The next mainline entry

Call of Duty's 2026 title has a name and a date. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, developed by Infinity Ward, was revealed via the official Call of Duty blog in May 2026 and releases Friday, October 23, 2026. It continues the rebooted Modern Warfare storyline that has anchored the franchise's most popular recent run.

A large network of supporting studios, including Beenox, Raven, Treyarch, Sledgehammer, High Moon, and Digital Legends, is contributing, reflecting the scale of a modern Call of Duty production.

Platforms and story

Modern Warfare 4's key details set it apart from recent entries:

It launches on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC via Battle.net, Steam, and Xbox on PC, and notably Nintendo Switch 2.
It will not release on PS4 or Xbox One, marking a clean break from last-gen hardware.
The campaign centers on a North Korean invasion of the Korean Peninsula, with dual protagonists Private Park, a South Korean soldier, and the returning Captain Price.
Missions span Korea, New York, Paris, and Mumbai.
Confirmed features include a campaign, 12 core launch maps, a dynamic Kill Block training facility, a returning DMZ extraction mode, Gunsmith, two Prestige paths, and Warzone cross-progression.

Why it stands out

The Switch 2 release is the headline for hardware watchers. A mainline Call of Duty launching day and date on a Nintendo console is a landmark, extending the franchise's reach to an audience it has largely missed for years and capitalizing on the Switch 2's strong debut.

Dropping last-gen support is equally significant. By building solely for current-generation hardware, Infinity Ward can target higher fidelity and more ambitious systems without the compromises of scaling down to aging consoles. The trade-off is that PS4 and Xbox One owners are left behind, and Warzone on those platforms will sunset with MW4's first season.

The campaign's Korean invasion premise and the return of Captain Price give the story a grounded, high-stakes hook, while the returning DMZ extraction mode answers fans who missed that experience. The Kill Block training facility, with hundreds of configurations, signals a renewed emphasis on player skill development.

Game Pass availability was not confirmed in the announcement, so it remains expected but unverified given the franchise's recent day-one history. Either way, Modern Warfare 4 shapes up as an ambitious, current-gen-focused entry, and its October 23 date makes it one of the year's biggest releases.