Activision has confirmed Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 campaign early access, which begins October 16 — a full week before the game’s release date.

Modern Warfare 4 is the first Call of Duty game to get Campaign early access since 2023's Modern Warfare 3, whose Campaign was poorly received (IGN awarded it 4/10). 2024's Black Ops 6 and 2025's Black Ops 7 both skipped Campaign early access, so perhaps Modern Warfare 4 returning to the feature signals a confidence in this year's Campaign at Activision.

In a blog post, Activision said that to gain access to Campaign early access, you have to pre-order the game. This applies to those pre-ordering or pre-purchasing the Standard Digital Edition or Vault Edition of the game on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, PlayStation 5, Battle.net, Steam, and Nintendo Switch 2. (Modern Warfare 4 will be available for pre-order on Nintendo Switch 2 later this year.)

It’s worth noting that Modern Warfare 4 is not a day one Game Pass launch, after new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma decided to pull new Call of Duty games out of the subscription service, instead adding them some time after release. That means that if you want to play Modern Warfare 4, you’ll have to pay for the game directly.

Here’s the official blurb on the Modern Warfare 4 Campaign:

In the Modern Warfare 4 Campaign, you fight as Private Park, a young South Korean soldier facing live combat for the first time alongside his squad. What begins as a routine mission descends into chaos when North Korea launches a full-scale invasion, forcing Park and his unit into a desperate battle through collapsing cities and counteroffensives. Beyond the front lines, operator-turned-outlaw Captain Price is operating outside the system he once served. A hunt for revenge draws Price toward a weapon powerful enough to shift the balance of power, setting in motion a conflict far greater than he ever anticipated. Forced into uneasy alliances and off-book operations, Price is pulled deeper into consequences he can no longer escape. From large-scale battles and covert missions to combined-arms warfare and cinematic set pieces, the campaign delivers grounded combat and gameplay variety across a war that spreads far beyond the front lines.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 development is led by Infinity Ward and will be available globally on Friday, October 23.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.