Activision and Infinity Ward have officially revealed Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, with the next entry in the series set to launch on 23 October 2026. The game is being developed by Infinity Ward and is planned for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC and Nintendo Switch 2. After hanging on to older generation platforms for a while, this instalment will not be released on either the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One.
Modern Warfare 4 centres its campaign on a conflict beginning on the Korean Peninsula, where North Korea launches a full-scale invasion. Players will take on the role of Private Park, a young South Korean soldier caught in live combat for the first time as his squad is pushed into a desperate fight across collapsing cities and counteroffensives.
Away from the front lines, Captain Price returns in a different position from where players last saw him. Now described as an operator turned outlaw, Price is working outside the system he once served while hunting a weapon that could shift the global balance of power. His personal mission is set to collide with the wider conflict, pushing the war beyond Korea.
The campaign will move across several international locations, including trench warfare in Korea, close-quarters combat in New York, car chases through Paris, SAS night raids in Mumbai and large-scale assaults to reclaim occupied territory. Activision says the story is intended to take Modern Warfare into darker territory while bringing long-running narrative threads to a major breaking point.
Multiplayer is being positioned around grounded, precise combat and a new weapon-focused system called Ballistic Authority. The system is pitched as an attempt to bring aiming, weapon handling, audio, visibility, operator stance, camera behaviour and bullet trajectory into a single combat fidelity model. As part of that approach, bloom has been removed, with hipfire shots designed to feel more predictable and connected to where the weapon is pointed. Recoil, convergence and handling have also been rebuilt to more directly reflect player input, while visual effects and depth of field have been adjusted to improve enemy visibility without moving away from the series’ military presentation. Movement has also been refined, with Modern Warfare 4 introducing expanded options for mantling, climbing, hanging and jumping. These systems are intended to support both slower tactical play and more aggressive movement across the game’s maps.
At launch, Multiplayer will include 12 Core maps, each built around distinct global locations and visual identities. Additional map types will include dedicated Gunfight maps and Big War maps, with the latter focused on larger battles involving infantry and vehicles.
One of the new Multiplayer additions is Kill Block, a dynamic battleground set inside the Westbridge Training Facility. The map reconfigures between rounds by reshaping sightlines, routes and cover. Built from modular sections, Kill Block can create more than 500 configurations, with more sections and layouts planned for future live seasons. Kill Block will support expanded Gunfight formats, including 3v3 and 10v10, with support for more core Multiplayer modes planned later.
Modern Warfare 4 will also introduce changes to progression and customisation. A redesigned Create-a-Class system will bring Operators, weapons, Equipment and Killstreaks into a single loadout structure. Gunsmith is returning with deeper customisation, while attachments will now be shared by weapon class to make build creation more streamlined. A new feature called Gunny will help players assemble weapon builds based on preferred playstyles and unlocked attachments. These configurations are being developed by Infinity Ward’s Weapons Team, with options aimed at close, mid and long-range combat. Apex Attachments are another new progression feature. These are earned by fully progressing a weapon and can change how that weapon behaves in combat, including its handling, firing behaviour, tactical utility, stealth capability or combat role.
Prestige will also be split into two paths. Classic Prestige will provide the traditional reset experience, relocking Create-a-Class progression in exchange for increased XP earn rates and exclusive rewards. Regular Prestige will let players restart from Level 1 without resetting Create-a-Class content, while still offering its own rewards and milestones.
DMZ is also returning as the game’s extraction experience. Players will be able to deploy solo or with a squad into a shifting combat zone as an off-the-books asset tasked with recovering advanced military technology left behind after the war. The mode will feature changing weather, dynamic military objectives and hostile forces moving throughout the area. Activision will share more information about DMZ next week
On PC, Infinity Ward is working with Beenox on a version designed to give players more control over performance, visual fidelity, responsiveness and customisation. The PC release will include expanded graphics options, competitive-focused settings, upscaling and frame generation options, and high-end features including DLSS 4.5 support and expanded real-time ray tracing across Campaign, Multiplayer and DMZ.
Modern Warfare 4 is also being developed natively for Nintendo Switch 2 by Infinity Ward in partnership with Digital Legends. It marks the Modern Warfare series’ return to Nintendo platforms after more than a decade.
