Search for the Modern Warfare 4 release date and time and you get two answers: October 22 and October 23. Re-checking the official sources on October 17, 2026 shows that both numbers really are published somewhere. The official PC intel states that the full game releases on October 23 at midnight local time, and the editions post says the game is available globally on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, PC via Battle.net, Xbox on PC and Steam, and Nintendo Switch 2 on Friday, October 23rd, 2026. On the same day, the Steam store page lists the release date as 22 Oct, 2026 in every store language we checked: English, Korean, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese and Vietnamese. This article covers only the launch timing for the new Call of Duty title: which of the two dates is official, where to read the exact unlock moment instead of guessing at it, and what you can already play through campaign and DMZ early access before launch day. How much free space the install needs is covered in our Modern Warfare 4 install size guide, and the mode itself in our DMZ guide. Every date below was read directly from the official blog and the Steam store on October 17, 2026, and no third-party unlock times are used here.
Bottom line: October 23 at midnight local time is official, the Steam store’s October 22 is a store listing
Start with which source wins. The publisher sets the date, and the official wording is that the full game releases on October 23 at midnight local time; the same post says the game launches October 23 for Xbox on PC, Battle.net and Steam. Plan for 00:00 on October 23 in your own time zone. The October 22 you see on Steam is the release date printed on the store listing, and as of October 17, 2026 the two are still one day apart. Next, the time. In the official material the time is given simply as "midnight local time". There is no official document that breaks the unlock down by region and hour, which is why this article does not build a conversion table. What the store does show is how many days are left: on October 17, 2026 that line read "This game plans to unlock in approximately 5 days". The countdown runs to the store’s own October 22 listing, a day before the official date, so read it as the store’s schedule and check the official channels alongside it as launch approaches. The purchase side has already changed. On October 17, 2026 the Steam purchase panel shows "Advance Access On Now!" and says you can buy the edition and play the game now, ahead of full release. If you buy in, know the refund rules first. Steam’s refund policy says the two-hour playtime limit applies to titles bought before the release date, the 14-day refund window does not start until the release date, and any playtime in Early Access or Advance Access counts against that two-hour limit; the details are in our Steam refund guide. Decide how you are buying, too: the official intel says Modern Warfare 4 launches as a standalone release that must be purchased separately, it is not on Game Pass at launch, and it will not be included with Game Pass until Holiday 2027. Finally, multiplayer fills up the moment the servers open, so if you want a squad ready for launch night, the recruiting methods in our guide to finding game friends and parties are worth a read. One date you should not pin down yet: Season 1 has no announced start date. The official editions post says only of the Vault Edition’s BlackCell that "Access begins with Season 1 (date to be announced)", so any specific Season 1 date you see is not from an official source.
How to pin down the unlock and be ready at midnight
- 1Plan around the official October 23 dateThe official PC intel says the full game releases on October 23 at midnight local time, and the editions post lists Friday, October 23rd, 2026 as the global launch day across Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, PC and Nintendo Switch 2. Treat 00:00 on October 23 in your own time zone as the moment to be ready. If a schedule you find says October 22, it is most likely repeating the Steam store listing.
- 2Read the Steam listing and its countdown togetherThe Steam store page shows "Coming Oct 22, 2026" with the line "This game plans to unlock in approximately 5 days" directly underneath, as of October 17, 2026. The printed date is a day off from the official blog, and the countdown runs to that same October 22 listing rather than to an announced unlock hour. Treat it as the store’s own schedule and read it together with the official channels shortly before launch.
- 3Use the early access window that is already openThe official blog says campaign early access went live on Friday, October 16 for everyone who pre-ordered or pre-purchased digitally, and that DMZ early access starts October 20. Korean, Japanese and Chinese store pages print the same two milestones as October 17 and October 21; the Japanese page labels them Japan time and the Traditional Chinese page labels DMZ as Taiwan / Hong Kong time, so those are the same moments written as local dates. Campaign access runs right up to the full launch.
- 4Finish the preload and the account requirements earlyPC players who pre-purchased digitally can preload from October 15 at 9AM PT. The Steam store page also notes that a mobile phone number must be linked to your Steam account to play Modern Warfare 4, and that TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot are required. Sorting those out on launch night costs time, so check them before October 23.
- 5Know what to check if nothing opens at midnightThe official footnote states that campaign and DMZ early access start dates differ, that actual play time is subject to possible outages and applicable time zone differences, and that platform availability and start dates are subject to change. If the game does not open at 00:00, re-read the store countdown and the official channels first, then check whether your client still has an update pending.
- 6Set up recording before you launch the gameIn DOR, resolution, frame rate and clip length are set before you launch the game. The defaults are 1080p and 30fps, with 1440p and above and 120fps and above available on Pro, so pick your values before midnight. Also confirm in Settings > Games that "Full gameplay recording" is on for Call of Duty and that the drive still has free space.
Modern Warfare 4 launch timing, verified October 17, 2026
| Item | What the official sources say | Where to check it |
|---|---|---|
| Full release | Friday, October 23, 2026, at midnight local time | Official PC intel: "The full game releases on October 23 at midnight local time" |
| Steam store listing | Coming Oct 22, 2026 (same date in all six store languages) | Top of the Steam store page and the store info panel |
| Exact unlock hour | Not announced | The official channels plus the Steam listing close to launch (the store countdown runs to its own October 22 date) |
| Campaign early access | Starting October 16, for players who pre-ordered or pre-purchased digitally | Official blog and the English store description |
| DMZ early access | Starting October 20 | DMZ deep dive post and the store description |
| PC preload | October 15 at 9AM PT, for PC digital pre-purchasers | Official PC intel |
| Game Pass | Not at launch, and not included until Holiday 2027 | Official standalone release intel |
Before midnight on October 23
- I am planning around the official unlock: October 23, midnight local time.
- I opened the Steam store page myself and read both the October 22 listing and the unlock countdown.
- I know what early access already gives me: campaign from October 16 and DMZ from October 20.
- The preload is downloaded and the installation has finished.
- My Steam account has a mobile phone number linked, and Secure Boot and TPM 2.0 are enabled.
- I know the game is not on Game Pass at launch and I have decided how to buy it.
- If I plan to record, I set DOR’s resolution, frame rate and clip length before launching the game.
Keeping your whole first session with DOR
DOR is a free Windows PC app, and Call of Duty is listed in it as a "Full gameplay recording" game. Installation detection looks at the Call of Duty HQ entry on Steam and at the Battle.net install information, and recording keys off the executable that titles launched through Call of Duty HQ use. If the new title does not show up in the list, check Settings > Games. With Call of Duty showing in that list and automatic recording on, launching the game at midnight is enough: everything from launch to exit is kept as a single video. What you get is the full session, and you choose the moments afterwards. If you want to keep that first session, add it to your favourites before you start the next one. With Automatic File Management on, full gameplay videos are managed inside a 5GB share by default; only when that share is full does DOR clear the oldest sessions first, and the newest session and anything you favourited are skipped. To use just one part of a session, open My Clips and use Trim Section to cut it to 16:9, 9:16 or 1:1. Watch your free space as well. Launch-day downloads and patches eat into the drive, and DOR warns you below 30GB free and will not start recording below 20GB. If you also use Steam’s built-in game recording, start with the space allotted to background recording in our Steam game recording disk space guide. DOR is a Windows PC app, so everything above is for the PC version.
