Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 Early-Access Battle Report: Campaign Concurrents Top 108,000, DMZ Opens Early, Multiplayer Goes Live October 23#

Hi everyone, Long Zhuri here. Last week I was still counting down to launch for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4; today the format has to switch to a battle report. That piece covered the background — release milestones, subscription strategy and product roadmap — while this one only covers facts already recorded inside the early-access window. Strict division of labor between the two, so longtime readers can cross-reference.

First, today’s (October 21) board: this early-access window, open only to digital preorder players, has already produced three hard numbers — a Steam concurrent peak past 108,000 (108,500+), a Steam positive rating of 85.78% (as of October 18, up to 91% on October 19), and the reworked DMZ opening early to preorder players yesterday. The three numbers map to data, reception and progression systems — exactly the three legs you judge a yearly release on. The desk has been splitting the work these past few days: Zixing ran the benchmark reports and the VRAM math, Wubian reread the DMZ XP-carryover rules again and again, and I put the three threads side by side to weigh what they are worth. Multiplayer opens October 23 and the real exam has not started — before it does, here is the early-access report card, item by item.

For those who want conclusions first, a quick-reference card; details follow:

1. What 108,500+ Is Worth: A “Launch” With Only the Campaign#

The numbers only mean something once the window’s rules are on the table. On October 16, campaign early access opened to digital preorder players across PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Steam, Battle.net and Switch 2 — every platform; PC preload began October 15 at 9:00 (Pacific Time). In other words, that concurrency peak was climbed with the “preorder wall” standing and only about 8 hours of single-player campaign to play. The eligibility rules, pinned in a table so nobody holding a physical disc waits in vain:

“Physical preorders cannot play early” is this generation’s most easily tripped-over eligibility rule: between October 16 and 22, players who preordered a physical box have nothing to play — wait for October 23, or buy a digital copy on top. In past years many players defaulted to choosing between a physical collector’s copy and a digital day-one copy; this generation’s pricing makes that choice one to think through in advance.

Per SteamDB figures cited by multiple outlets, Modern Warfare 4’s Steam concurrent peak during early access passed 108,500. On its own the number may not land; set it inside the series’ recent coordinates and it gets interesting:

MW4 crossed Black Ops 7’s full-launch weekend level on campaign early access alone. But I have to nail down every condition difference before this comparison gets misread:

• Different content scope: MW4’s curve counts about 8 hours of single-player campaign only; Black Ops 7’s peak came with all content open — and multiplayer is COD’s online base.
• Different audience scope: MW4’s early-access window is open only to digital preorder players, data behind a paywall; Black Ops 7’s launch weekend was open to everyone.
• Different channel splitting: Black Ops 7 launched day one into Game Pass, which siphoned part of the audience to the subscription channel and diluted the Steam-side numbers; MW4 is not in Game Pass at launch — if you want to play, you buy — so its Steam data carries no such dilution.

Strictly speaking, this is not a controlled test and the two numbers are not equivalent — but even after discounting every condition difference, “a preorder-only window running a single-player campaign climbing to the previous game’s full-launch weekend magnitude” already says preorder conversion is unusually healthy. Worth remembering: media retrospectives noted the player count had dipped for a stretch after this game’s multiplayer beta ended — this early-access curve is the answer, paid in real money.

Wubian’s take comes from the live-ops angle: this looks like the opening curve of a long-haul operation, not the usual yearly-release sprint curve — concurrents above 108,000 behind a preorder wall means this preorder period was not bought with discounts; players paid to walk in early. I buy that, and it leads straight into the next section: those who paid — what did they say after playing?

One comparison point for later: once multiplayer opens October 23 and the preorder wall comes down with all content live, the gap between the new peak and today’s 108,500+ will be the direct reading of early-access conversion — I will run that comparison in the next battle report after launch.

2. 85.78% to 91%: A Three-Day Reception Reversal#

The second dataset is the Steam positive rating, and it comes with a timeline: as of October 18, the game’s Steam positive rating was 85.78% off more than 1,900 reviews, sitting in the “Very Positive” tier; by October 19, the rating had risen to 91% on 2,655 reviews. In two days the review base grew by more than 700 and the rating went up, not down — word of mouth inside the early-access window is trending upward.

