Early Access

Modern Warfare 4's Campaign Early Access began on Oct 16, 2026 and its DMZ Early Access on Oct 20, 2026, for everyone who digitally pre-ordered the Standard or Vault Edition on Xbox, PlayStation 5, Battle.net, Steam or Nintendo Switch 2. Both ended at the full launch on Oct 23, and the progress made in them carried over.

0:07 Modern Warfare 4 had two early access windows, both for anyone who digitally pre-ordered or pre-purchased the Standard Edition or the Vault Edition: Campaign Early Access from Friday, Oct 16, 2026, with all sixteen missions, and DMZ Early Access from Tuesday, Oct 20, 2026. Both ran until the full launch on Oct 23, 2026, on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, PS5, Battle.net, Steam and Nintendo Switch 2. Multiplayer had no early access, and physical copies got none. Since the game is out, early access is over: everything it offered is now part of the full game, and the progress made in it carried over. In the clip Espresso notes that the early access periods for the campaign and DMZ are here, and that XP and camos are shared between DMZ and Multiplayer.

Quick facts

Buy	Steam, PlayStation Store, Xbox, Battle.net, Nintendo eShop
Campaign Early Access	Oct 16 to 23, 2026; all 16 missions
DMZ Early Access	Oct 20 to 23, 2026
Who	Digital pre-orders of the Standard or Vault Edition
Platforms	Xbox Series X\|S, Xbox on PC, PS5, Battle.net, Steam, Nintendo Switch 2
Not included	Multiplayer; physical copies
Campaign start time	10 AM PDT, per PC Guide
DMZ start time	10 AM PT, 1 PM ET, 6 PM BST, 5 PM UTC, per Insider Gaming
Full launch	Oct 23, 2026, midnight local time

Sources: Call of Duty (Oct 16, 2026), Call of Duty (Oct 9, 2026), PC Guide (Oct 16, 2026), Insider Gaming (Oct 19, 2026).

Who got early access

Activision confirmed Campaign Early Access on Jun 12, 2026 and DMZ Early Access on Oct 9, 2026. Both went to every player who "digitally pre-order[ed] or pre-purchase[d]" the game, on the Standard Digital Edition or Vault Edition, on six storefronts: Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, PlayStation 5, Battle.net, Steam and Nintendo Switch 2. The Vault Edition gave no extra days; both editions opened on the same dates. See Editions and Pre-order Bonuses.

Physical pre-orders were left out: the discs and Switch 2 code boxes shipped for Oct 23, and Activision's early access post limits it to digital pre-orders. Physical pre-orders did get an Early Access Beta code for the August beta, which is a different thing (see Open Beta). There was no Multiplayer early access: Insider Gaming confirmed Multiplayer opened only at full launch.

Campaign Early Access (Oct 16)

Campaign Early Access opened the entire campaign, all sixteen missions from Mission 1: Mayhem to Mission 16: Greater Good, a full week before launch, so most early players could finish the story before Multiplayer opened. PC Guide reported the start as 10 AM PDT on Oct 16, one global moment; the official posts we read give only the date.

The sixteen completion rewards (eight Operators, five XP tokens, a calling card, an emblem and a loading screen) were earned during early access but became usable in Multiplayer and DMZ only at the full launch on Oct 23. The campaign needs an online launch once and then plays offline, per PowerPyx. See Campaign Walkthrough and Campaign Rewards and Difficulty.

DMZ Early Access (Oct 20)

DMZ Early Access opened on Oct 20, 2026, three days before launch. Insider Gaming and Game Rant gave the time as 10 AM PT, 1 PM ET, 6 PM BST and 5 PM UTC, the same moment worldwide, which was the early hours of Oct 21 in East Asia and Australia. Game Rant also reported a claim that switching an Activision account's region to New Zealand let players in sooner; Activision described the start as simultaneous worldwide, and the claim is unconfirmed.

