How to get early access to Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 and when it starts

War starts early (Activision)

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is officially launching later this month, but you can get early access to the campaign this week. 

After being rocked by the success of Battlefield 6, and the muted reception to Black Ops 7, Call Of Duty is in dire need of a return to form. 

The next entry is Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, from developer Infinity Ward. The beta didn’t leave the best first impression, but it remains to be seen if the full game, through its Korean plotline and gunplay tweaks, can deliver a fresh jolt of energy for the franchise. 

For those who can’t wait until the game launches, you can jump into certain aspects of Modern Warfare 4 ahead of time. For a breakdown on how to get early access this week, and what’s included, read on below. 

When does Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 launch? 

Modern Warfare 4 comes out worldwide on October 23, 2026 across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch 2 and PC. 

This is the first Call Of Duty to only launch on current gen consoles, so there’s no PlayStation 4 or Xbox One version. 

How do I get early access to Modern Warfare 4? 

You can get early access by pre-ordering either the standard (£69.99) or Vault edition (£99.99) of Modern Warfare 4, across any platform.

This only applies to digital pre-orders, so physical pre-orders don’t get the same bonus. That means to pre-order and get early access you have to order from the PlayStation Store, the Xbox Store, the Nintendo eShop, Steam, or Battle.net.

When does early access start and what does it include? 

Modern Warfare 4’s early access window kicks off on Friday October 16, a week prior to launch. Activision has not released the start time, but based on prior launches, access is expected to roll out from 6pm BST in the UK. 

However, this early access window will only grant access to specific parts of the game, over two separate waves. At first, from October 16, you’ll be able to play the campaign, while early access to the DMZ extraction mode will begin from October 20. 

The multiplayer portion will not be available during early access, and will instead launch worldwide when the full game comes out on October 23. 

What else do you get if you pre-order? 

Along with early access, if you pre-order the standard edition, you’ll unlock the Inner Circuit Weapon Blueprint, the Hunter Killer Operator skin, and Gilded Pearl Camo Pack. The latter two will also be available across Warzone and Black Ops 7. 

The Vault edition includes, along with the above, four operator skins in the Hostile Alliance Operator Pack (Price, Valeria, Ghost, Blix), the Special Forces Operator Pack, the Signature Weapon Collection, DMZ Deployment Bonus, and the BlackCell season one pass (complete with 20 tier skips and 1,100 CP). 

Additionally, if you’re a regular on Call Of Duty: Mobile, any digital pre-order of Modern Warfare 4 will unlock the Shattered Relay Weapon Blueprint for the ICR-1 Assault Rifle in the former title.

Skins in the Hostile Alliance Operator Pack (Activision)

Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter.

To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here.

For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.

Comments Add as preferred source