PC system requirements: Minimum, Recommended and Ray Tracing
Activision lists three tiers of requirements. MW4 has no separate "Competitive" tier and no "Ultra 4K" tier without ray tracing.
| Minimum | Recommended | Ray Tracing | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Target | running the game | 90 FPS in multiplayer on High | High ray tracing at 4K with upscaling |
| OS | Windows 10 64-bit | Windows 11 64-bit | Windows 11 64-bit |
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 5 1400 / Intel Core i5-6600 | AMD Ryzen 5 3600 / Intel Core i7-8700K | AMD Ryzen 7 3700X / Intel Core i7-10700K |
| RAM | 8 GB | 16 GB | 32 GB |
| Graphics card | Radeon RX 470 / GeForce GTX 970 / GTX 1060 / Arc A580 | Radeon RX 6600 XT / GeForce RTX 3060 Ti / Arc B580 | Radeon RX 9070 XT / GeForce RTX 5070 Ti |
| VRAM | 3 GB | 8 GB | 16 GB |
| Storage | 115 GB, SSD | 115 GB, SSD | 115 GB, SSD |
What else has to be in place:
- DirectX 12 and a broadband connection. Windows on the latest update; Insider and beta builds may not work.
- An Intel or AMD CPU with AVX instructions. The game does not support any others.
- Intel Arc cards need Resizable BAR turned on.
- The requirements apply to desktop PCs. Laptop versions of graphics cards "may not be supported", Activision says.
- On Steam you need a mobile phone number linked to your Steam account and an Activision account.
The game picks settings for your hardware automatically. Activision promises 90 FPS on Recommended hardware without manual tweaking. To test your own PC, use the built-in Benchmark Tool: it simulates a multiplayer match, shows average FPS, CPU and GPU results, ping and input latency, and suggests settings.
Discrepancies: RTX 3060 or 3060 Ti, i7-8700K or i7-8700
The official sources do not fully agree:
- Intel CPU (Recommended): the Activision blog, the PC page and Steam list the Core i7-8700K, while the Activision support page lists the Core i7-8700 (no K).
- NVIDIA card (Recommended): Steam lists the RTX 3060, while the blog, the PC page and support list the RTX 3060 Ti. Steam also shows only two tiers and gives no VRAM figure.
- The 12 GB RAM minimum comes from the beta (August 2026). The beta had a higher minimum (Ryzen 5 1600 / Core i5-8400, 12 GB RAM) and an RX 6700 XT in Recommended. The launch version asks for less: 8 GB RAM and an RX 6600 XT.
The safer choice is the higher variant: i7-8700K and RTX 3060 Ti.
How much storage Modern Warfare 4 needs on PC
Officially you need an SSD with 115 GB free at launch. That is a free-space requirement, not a fixed download size. Mandatory updates may need more.
Players report different numbers, depending on the modes they pick:
| What you download | Player reports |
|---|---|
| Battle.net (preload) | 156 GB |
| Call of Duty HQ (another player) | 110 GB |
| Campaign, DMZ and multiplayer without Warzone | 124 GB |
| With Warzone | about 250 GB |
| Separate packs (platform not stated) | Campaign 64.85 GB, DMZ 41.24 GB, Multiplayer 55.42 GB |
The shared Call of Duty HQ launcher is mandatory. On Steam, MW4 is not a separate game: the Campaign, Multiplayer and DMZ packs are DLC under "Call of Duty" (Library → Call of Duty → gear icon → Properties → DLC). That is where you untick the modes you do not need. The Xbox app on PC works the same way. The PC preload officially started on October 15, 2026.
TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot: no online play without them
Activision says it plainly: "TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot are required to play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 on PC". In Black Ops 7 and Warzone, players without these protections are only restricted (for example, no Ranked Play). In MW4 they cannot play any online mode. Both protections are part of the RICOCHET Anti-Cheat system.
