Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 Launch Patch Notes

Following the beta tests and early access, the latest MW4 game will launch worldwide soon. Ahead of the global release, Infinity Ward has shared the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 patch notes to let players know what’s available at launch. So, check out the official Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 patch notes to learn more about all the new content, changes, improvements, and fixes.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 Release Date and Time

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 launches worldwide on October 23, 2026, at 12:00 AM local time.

Players who preordered Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 can now preload the game and play it right away when it drops tomorrow.

Infinity Ward has shared the pre-launch patch notes for CoD: MW4 at the time of writing to share more about the new weapons, movement, spawns, etc., along with additional fixes and improvements. So, the full Call of Duty: MW4 pre-launch patch notes are as follows:

Multiplayer Content

Here is a quick overview of all the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 multiplayer content available on day one:

• 20 Multiplayer Maps
  • 12 Core 6v6 Maps
  • 3 Ground War Maps
  • 4 Gunfight Maps
  • Kill Block
• 12 Multiplayer Modes
• 33 Weapons
• 33 Operators
• A full progression journey through Level 55

Progression and Prestige

• For the first time in CoD history, Modern Warfare 4 will feature two Prestige Paths. Players can unlock unlock Operator Skins, Weapon Blueprints, and more inspired by Infinity Ward’s past games.
• All 10 MW4 Prestige icons pay tribute to CoD’s history. Prestige Master and Prestige Legend are considered special icons for veteran players.
• Longtime players can also unlock Prestige Master with the full selection of legacy Prestige icons from across the franchise, including all the classic Modern Warfare games.
• Modern Warfare 4 multiplayer rewards include a deep Weapon Camo and Attachment grind, multiple Reticles with various color variations (including an elusive blue dot), and more.
• A new, deeper Weapon Camo progression journey shared between Multiplayer, DMZ, and Warzone Season 1.
• Special Camo Challenges in particular will automatically adjust to the specific mode you’re playing.
• Once you complete a Special Camo Challenge in any mode, that Special Camo will be available in all modes.

Maps

The following Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 Multiplayer maps will be available at launch:

• Core 6v6 Maps 
  • Cachette 
  • Coal 
  • Lithium 
  • Lotus 
  • Mumbai 
  • Munition 
  • Nautical 
  • Reactor U92 
  • Rooftops 
  • Sentry 
  • Silkworm 
  • Transit 213 
• Ground War 32v32 Maps 
  • Imjin Farmland 
  • Wolves Stadium 
  • Forest 
• Gunfight 2v2 Maps 
  • Cafe 
  • Library 
  • NYC 
  • Smuggler 

Kill Block

• New dynamic Multiplayer map
  • Supports 3v3 and 10v10 Gunfight at launch 
  • 6v6 modes supported post-launch  
  • New Slabs and configurations coming post-launch 

Game Modes

Infinity Ward has confirmed that over a dozen Multiplayer modes are available at launch, including returning favorites and several new additions (including Hardcore). So, here is a list of all the game modes in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4:

• TDM
• Domination
• Hardpoint
• Kill Confirmed
• Free-For-All
• Frontline
• Search & Destroy
• Gunfight
• Gun Game
• Inflation 
• Hijack 
• Collateral 
• Combat Outpost 

In addition, Infected and the new Possession mode are coming to the game next week as part of the Halloween update.

Providing Grounds: Mobility Course

• Following the Mobility Course in Beta, devs are introducing a new Proving Grounds where players can practice movement and a variety of combat training exercises in one place.
• So players can freely improve their movement, sharpen their combat skills, or get more familiar with gameplay mechanics here.
• Proving Grounds gives you the space to practice before jumping into a match or test your skills for a high score.

