the single US and Canada time on the PlayStation Store and the October 22 date on Steam.
Tips Before Launch Day
- Pre-order digitally if you want to preload or play early. The preload and both early access windows are tied to digital pre-orders, and the Standard Edition is enough for all of them.
- Link your platform account to your Activision account now. Activision requires an Activision account to play, and says a mobile phone number linked to it may be required.
- Check Activision’s online services page if you cannot connect at unlock. Launch-hour queues and outages are exactly what the “possible outages” caveat on every date covers.
- Catch up on the story first. Our campaign trailer story covers the Korea setting, and every Modern Warfare 4 guide we publish lands on our Call of Duty hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
What time does Modern Warfare 4 come out? At midnight local time on Friday, October 23, 2026, per Activision. On the US PlayStation Store that means midnight Eastern, which is 9 PM Pacific on October 22.
Can you play Modern Warfare 4 early? Yes, with a digital pre-order. The campaign has been live since 10 AM PT (1 PM ET) on Friday, October 16, and DMZ opens Tuesday, October 20. Multiplayer has no early access.
What time did Modern Warfare 4 campaign early access start? At 10 AM PT (1 PM ET) on Friday, October 16, when Activision announced it live on every platform.
When can you preload Modern Warfare 4? On PC, preloading opened Thursday, October 15 at 9 AM PT. Activision did not announce a separate console preload, and digital pre-orders on consoles can download the game now for campaign early access.
How big is the Modern Warfare 4 download? On PC, Activision asks for 115 GB of free SSD space. It has not published console download sizes yet.
When does DMZ come out? Tuesday, October 20 for digital pre-orders, though Activision has not given an hour, and with the full launch on October 23 for everyone else.
Does Modern Warfare 4 come out at the same time on Switch 2? Yes. Switch 2 launches on October 23 alongside PS5, Xbox and PC, and a digital pre-order there gets the same early access windows.