Against the series’ recent record, the contrast is starker. Media-sourced figures and the SteamDB algorithmic figures sit side by side below (the two methodologies differ; the two columns for the same game do not match and must not be mixed):

The table reads on two levels. Level one, the horizontal comparison: last year’s Black Ops 7 sits at 36% positive (media figure), Black Ops 6 at 44%, Modern Warfare 3 at 48% — three straight entries stuck in the “mostly negative” range, while MW4 opened at 85.78% and hit 91% in two days. Level two, the vertical benchmark: 2015’s Black Ops 3, at 84.36% on the SteamDB algorithmic figure, has long held the series’ PC reception crown — MW4’s 91% has now cleared an eleven-year-old line.

Where is the praise coming from? What is visible so far is the media-relayed consensus, clustered on three points: tight pacing, varied set pieces, and an ending that lands emotionally. The campaign’s two-thread structure carries that weight — one thread follows Park, a young South Korean private experiencing combat for the first time amid a full-scale North Korean invasion; the other follows Captain Price as he breaks from the command structure to hunt a superweapon that could shift the balance of power along a trail of revenge. Activision’s own description of the campaign mixes large-scale battles, covert missions, multi-unit combined operations and cinematic presentation; packing all that into roughly 8 hours makes tight pacing a given, and whether the ending sticks the landing is the real question — and “the ending lands emotionally” is exactly the most striking item in the relayed coverage. One more background note worth recording: Activision chief marketing officer Tyler Bahl confirmed in an interview that this game is the final entry of the rebooted Modern Warfare series, in words to the effect of “closing this chapter and opening a new one” — a reception reversal landing on a finale’s narrative gets a real emotional bump.

But two buckets of cold water, stated plainly. First: this rating covers the single-player campaign only. Multiplayer, DMZ and ranked are all untested; every COD generation’s final verdict lands after multiplayer opens, so today’s 91% only answers “is the campaign good.” Second: the 85.78% figure comes from a store-page snapshot relayed by media, and anyone citing it should attach the “as of October 18” timestamp; the composition of the negative reviews has not been systematically tallied anywhere, and I will not invent a negative-review breakdown table for you — stated for the record.

Following that first bucket of cold water, here is the reading framework I have used these past few days — a 91% built on campaign only: what it answers, and what it does not:

• Answered: the solo narrative’s completeness. Pacing, set pieces and ending all pass; the rebooted Modern Warfare series’ closing chapter did not fumble the story — for a self-styled finale, that is baseline competence;
• Unanswered, one: multiplayer feel and balance. Gunplay, map design and matchmaking quality all enter review scope only after the October 23 opening — which is precisely where the last two entries collapsed;
• Unanswered, two: the quality of long-haul operations. DMZ’s economy design, the battle pass pricing controversy, cheater management — long-term variables a 91% cannot see;
• Unanswered, three: whether the reception holds. The review base is still expanding fast, and the curve after 2,655 reviews matters more than today’s reading — hold above 90%, or sag as the base widens like so many yearly releases? Worth checking once a week.

3. DMZ Opens Early: Turning Preorders Into a Progression Head Start#

The third story is the window’s most interesting piece of operations design: the early opening of DMZ. The rhythm is two steps — a prerequisite update pushed to all platforms October 19 at 9:00 (Pacific Time), then the full opening to digital preorder players October 20 at 10:00 (Pacific Time), three days ahead of multiplayer.

First, what changed. DMZ debuted in 2022’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and landed below traditional multiplayer and Warzone — a mode that never fully found its feet. This version is developer Infinity Ward’s ground-up rework, with four key points:

• The story is set after the campaign: the extraction-mode narrative picks up directly from this game’s campaign ending, so anyone who played the early-access campaign can step into the plot seamlessly;
• Improved enemy AI: bot behavior logic has been rebuilt, and opposition intensity inside extraction matches is up;
• Reworked FOB forward-base progression: the growth line is reorganized around the FOB as a home base; loadouts can be prepared inside FOB sites, and the firing range and mission directives are available from the start;
• Multiple ways to play: dedicated story missions, dynamic side objectives and free exploration — players are no longer locked to a single objective.