Weapons

A total of 33 weapons across Primary, Secondary, and Melee categories are available at launch. Unlocks Create-a-Class by reaching Player Level 4, with Default Loadouts available before then. So, here are all the primary and secondary weapons available in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4:

Primary Weapons

Assault Rifles

• Han 86 
• M4 
• Hyeon Burst 
• Patriot XMR 
• Kastov 762 
• Oden 
• Axion 
• Cronen Squall  

Submachine Guns

• ISO Nightshade 
• VEL 46 
• Wz.55 Striga 
• PPSh-41 
• X-58 Nyx  

Shotguns

• Rezi 12 
• Warlord  

LMGs

• Finn LMG 
• Type 73 
• APOC-338  

Marksman Rifles

• MAR-9 
• Oris 8.6 
• Mosin-Nagant  

Sniper Rifles

• KG-7 Vulcan 
• Astaroth .57 
• Signal 50  

Secondary Weapons

Pistols

• Sang 9mm 
• Krait P68 
• .50 GS 
• Mojave .357 

Launchers

• PILA 
• RPG-8 
• JOKR 
• PM-40 Anvil 

Melee

• FSS Carbon Edge 1095  

Weapon Tuning

Following the player feedback during Call of Duty: MW 4 beta weekends, devs have fine-tuned several weapons in the game:

• SMGs are now more effective in close- to mid-range combat.
• Powerful one-hit-kill weapons are tempered with flinch and damage tuning
• All weapons have had a deep balance pass to ensure the weapon you pick is a choice, not a requirement. 
• All attachments have been tuned to make sure Gunsmith allows flexibility and balance.
• Advanced Weapon Stats are also available at launch

The following weapon pillars must work together in harmony to deliver the best version of Modern Warfare 4:

• Distinction – Classes and weapons have clear, unique roles on the battlefield. 
• Balance – Players can find success with every tool available. 
• Feel – Weapons feel awesome, visceral, and fun. 

Weapon Progression

• MW4 weapon system offers deep weapon customization with a variety of attachments and modifications.
• Weapon progression has been streamlined to let players grow their arsenal without friction.
• No redundant unlocks due to shared attachments.
• The speed of weapon progression increases with every shared attachment you’ve earned. 
• Shared attachments are instantly available for every weapon that can use them after you unlock each.
• Each attachment is a valuable piece of equipment that makes your entire arsenal more powerful. 
• Improved how weapon progression displays weapon unlocks instead of weapon levels.
• Improved the visualization of weapon progress after a match to more clearly represent a how progress is skipped with shared attachments. 

Weapon Prestige

• As mentioned earlier, the Weapon Prestige system returns for players who want a more dedicated grind to their favorite weapon.
• All attachments on that weapon (including shared attachments) become locked if a player chooses to Prestige their weapon.
• Then the weapon moves to a classic level system unlock.
• The shared attachments will remain unlocked on other weapons that have not been prestiged.

Optic and Reticle Customization

• Added a new Optic Rail Placement feature in Gunsmith, allowing you to customize your weapon’s ADS sight picture to your preference.  
• This is just a cosmetic adjustment that can change the feel of your weapon.
• Players can tune and preview the ADS perspective in Gunsmith.
• Reticle Customization is also available on optics, with a small but significant improvement made to thermal optics.
• When you earn and equip a custom reticle for a thermal, it comes with a completely different thermal effect.
• If you find a thermal optic you like but don’t enjoy that specific thermal effect, we have created a variety of authentic and distinct thermal options that are available when you customize our thermal optics reticle. 

Perk Placements

After the Beta, devs have reconfigured the Perk distribution to better balance categories and keep interesting player choices between speed, durability, utility, and stealth.  So, here is the complete list of perks available at MW4’s launch:

Perk 1 

• Quick Fix 
• Overkill 
• High Alert 
• Ghost 
• Resupply 
• Kill Chain 

Perk 2 

• Hardline 
• Blood Rush 
• Bomb Squad 
• Fast Hands 
• Ninja 
• Birdseye 

Perk 3 

• Lethal Reach 
• Combat Grid 
• Battle Hardened 
• Scavenger 
• Tracker 
• Cold-Blooded  

Perk Tuning

The following perks have been buffed based on players’ feedback:

• Battle Hardened will now more effectively negate most of the effects from Tactical grenades like the Flash, Concussion, and Screamer Mine. 
• Resupply has been buffed to provide your first recharge faster. 
• Blood Rush has been updated so that pressing the sprint key automatically triggers Tactical Sprint by default. If you prefer to manage this directly, head towards the Movement Advanced Settings to adjust it. 

