When MW4 multiplayer starts
Multiplayer has no early access: it goes live with the full game on October 23, 2026 at midnight local time, which is 00:00 in Poland. Steam and the Xbox Store in Europe show October 22, but that does not mean an earlier start.
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| October 16 | Campaign Early Access (digital pre-orders) |
| October 20 | DMZ Early Access |
| October 23 | launch, multiplayer goes live |
| October 27 | Shipment map |
| October 29 | Possession mode (new) |
| October 30 | Infected mode |
| November 6 | Season 1 (MW4 and Warzone) |
Season 1 brings the Battle Pass and the Warzone integration (the Zodiac and Hajin maps). New multiplayer maps for Season 1 have not been announced yet.
Core 6v6 maps at launch
Every Core map has its own infil and insignia, and the map names are in English in every language version of the materials that was checked. According to Infinity Ward, many maps sit "2 blocks down" from campaign locations.
| Map | Size / type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Cachette | Core 6v6 | French rail terminal, a wine warehouse and workshop turned into a secret armory. |
| Coal | Core 6v6 | Ruins of a Soviet coal plant in the mountains, a toppled smokestack, a sludge river. |
| Lithium | Core 6v6 | Lithium refinery in rural Mexico; you open the garage doors with a button. |
| Lotus | Core 6v6 | Korean fishing village after an airborne assault: market, hostel, boathouse. |
| Mumbai | Core 6v6 | Dense district around a Victorian market, with a railway line through the middle. |
| Munition | Core 6v6 | North Korean command center with an ammo depot, a crane and hangars. |
| Nautical | Core 6v6 | South Korean ferry at dawn, with fires on the starboard side and the bow. |
| Reactor U92 | Core 6v6 | Korean reactor during a meltdown: a sunken control room and a boiling pool. |
| Rooftops | Core 6v6 | Snowy roofs of the New York Hotel Times West: greenhouse, boiler room, pigeon coop. |
| Sentry | Core 6v6 | Assault on a North Korean base in a blizzard, a substation and wrecked barracks. |
| Silkworm | Core 6v6 | South Korean shopping district: arcade, subway entrance, exploding cars. |
| Transit 213 | Core 6v6 | Overgrown bus yard in western India, a workshop and a gas station. |
Kill Block, Ground War, Gunfight and Shipment
| Map | Size / type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Kill Block | shifting, Gunfight 3v3 and 10v10 | Training facility built from three modules (Slabs), over 500 layouts, rain or snow. |
| Wolves Stadium | Ground War | Amphitheater, downtown, ascenders and ladders. Hajin region. |
| Imjin Farmland | Ground War | Fields, canals, farms and a large mill for snipers. Hajin region. |
| Forest | Ground War | No description yet. |
| Smuggler, NYC, Café, Library | Gunfight | Format (2v2 or 3v3) not confirmed. |
| Shipment | post-launch map | From October 27, no details yet. |
Kill Block changes its layout between rounds and matches; a full set (Combo) is roughly the size of Shoot House from MW (2019). Some modules recreate classics: Crash, Storage Town, Shoot House and Highrise. Other modes on Kill Block are "planned after launch", with no date.
Game modes: at launch and later
| Mode | When | How it works |
|---|---|---|
| Hijack (new, 6v6) | October 23 | You carry, throw or pass a Data Spike and plant it at the enemy Comm Station. |
| Inflation (new, 6v6) | October 23 | Kills drop cash, the richest players become High Value Targets; the richest team wins. |
| Collateral (new, 5v5) | October 23 | Search and Destroy style rounds: one life, you buy weapons and gear with the money you earn. |
| Ground War: Combat Outpost (new, 24v24) | October 23 | "Domination for Ground War": captured Outposts become spawn points, team rewards go up to a Light Tank. |
| Frontline (6v6) | October 23 | You always spawn at your base, more points for killing enemies outside their base. |
| Domination, Hardpoint | October 23 | Flags A/B/C to 200 points; a zone that moves every minute to 250 points (from the beta). |
| Search & Destroy | October 23 | One life, two bomb sites. |
| Gunfight | October 23 | One-life rounds, everyone gets the same random loadout. |
| Team Deathmatch, Kill Confirmed, Free-For-All, Gun Game | October 23 | Classic series modes. |
| Possession (new) | October 29 | No description, officially only the name and the date. |
| Infected | October 30 | The classic infection mode, not Zombies. |
We cover Counter Attack, Drop Zone and the Hardcore variants in the section on disputed information.
Does MW4 have Zombies?
No. Activision has announced three modes: Campaign, Multiplayer and DMZ. Zombies does not appear in any official material, although the studio has not written "there will be no Zombies" outright. The extraction mode is DMZ: see our DMZ guide.
Movement and mechanics
The moves work in Campaign, Multiplayer, DMZ and Warzone, and you can chain actions together.
- Mantle Slide: you go straight from a mantle into a slide (a first for the series).
- Mantle Momentum and Mantle Steering: mantling keeps your speed, and during it you can turn, aim or cancel.