0:26 To play, Dexerto describes the route as choosing DMZ from Modern Warfare 4's main menu, which takes you to the Forward Operating Base, then selecting Deploy to enter Hajin. The first days brought fixes: Infinity Ward's notes list a crash in the story mission "Breaking New Ground", double credit for story missions and AI vehicles running over players at infil in NK Wilderness among the DMZ issues fixed on Oct 20 and 21. See DMZ and the DMZ Beginner's Guide.

How to start it on each platform

Modern Warfare 4 is not a separate program: it installs as part of the connected Call of Duty install alongside Warzone, and you pick it from the shared menu. During early access, a digital pre-order unlocked the campaign, and from Oct 20 DMZ, in that same install.

Platform	Where to buy and launch	Notes
PS5	PlayStation Store, then the Call of Duty install	Pre-install from Oct 14, 9 PM PT; turn off automatic downloads to choose content packs
Xbox Series X\|S	Xbox Store, then the Call of Duty install	Pre-install from Oct 14, 9 PM PT; one purchase also covers Xbox on PC
Xbox on PC	Xbox app	Xbox Play Anywhere with the console purchase
Steam	Steam, inside the "Call of Duty" app	Pre-load from Oct 15, 9 AM PT; phone number linked to the Steam account
Battle.net	Battle.net, Call of Duty	Pre-load from Oct 15, 9 AM PT
Switch 2	Nintendo eShop	Digital only for early access; online modes need Nintendo Switch Online

Sources: Infinity Ward's launch notes (Oct 21, 2026), Call of Duty (Sep 29, 2026), Call of Duty (May 28, 2026), Steam (read Oct 25, 2026), Call of Duty (Aug 26, 2026).

On PC, TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot had to be enabled to play online, early access included; see Anti-Cheat, TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot. Activision also recommended installing the Xbox PC app on any PC so that precompiled shaders arrive with the install. On Steam, playing time counts on the shared "Call of Duty" app, not on Modern Warfare 4's own store app; see Steam Player Count.

What carried over

0:51 Everything earned in early access stayed. DMZ play from Oct 20 counted toward Player Level, weapon levels, Attachments and camo progress that carried into Multiplayer at launch on Oct 23, because Modern Warfare 4 shares one camo grind across Multiplayer, DMZ and, from Season 1, Warzone (launch notes). Campaign completion rewards became usable in Multiplayer and DMZ at launch. Players of the Modern Warfare 2 DMZ Beta also got legacy rewards from Oct 20 on the same Activision account. The open beta's levels and unlocks did not carry over, only its cosmetic rewards. See Ranks and Unlocks and Camos. In the clip TheXclusiveAce explains, the day before DMZ Early Access, that DMZ play also raises the Multiplayer level.

Frequently asked questions

When did Modern Warfare 4 early access start? Modern Warfare 4 Campaign Early Access started on Oct 16, 2026 and DMZ Early Access on Oct 20, 2026. Both ended at the full launch on Oct 23, 2026.

Who got MW4 early access? Everyone who digitally pre-ordered or pre-purchased the MW4 Standard or Vault Edition on Xbox, PS5, Battle.net, Steam or Nintendo Switch 2 got both Campaign and DMZ Early Access. Physical copies did not.

Did the Vault Edition give earlier access to MW4? No. The Standard and Vault Editions of Modern Warfare 4 opened Campaign Early Access on Oct 16 and DMZ Early Access on Oct 20 alike.

Was there Multiplayer early access in Modern Warfare 4? No. Modern Warfare 4 Multiplayer opened only at the full launch on Oct 23, 2026.

What time did MW4 DMZ early access start? MW4 DMZ Early Access started on Oct 20, 2026 at 10 AM PT (1 PM ET, 6 PM BST, 5 PM UTC), simultaneously worldwide, per Insider Gaming and Game Rant.

Does MW4 early access progress carry over? Yes. Modern Warfare 4 levels, weapon progress and camos earned in DMZ Early Access carried into the full game, and campaign rewards became usable in Multiplayer and DMZ at launch.

Can I still get MW4 early access? No. Modern Warfare 4 early access ended when the full game launched on Oct 23, 2026; buying it now gives the whole game at once.