Windows 11 usually has both turned on. On Windows 10 you need version 22H2 or later. An old TPM 1.0–1.2 is not enough.
How to check and enable them (following Activision's guide):
- Download the Call of Duty Secure Attestation Wizard from the Activision support page. It shows "System compliant" or what you need to change.
- Check TPM: press Win+R and type
tpm.msc. "The TPM is ready for use" means you are fine. "Compatible TPM cannot be found" means TPM is disabled in the BIOS or not supported. - Enable TPM in the BIOS/UEFI (Advanced, Security or Trusted Computing tab): on Intel it is Intel PTT or Security Device Support, on AMD it is AMD CPU fTPM. Save (usually F10) and restart.
- Enable Secure Boot: set Boot Mode to UEFI (not Legacy, with CSM disabled), your system drive must use GPT (not MBR), then turn Secure Boot on. "Secure Boot State: Unsupported" means your motherboard may not support it.
- The first time you launch the game, a UAC prompt appears for CODBrokerInstaller.exe (sometimes enrollaik.exe). Choose "Yes". If you choose "No", you cannot play.
AMD motherboards with TPM "Manufacturer Version 3..0." are incompatible and need a BIOS update (symptom: the enrollaik.exe prompt keeps coming back after "Yes"). If everything is enabled and you still see "Failed Attestation Status", report it at support.activision.com/tpm-report.
Steam Deck and Linux: Activision has not taken a position, and Steam lists Windows only.
DLSS 4.5, FSR Redstone, XeSS 3 and Reflex
In the Resolution Scaling Technique option you choose NVIDIA DLSS 4.5, AMD FSR Redstone, Intel XeSS 3 or Filmic SMAA T2X (the default anti-aliasing). The beta menu also had AMD FSR Frame Generation. NVIDIA features according to NVIDIA:
| NVIDIA feature | Cards | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| DLSS 4.5 Super Resolution | RTX | upscaling in all modes |
| DLSS 4.5 Frame Generation | RTX 40 | frame generation |
| Dynamic Multi Frame Generation | RTX 50 | frame generation up to 6X |
| NVIDIA Reflex | all RTX | lower latency |
The sharpness slider works with every upscaler. The game also supports HDR10+ and ultrawide monitors and has more than 800 settings options.
Modern Warfare 4 does not have DLSS 5. All NVIDIA material about MW4 mentions only DLSS 4.5. DLSS 5 runs only on RTX 50 cards and in GeForce NOW, and the only game named for it is NBA 2K27.
Ray tracing and DLSS: according to GameGPU, in the campaign (early access) turning on ray tracing locks DLSS, FSR and XeSS, and the game forces Filmic SMAA T2X. In the beta, RT worked together with DLSS (zWORMz test). Check this after launch.
Ray tracing is very expensive. In the beta, zWORMz got about 90–100 FPS at 4K on an RTX 5090 without RT (DLAA) and just over 40 FPS with RT. According to GameGPU, only an RTX 5090 reached 60 FPS at 1440p with RT on maximum settings. Frame Generation raises the frame counter but adds latency: on a GTX 970, zWORMz got over 70 FPS with FSR Frame Generation, but called the latency "crazy" and recommends turning it off.
Drivers
| Vendor | Recommended driver (Activision, as of October 16, 2026) |
|---|---|
| AMD | 26.7.1 |
| NVIDIA | 616.56; an ASD-compatible driver is due on October 21, 2026 |
| Intel | 32.0.101.8974 |
NVIDIA released Game Ready driver 617.42 WHQL with MW4 optimizations on October 6, 2026, but Activision still lists 616.56. This is not yet the announced ASD driver. One AMD player had crashes on 26.8.1, and going back to 26.7.1 helped a little.
Advanced Shader Delivery (ASD) delivers precompiled shaders with the installation. Activision advises installing the Xbox PC app, no matter where you bought the game, if you want the full ASD benefit.