- Supine Slide: double-tapping crouch while sprinting gives a longer, lower slide that ends on your back.
- Pipe Climb and Fast Pipe Slide: climbing pipes and sliding down them quickly.
- Hang Shimmy, Hang Lean, Climbing Jump: moving sideways and aiming while hanging from a ledge, and jumping off it.
Hip fire has no "Bloom", and Enhanced FOV is PC only. You can practice movement in the Mobility Course.
In the second beta weekend Infinity Ward moved Tactical Sprint into the Blood Rush perk ("an experiment for Beta"), shortened the slide by 10% and made Killstreaks cost 1 more kill. The studio also wrote that it is not "fully satisfied with TTK". The state at launch has not been announced.
Create-a-Class and perks (class system)
In one class you set your Operator, weapons, Tactical, Lethal, Field Upgrade, perks and Killstreaks. You can save up to 12 custom classes. In the beta, Create-a-Class unlocked at Player Level 4; before that you play the Assault, Stalker and Breacher classes.
For launch Activision lists 33 weapons, 9 Tactical, 11 Lethal, 11 Field Upgrades, 17 Killstreaks and 18 perks. New equipment includes Trip Wire, Zip Gun, Smoke Wall and Razor Wire; the Riot Shield returns. We cover loadouts in the best weapon builds guide.
Perks use the "Pick 3" system: one from each of three slots. Wildcards do not appear in any official material, and Overkill (two primary weapons) is a regular perk in slot 1.
| Slot | Perks in the beta |
|---|---|
| Perk 1 | Overkill, Ninja, High Alert, Quick Fix, Ghost |
| Perk 2 | Fast Hands, Hardline, Bomb Squad, Tracker |
| Perk 3 | Scavenger, Lethal Reach, Blood Rush, Combat Grid, Battle Hardened, Cold-Blooded |
After the beta Infinity Ward announced changes to how perks are split across slots, so this table may change.
Killstreaks: what we know before launch
You can equip up to 3 Killstreaks per class. The beta had UAV, Care Package, Bomb Glider (a new guided glider), Impact Warhead, Crossfire, Combat Drone, Artillery Beacon, Wheelson, Missile Salvo and Attack Helicopter.
The state at launch is unknown. The August 21 blog describes Smartstreaks, which count kills and objective play, while the beta guide from the same day says "only your elimination streak" counts. Official costs at launch have not been published.
Progression and prestige
Prestige is available from launch. At max Soldier Rank you pick a path:
- Classic Prestige: you reset unlocks and Create-a-Class, and in return get faster XP gain and exclusive rewards.
- Regular Prestige: you go back to level 1 but keep your unlocks and classes.
Activision has not published the max level or the number of prestiges. An attachment unlocked once also works on later weapons. The Battle Pass starts with Season 1.
MW4 beta: dates and content
| Phase | When | Who |
|---|---|---|
| Early Access (Weekend One) | August 21, 2026, 11:00 PT – August 25, 10:00 PT | pre-orders and codes, no Switch 2 |
| Open Beta (Weekend Two) | August 28, 2026, 10:00 PT – September 1 | everyone, including Switch 2 |
The beta had 6 Core maps (Cachette, Lithium, Lotus, Rooftops, Silkworm, Transit 213), Kill Block, Combat Outpost, the Mobility Course, the campaign mission "Entrenched" and Warzone Resurgence on the Zodiac map. The level cap was 20, then 30.
Only cosmetic rewards carry over to the full game (for example the "Dread Tiger" skin for Reece), available from October 23. Your level and weapon unlocks from the beta do not carry over.
SBMM and matchmaking
The MW4 beta used the new matchmaking system from Black Ops 7 Season 05. Activision said that since its introduction, quit rates have dropped by 41% for more than half of players and ping is better. According to quotes in the media, it added: "this is not a return to the tighter matchmaking of recent games". The beta also had an Open Moshpit playlist. Activision has not announced how matchmaking will work on October 23.
Ranked Play
There is no date for Ranked Play in MW4. The first Call of Duty League event in MW4, the Monster Energy Launch Invitational, takes place on November 6–8, 2026.
Disputed information
- Counter Attack and Drop Zone: the August 21 blog listed them for launch, the October 14 graphic does not. It is unclear whether they will be there on October 23. The graphic also says nothing about Hardcore.
- Imjin Farmland or Imjin Farmlands: official texts use both; the latest graphic says Imjin Farmland.
- Hajin or Haijin: the beta guide mixes the spelling, other materials use Hajin.
Frequently asked questions
Does Modern Warfare 4 have a Zombies mode?
No. Officially there are only Campaign, Multiplayer and DMZ. Infected on October 30 is a multiplayer mode, not Zombies.
How many maps does Modern Warfare 4 have at launch?
There are 12 Core 6v6 maps, Kill Block, 3 Ground War maps and 4 Gunfight maps. Shipment arrives on October 27.
When does MW4 multiplayer start?
On October 23, 2026 at midnight local time, which is 00:00 in Poland.
Does MW4 beta progress carry over to the full game?
No. Only cosmetic rewards tied to your Activision account carry over.
