Nintendo Switch 2 players can finally lock in their Call of Duty Modern Warfare 4 pre-order starting August 26, 2026. It's the last platform to join the pre-order party. PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC players have been able to reserve their copy since the game's reveal back in May. If you've been waiting to see what's actually in the box before committing, consider this your Modern Warfare 4 pre-order guide: every MW4 edition broken down, all the MW4 pre-order bonuses spelled out, and a clear path into the open beta.
What You Get With a Call of Duty Modern Warfare 4 Pre-Order
Pre-ordering any edition of MW4 gets you three things right away: a Hunter Killer operator skin usable in Call of Duty Black Ops 7 and Warzone, early access to the open beta starting August 22, and a full week of campaign early access beginning October 16. The campaign early access is a big deal: you can play the entire single-player story before multiplayer servers go live on October 23.
MW4 Open Beta: Dates and How to Join
The Modern Warfare 4 multiplayer beta runs in two waves, and pre-ordering is the only way into the first one.
- Early Access: August 22–26. Exclusively for pre-order players on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. This starts immediately after the Call of Duty: NEXT broadcast on August 22, where Infinity Ward will walk through the multiplayer suite in detail. More than 20 operators and 19 weapons will be playable, spanning everything from tight 3v3 skirmishes to large-scale vehicle combat with tanks.
- Open Beta: August 29–September 2. Free for everyone on all platforms, including Switch 2. No pre-order required. Cross-platform play is enabled across all systems.
Switch 2 players get their own window, too: the platform's beta runs August 28 through September 1, a day earlier for Switch 2 specifically. If you pre-order on Switch 2 when it opens on August 26, you still get early access to this window.
Modern Warfare 4 Editions and Pricing
Two MW4 editions are up for grabs, and the gap between them is straightforward.
- Standard Edition: $69.99
This gets you the base game plus all the pre-order perks listed above. If you just want to play Modern Warfare 4 multiplayer and campaign without extras, this is the one. Physical copies are available at Amazon, Walmart, GameStop, Target, and Best Buy. The Best Buy steelbook variant costs the same $69.99 if you prefer a metal case on your shelf.
- Vault Edition: $99.99 (digital only)
The Modern Warfare 4 Vault Edition adds a substantial pile of content for the extra $30. You get four operator skins from the Hostile Alliance pack: Price, Valeria, Ghost, and Brix. A separate Special Forces pack gives you four more operators representing the UK, Germany, France, and South Korea, each with region-specific voice lines. Five signature weapons round out the cosmetics, plus one season of BlackCell content: the battle pass, 20 tier skips, and 1,100 COD Points. DMZ mode players also get extra deployment rewards.
If you bought the Standard Edition and want to upgrade later, the Vault Edition upgrade is $30 on its own through Xbox and Steam. Returning Call of Duty players also qualify for a 10% loyalty discount on the Vault Edition through select platforms.
Nintendo Switch 2 pricing hasn't been confirmed yet. Activision says those details will come closer to the platform's own pre-order launch on August 26.
What We Know About Call of Duty Modern Warfare 4 So Far
Infinity Ward is leading development, and the studio has been open about its goal: return to the series' roots with a large-scale modern conflict grounded in current headlines. The campaign follows Private Park Hyun-jun, a young South Korean soldier thrown into front-line combat as war erupts on the Korean Peninsula. On the other side of the world, Captain Price operates outside the system, a fugitive fighting his own private war after the events of Modern Warfare III.
The campaign spans trench warfare in Korea, close-quarters fighting in New York, a chase through Paris, an SAS night raid in Mumbai, and a full-city assault. It's pitched as the biggest roster of new characters in a Modern Warfare game to date.
On the multiplayer side, 12 new 6v6 maps ship at launch, each designed with distinct visual and tactical identities. Larger maps bring vehicles and infantry together, pulling locations directly from the campaign's conflict zones. One new mode, Kill Block, was shown at Fanatics Fest 2026 and looks like a tighter, arena-style twist on traditional Call of Duty combat.
The big technical change is the ballistics system. Infinity Ward's pitch is simple: no spread, no guessing. Bullet direction, weapon handling, operator stance, audio, and visibility all feed into a deterministic gunplay model. If you miss, it's on you, not randomization.
DMZ returns as a standalone mode, set in the Korean DMZ region called Hajin. It keeps the extraction-shooter loop: deploy, loot, fight, negotiate, and extract with whatever you can carry. Unlike Warzone, DMZ requires the base game.