MW4 DMZ early access: Tuesday, Oct. 20, for digital pre-orders

DMZ opens three days before the rest of Modern Warfare 4. Here’s who gets in on Oct. 20 and what you’ll be doing there.

When DMZ early access starts

Activision says DMZ early access begins on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026, and covers all of DMZ, not a slice of it. That’s four days after Campaign Early Access, which opened on Oct. 16 for the same digital pre-orders.

Activision hasn’t published a start hour for Oct. 20. Its fine print says the campaign and DMZ start on different dates, and that actual play time can shift with time zones and possible outages. Until a time is out, plan on Tuesday rather than Monday night.

Everything else, from multiplayer to the full DMZ launch, unlocks at midnight local time on Friday, Oct. 23. Our MW4 release time guide has the time zones and the PC preload.

Who gets in

You need a digital pre-order or pre-purchase of the Standard Digital Edition or the Vault Edition. Activision lists every platform the game is on: Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, PS5, Battle.net, Steam and Nintendo Switch 2. It doesn’t mention physical copies, so a disc pre-order alone won’t get you in early.

Vault Edition owners get a little more in DMZ. They start with three Active Duty Operator slots instead of two, and a DMZ Deployment Bonus arrives at launch on Oct. 23. The Modern Warfare 4 release date guide covers the editions and what each one costs.

What DMZ is

Activision calls DMZ “Call of Duty’s definitive extraction shooter experience.” You drop into Hajin and its Exclusion Zone on the Korean Peninsula, loot what you can, complete objectives and try to get out alive. You face patrols of a secretive North Korean faction and rival players in the same deployment, and you can go in alone or with a squad.

Leaving is the whole point. Exfil sites are marked with green smoke: you call in a helicopter and hold the spot until it arrives, or use a Fulton balloon or a flare. Fail to exfil and anything outside your backpack’s Secure Slots is lost. An Operator who’s eliminated goes missing in action and can’t deploy again until you pay DMZ Cash to recover them. Activision says taking down rival Operators earns more XP than AI enemies, so fights with other players pay off when you win them.

Hajin is big. Major spots include Chang-san Air Base, Haneul Nuclear Reactor, NuriGO Mall and Wolves Stadium, and you can get around by road, rail, water and air. DMZ needs a constant internet connection, as Multiplayer does.

What you do first at the base

Between runs you’re at the Forward Operating Base, or FOB. It’s your hub: you pick Orders, which are DMZ’s objectives, manage your stash and loadout, choose Operators and deploy from there.

More of the base opens as you level up. The 3D Printer, which crafts gear from loot, unlocks at DMZ Player Level 2, and the Vendor, a quick way to buy weapons and equipment, at level 5. Activision says progression runs to level 70, with Operator Prestige on top. The Gunsmith has all 32 launch weapons across eight categories, and you can level weapons up in either multiplayer or DMZ to unlock their attachments.

Early access runs until the full game launches at midnight local time on Oct. 23, when Vault Edition owners also get their DMZ Deployment Bonus. Activision says Season 1 follows shortly after launch, and from then on Warzone shares Modern Warfare 4’s content and seasonal progression. It hasn’t given a Season 1 date yet.

This page is updated as soon as Activision gives a start time for DMZ early access.