Best multiplayer settings (from the beta)
Multiplayer launches on October 23, 2026. The settings below come from the beta (August 2026) and from guides without their own FPS measurements.
PC options worth knowing:
- Enhanced FOV: PC only, widens the view at the screen edges without changing the center. Guides disagree: esports.gg recommends Off, BoostingFactory On.
- World Depth of Field and Weapon Depth of Field: depth blur set separately for the world and your weapon.
- Independent / Affected: whether FOV changes when you aim down sights (ADS).
- 1st Person Camera Movement (Settings → Camera) with the Minimal (25%) option. In the beta it reset when switching Warzone ↔ Multiplayer.
Competitive profile according to esports.gg (beta):
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Upscaling / Sharpening | NVIDIA DLSS |
| NVIDIA DLSS Preset | Performance |
| NVIDIA DLSS Model | Transformer |
| DLSS / AMD FSR Frame Generation | Off |
| Ray Tracing Reflections | Off |
| VRAM Scale Target | 80 |
| World / Weapon Motion Blur | Off |
| World / Weapon Depth of Field | Off |
| Texture Resolution | Normal |
| Shadow Quality | Very Low |
| Screen Space Reflections | Off |
| Volumetric Quality | Low |
| On-Demand Texture Streaming | Optimized |
| Field of View (FOV) | 100–110 |
Tests (not opinions) show that ray tracing cuts FPS by more than half and Frame Generation adds latency, so for competitive play it is better to turn both off. On weak cards, FSR Quality at 1080p gains little FPS and blurs the image a lot.
Known issues and workarounds
The official bug list is the Infinity Ward Trello board. Recent changes:
- Campaign early access failing to start in the Xbox app on PC: fix released, Activision is monitoring (October 17, 2026).
- Fixed on October 13, 2026: hitching while recording (for example with NVIDIA ShadowPlay) and an FPS drop when aiming with Quick Draw attachments.
For crashes, Activision advises: a cool, well-ventilated spot for your PC, hardware that meets the minimum, background apps closed, drivers on the recommended versions, and uninstalling input remapping, overlay and recording software, because it can interfere even when it is not running.
Workarounds from players (not official fixes, and they do not work for everyone):
| Problem | Player workaround |
|---|---|
| Crash at startup, error 0x00001338 | Windows → Core Isolation → Memory Integrity On, restart, verify files (Steam: Verify Integrity of Files, Battle.net: Scan & Repair); on NVIDIA, in the NVIDIA app: System → Debug Mode → Enabled |
| DirectX crash 0x887A0005 / 0x887A0006 after enabling ray tracing (reports from RX 9060 XT and RX 9070 XT) | close the game, open %LOCALAPPDATA%\Activision\Call of Duty\players, back up s.1.0.cod26.txt, set DxrMode@0 and DxrMode@1 to Off, and DxrDenoiser@0 to Default |
| Crash right after launch (for example 0xC0000005) | run Steam as administrator, delete the shader cache, unplug the controller at launch, update the BIOS |
Frequently asked questions
Does Modern Warfare 4 have DLSS 5?
No. As of October 19, 2026, MW4 has DLSS 4.5 (Super Resolution, Frame Generation, Dynamic Multi Frame Generation up to 6X on RTX 50) and Reflex. NVIDIA does not list MW4 among DLSS 5 games.
Can I play MW4 without TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot?
Not online: without them the game blocks every online mode for you. The steps to enable them are above.
How many GB is Modern Warfare 4 on PC?
Officially you need 115 GB free on an SSD. Players report about 110–156 GB without Warzone and about 250 GB with Warzone.
Will MW4 run on a laptop?
Activision gives requirements for desktop PCs and warns that laptop versions of graphics cards may not be supported. You also need TPM 2.0, Secure Boot and an SSD.
Release dates, launch times and editions are in our everything about the game article, and consoles and crossplay in the platforms and Switch 2 guide.