Then the progression design that matters most for purchase decisions. DMZ’s standalone level cap is 77 (the consistent figure across Chinese media 3DM, NetEase and 18183; one English outlet reported 70; Activision’s own page could not be directly verified, so both figures stand, with this article leading on the multi-source-consistent Chinese figure of 77). Every level brings a reward or unlock; the key milestones known so far:

The mechanic that actually moves purchase decisions is the carryover. Per Activision’s official wording: player XP and weapon XP earned in the DMZ early access count toward MW4’s overall career progression and unlocks, weapon camo included; when multiplayer opens October 23, that progress keeps counting; and even a failed extraction still banks the XP. Translated into plain language: every level and every weapon’s XP you earn in DMZ between October 20 and 23 is not wasted — it walks straight into multiplayer on October 23, camo progress included.

Wubian calls this a textbook case of “turning a preorder into a progression advantage”: the preorder window is not just early play, it is real account growth time; by the time free-watchers enter on October 23, preorder players are already standing at the line with Gunsmith three tiers deep and a row of camo progress. The no-penalty-on-failed-extraction rule is the sharpest edge of all — it zeroes out the “one run, total loss” psychological cost that keeps people away from extraction shooters, dropping the barrier to trying as low as it goes. This is the same play as the Vault Edition’s DMZ deployment rewards (an extra active duty slot and starting gear); though Activision has not said whether that Vault bonus takes effect inside the early-access window, so anyone buying Vault for it should hold that expectation.

Chasun adds the mechanics cut: putting Gunsmith at level 10 and the 3D printer at level 2 pins the loadout-freedom unlocks inside the range every early-access player will inevitably reach — by this milestone design, anyone entering October 20 clears the first two nodes before multiplayer opens on the 23rd almost as a certainty; the “sweetener” of progression carryover is metered out at exactly the right rhythm.

Looking back, this design is rehabilitating a mode that once faded: the DMZ of 2022 that landed flat now gets a story that follows the campaign, a rebuilt FOB progression line and account-level XP carryover — a clear push to graduate it from “experiment” to “third pillar.” Its retention numbers after October 23 will be more persuasive than any trailer.

For preorder players already inside, here is how to squeeze the three-day window dry — each item maps to a mechanic confirmed above:

1. Finish the campaign before touching DMZ: DMZ’s story is set after the campaign and the narrative hand-off is sequential — clear the campaign first, then extract, and the story reads whole;
2. Beeline to an FOB site at the start: prep your loadout and learn the firing range and mission directives — both available from the start, no levels needed;
3. Rush the 3D printer in the first two levels: the first functional node, unlocked at level 2 — grabbable on day one;
4. Do not waste XP before level 10: Gunsmith waits at 10, and loadout freedom decides your starting posture when multiplayer opens;
5. Collect dog tags as a side quest: the level-20 display case needs tags from enemy players and operators — pick them up in passing, do not grind for them;
6. Do not tilt over failed extractions: XP banks regardless, trial and error costs nothing, and bold experimentation is these three days’ biggest dividend;
7. Watch your weapon camo progress too: weapon XP feeds account unlocks including camos — prioritize the guns you plan to main in multiplayer.

4. October 23 and After: The Multiplayer, Warzone and Game Pass Ledgers#

On October 23, multiplayer opens to everyone and the game fully launches on all platforms, each unlocking at local midnight. This launch also has a series first: it arrives day-and-date with Nintendo’s new console, the Switch 2. PC players should note one wording detail — the Steam store page lists the PC release as October 22, while Activision’s official line is an October 23 midnight unlock in each local timezone; a timezone and wording discrepancy, and the official line is the one to follow.

Around launch day, three ledgers to run.

Ledger one: Warzone does not integrate at launch. Warzone will not connect with MW4 on October 23; the integration is expected to arrive with Season 1, a few weeks after launch. One guess circulating puts it around November 12, but Activision has not confirmed a Season 1 date, so treat that day as rumor. The practical effect: for the first two weeks, MW4’s battlefield ecosystem has only two doors — multiplayer and DMZ — and Warzone players either wait for integration or adapt early.