Player Movement

• Movements in MW4 are tuned to feel more balanced, grounded, and smoother.
• Bugs and glitches related to enemy movements have been fixed to eliminate unrealistic-looking movements.
• Tactical Sprint is not available by default from now on.
• The default input for Tactical Sprint is now “single tap run.” This means when you activate sprint with Blood Rush equipped, you will Tac Sprint as long as stamina allows.
• For players who want full autonomy over when they use their Tac Sprint, we still have “double tap” and “single tap sprint” options available. 

Multiplayer Spawns

• Spawn work has been greatly improved since the Beta, including further iteration on the changes we made to player separation, squad spawning, and Hardpoint spawn predictability.
• Reoriented spawns around consistent flow to make sure players are never far from the battle.

Killstreaks

• 17 Killstreaks are available at launch.
• Each can be attached to individual Multiplayer loadouts for the first time in a Modern Warfare game. 
• New Smart Streak Later, where performing objective tasks like capturing a point in Domination will contribute towards your Killstreak meter.
• Killstreak tuning in the second weekend of the Beta that increased the cost of all streaks will remain for launch, meaning UAVs are 5 kills (or 4 kills with the Hardline perk equipped). 

Furthermore, two specific killstreak changes have been made for launch: 

• UAV health has been increased from 100 to 150, following feedback that UAVs were too easy to shoot down after their health was reduced during the Beta.  
• Wheelson pathing and targeting logic have been reworked to be more aggressive and prevent confusion when targets change quickly. 

Equipment

Create-a-Class includes 9 Tacticals, 11 Lethals, and 12 Field Upgrades at launch. This equipment ranges from returning equipment like the Flash Grenade, Stim, Frag Grenade, and Trophy System to options like the Screamer Mine, Zip Gun, Smoke Wall, and Seeker Drone.  

Fixes

Here is a list of fixes and tweaks that have been made in time for MW4’s launch: 

Tacticals

• Flash and Concussion effective range and duration have been slightly reduced. 

UI/UX

• Improved communication around Shared Attachments (see above) 
• Reduced or eliminated pre-game countdown timers that had been originally intended to give previous generation consoles time to load 
• Added logic to start pre-loading maps earlier to avoid slowdowns waiting for the map to finish loading 
• Gameplay Improvements
  • Reduced blur size on splashes to improve gameplay visibility 
• Gunny
  • Improved the positioning of Gunny tutorials 
  • Reduced the notifications you get about Gunny 
  • Gunny got a facelift! 
• Weapon Builds
  • Weapon Builds were previously automatically saved when players left the Gunsmith, flooding their Build list. Weapon Build saving in Gunsmith is now a manual process. 
  • Weapon Builds edited in-match are now automatically saved. 
• Various minor improvements and fixes to the front end 

Audio

• Added missing destruction audio for various destructible objects across Multiplayer maps. 
• Fixed an issue where mounted vehicle turrets were missing audio. 
• Fixed an issue where Heartbeat Sensor pings could become muted underwater. 
• Added audio cues when sending and receiving text messages. 
• Fixed issues causing audio dropouts when using the Assault Drone and Bomb Glider. 
• Adjusted the audio mix and audible distances for the Chopper Gunner and its weapons. 
• Updated Gunship audio to improve the overall Killstreak experience. 
• Improved the Nuke sequence audio mix and fixed issues causing audio dropouts. 

