Modern Warfare 4 Release Date and Unlock Time on PC and Xbox

Release date: October 22, 2026

Modern Warfare 4 releases Thursday, October 22, 2026, the date on the Steam US page (Steam). Unlock times vary by region. It launches on Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2 (Call of Duty blog, May 28, 2026; Xbox).

Unlock time: midnight local time

The publisher's PC post says the full game releases at midnight local time (Call of Duty blog, September 29, 2026). The same post adds that actual play time is subject to possible outages and time zone differences.

What that means in practice is not confirmed. The publisher has not published a per platform or per region unlock table, and we found no official exact hour today. "Local time" usually means the time zone of your device or account region, but no official page defines it for this launch, so we do not publish a time zone table.

Early access already live for digital pre-orders

Campaign Early Access from October 16 (PT)

Players who digitally pre-ordered or pre-purchased any digital edition can play the full Campaign until launch. The publisher lists Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Battle.net and Steam among the platforms (Call of Duty blog, October 16, 2026).

DMZ Early Access from October 20 (PT)

The publisher's editions article lists DMZ Early Access from Tuesday, October 20 (PT) for all digital editions (Activision Support). Start dates differ by mode and are subject to change.

Preloading on PC and Xbox

PC: The publisher says preloading on PC begins October 15 at 9 AM PT for digital pre-purchases (Call of Duty blog, September 29, 2026). Activision's install guide covers the steps for Battle.net, Steam and Xbox on PC (Activision Support).

Xbox console: We could not confirm an Xbox console preload start time on an official page today.

Download size: Not confirmed. The official PC requirements list an SSD with 115 GB available space at launch, and the Steam page lists the same (Steam). That is a storage requirement, not a preload size. We found no official preload size for any platform, and we do not repeat press figures.

Unlock times vary by region

Modern Warfare 4 releases Thursday, October 22, 2026, the date on the Steam US page. Unlock times vary by region. The publisher says it unlocks at midnight local time, so check your launcher. The Battle.net game page did not load for us today, so we could not check its date.

Key type reminder

A Steam key and a Battle.net key are not interchangeable, and an Xbox key covers Xbox Series X|S and Xbox on PC through Xbox Play Anywhere. See which key Modern Warfare 4 uses on PC and Xbox and the Modern Warfare 4 PC system requirements.

AskLoot is an AI tool for finding PC and Xbox game keys. It does not cover every game. Questions: hello@askloot.com.

Sources (checked Tuesday, October 20, 2026)

• Call of Duty blog, announcement, May 28, 2026: https://www.callofduty.com/blog/2026/05/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-4-announcement
• Call of Duty blog, PC trailer, tech specs and preloading, September 29, 2026: https://www.callofduty.com/blog/2026/09/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-4-pc-trailer-tech-specs-features
• Call of Duty blog, Campaign Early Access live, October 16, 2026: https://www.callofduty.com/blog/2026/10/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-4-campaign-early-access-live-now
• Activision Support, Modern Warfare 4 Editions: https://support.activision.com/modern-warfare-4/articles/modern-warfare-4-editions
• Activision Support, Installation and Setup (dated 10/15/26): https://support.activision.com/modern-warfare-4/articles/modern-warfare-4-installation
• Xbox game page: https://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-4
• Steam app page (release date and storage only): https://store.steampowered.com/app/4435490/
• We use the Steam US date, October 22, 2026. Unlock times vary by region.
• Not confirmed today: exact unlock hour, Xbox console preload start, preload size on any platform, and the Battle.net page date.

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