The campaign of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is now playable in early access for players who digitally pre-ordered the game, ahead of the full launch on Friday, October 23, 2026.

Activision opened the early access period on Friday, October 16, a week before release, and only the story campaign is available during this window. Multiplayer and the returning DMZ mode stay locked until launch day.

Early access covers the Standard Digital Edition and the Vault Edition on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, PlayStation 5, Battle.net, Steam, and Nintendo Switch 2. Physical copies do not qualify, as retail discs ship on the general release date.

Players who want to start the campaign before October 23 need a digital pre-order from their platform's store. The steps are the same across systems:

1. Open the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 page on the Xbox Store, PlayStation Store, Steam, Battle.net, or Nintendo eShop.
2. Pre-order the Standard Digital Edition or the Vault Edition. The Xbox version supports Xbox Play Anywhere across Xbox consoles and Xbox on PC.
3. Start the campaign once the pre-order is in place; multiplayer and DMZ remain locked until October 23.

A pre-ordered physical copy from a retailer will not unlock the campaign early, even if the order was placed before October 16.

The Modern Warfare 4 campaign puts players in the role of Private Park, a young South Korean soldier who sees live combat for the first time when North Korea launches a full-scale invasion.

A second storyline follows Captain Price, now operating outside the system he once served, as a hunt for revenge draws him toward a weapon that could shift the balance of power. Activision describes the campaign as a mix of large-scale battles, covert missions, combined-arms warfare, and cinematic set pieces.

Multiplayer servers open for everyone on October 23, the same day the full game becomes available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC. The DMZ mode returns at launch as well. The beta weekends have already ended, so early access is the only way to play Modern Warfare 4 before release.

Warzone will not be integrated with Modern Warfare 4 on launch day. That integration is expected with Season 1, which arrives in the weeks after release, and Activision has not published an exact Season 1 date.

Modern Warfare 4 also breaks from the last two Call of Duty releases on subscriptions. Black Ops 6 and Black Ops 7 launched on Xbox Game Pass, but Modern Warfare 4 will not be on Game Pass at launch.

Players who planned to try the game through a subscription will need to buy it, and the game is not currently expected on Game Pass until October 2027 at the earliest.

Activision has not announced an exact unlock time for the October 23 launch in each region.