Bug Fixes

Multiplayer

• Fixed a server crash that could occur during Multiplayer matches. 
• Fixed various visual issues on Cachette. 
• Fixed an issue where the Seeker Drone could incorrectly deploy out of bounds and be destroyed in certain areas of Multiplayer maps. 
• Fixed an issue where the Killstreak counter could reset after using the Argonaut. 
• Fixed an issue where match completion events were not being properly recorded in Multiplayer and DMZ. 

DMZ

• Addressed on Oct. 20: 
  • Addressed various crashes and stability issues, including a crash when breaching the door in Breaking New Ground. 
  • Fixed an issue where the After-Action Report could incorrectly display 0 XP earned after a player’s first match. 
  • Fixed an issue where the ISO Apex Attachment would not function as intended in DMZ. 
  • Fixed an issue where players could get double completion credit for story missions. 
  • Fixed an issue where enemy AI could move into unintended areas when a player was downed during Breaking New Ground. 
  • Fixed some instances where enemy AI could run over players while infilling. 
  • Fixed an issue where some Dynamic Operations “find the keypad codes in safes” could appear in locked spaces. 
  • Fixed an issue where only the player who dealt the final blow to a Commander received XP and progress toward the “King Slayer” Calling Card when playing in a squad. 
  • Fixed an issue where the Impact Smokes Pro Trait would not activate when a player was downed. 
  • Fixed some incorrect DMZ Orders description text. 
  • Fixed an issue where shadows could visibly pop in and out when moving around the FOB. 
  • Fixed an issue where the tablet screen could fail to turn on after searching the crashed drone in Breaking New Ground. 
  • Fixed an issue on where a missing prompt could prevent players from progressing the Chemical Denial Dynamic Op at NuriGO Mall on Nintendo Switch 2. 
  • Fixed an issue where the Gunsmith Attachment menu could remain stuck onscreen during deployment. 
  • Fixed an issue where players could not purchase saved Blueprint modifications on Nintendo Switch 2. 
  • Fixed some areas where players could get stuck in the rocks in Hajin.  
  • Fixed an issue where players could not equip an Active Duty Operator in their Showcase. 
  • Fixed an issue where selecting Untrack Recipe with no recipes tracked at the 3D Printer could kick the player out of the FOB. 
  • Fixed an issue where selling starting equipment or dismissing Active Duty Operators with starting equipment equipped before your first deployment could result in a soft lock. 
• Addressed on Oct. 21: 
  • Fixed an error that could occur when opening the Dog Tag Case. 
  • Fixed an issue where the Toxic Intercept Op could incorrectly fail after completing the Defend the Bomb objective. 
  • Fixed a performance issue on PC when holding a Heartbeat Sensor with a weapon equipped. 
  • Fixed an issue where AI enemies could run over players during infiltration in NK Wilderness. 
  • Fixed an issue where Dynamic Operations text could display incorrectly when Menu Text Size was set to Larger or Largest. 
  • Fixed an issue where the Orders rewards section of the End Game Report could appear in low resolution. 
  • Fixed some unintended voice lines during Breaking New Ground. 

Weapons

• Fixed an issue where the Firing Range could incorrectly display a 0.00 TTK for the Rezi 12 Shotgun. 
• Added weapon level icons to Melee and Launcher weapons. 

Campaign

• Fixed a progression blocker in the Hotel sequence of Counter Attack. 

UI/UX

• Several hundred bugs have been fixed.

Event and Rewards

• A variety of events are planned for CoD: MW4, including all-new formats and returning favorites.
• Event rewards include Apex Attachments, Weapon Camos, Calling Cards, Operator Skins, and more. 
• Weekly Challenges will not be available in Season 1 as devs prioritize delivering more engaging events.
• Recurring events will be introduced as well. So if anyone misses the chance to complete a full track, they get another chance to earn that top reward.
• Players can earn camo rewards for completing multiple events.

And that’s a wrap on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 pre-launch patch notes. Stay tuned for the complete launch day patch notes next. In the meantime, let us know your thoughts about the new content for MW4 Season 1 in the comments below.