Ledger two: pricing and the last window for preorder perks. With the early-access window closing, pin the edition structure down again:

Every digital preorder uniformly includes three items: the Hunter Killer operator skin, the Gilded Pearl weapon camo pack, and the Inner Circuit M4 weapon blueprint — the last of which renders translucent green on Xbox consoles, a nod to Xbox’s 25th anniversary. The Vault Edition adds the Hostile Alliance and Special Forces operator packs, 5 signature weapon blueprints, a season of the BlackCell Battle Pass (1,100 COD Points plus a 20-tier skip) and DMZ deployment rewards. Note the loyalty discount applies only to the Vault Edition itself — the $30 upgrade does not get the discount; run those numbers separately.

Ledger three: what skipping Game Pass at launch means for week-one sales. The previous two entries, Black Ops 6 and Black Ops 7, both went day one into Game Pass; this one goes the opposite way, launching as a standalone purchase. No official date exists for when it joins the service; media reports range between “as early as October 2027” and “holiday 2027.” On week-one sales, my read has three parts:

• The numbers get purer. No subscription split means week-one sales and concurrency map directly to paying customers — the 108,000 early-access peak is the first appearance of this “clean” methodology; when comparing it against the last two entries’ Steam data, remember the measurement difference.
• The purchase decision chain stretches to maximum length. Campaign early access, DMZ early opening, XP carryover, loyalty discount — four layers stacking up every reason to “buy now”; for the wait-and-see camp, the earliest relief is the 2027 subscription library, and the cost of a year-plus wait is sitting right on the table.
• Subscription users’ split pressure got front-loaded into launch week. Two years of “new games on day one with your sub” just got cut off; those users either convert to purchase or stay in the old titles — and the back catalog (Black Ops 7, Black Ops 6 and Modern Warfare 3 in the subscription library) can absorb them, which is why I keep saying week-one data will be the most informative in years.

The content-entry status map for October 23 and after, in one table — what to play and what to wait for in the first two weeks:

Read the table this way: the first two weeks run a “multiplayer plus DMZ” two-door structure, with Warzone players a full block short — which is why the day Activision announces the Season 1 integration date will be a small milestone event; the direction and scale of the Warzone player return decides where MW4’s second concurrency peak lands.

While we are here, pin down the hardware side too — Zixing spent two days on test reports, so he gets three rows:

Zixing’s conclusion is blunt: enabling ray tracing disables third-party upscalers and forces native rendering — even a 5090 averages only 44-52 fps at 4K maximum plus high ray tracing while eating 17.7-27.4GB of VRAM, so midrange GPU owners should treat ray tracing as a showpiece and honestly run DLSS 4.5 with Dynamic Multi Frame Generation. One more line of VRAM math: a 27.4GB peak means any card under 24GB of VRAM will blow up at 4K ray tracing — 2K is the realistic battlefield for those builds.

5. After October 23, Watch These Four Things#

As the battle report closes, four threads for the next two weeks:

• Multiplayer retention and balance: the 91% belongs to the campaign; the concurrent curve and reception two weeks after multiplayer opens is when this game’s verdict actually lands;
• DMZ economy and retention: whether a 77-level progression line plus XP carryover can keep extraction shooter players around — week-one match data will answer;
• Warzone Season 1 integration timing: around November 12 is only a guess; the day Activision confirms Season 1, the scale of the Warzone player return deserves its own article;
• Week-one sales data: a clean sales figure with no Game Pass split, plus Switch 2 launching day-and-date — this dataset will shape the whole series’ future platform and subscription strategy.

And the practical advice, one honest line per camp:

• Already preordered: the early-access window has two days left; DMZ’s level-10 Gunsmith node and camo carryover are the most valuable output of this stretch, failed extractions do not cost XP, so play fearlessly; clear the campaign before October 23 and the story will flow straight into multiplayer.
• Still on the fence: the earliest relief you are waiting for is the subscription library around 2027 (no official date; media reports differ); until then, buying is the only path; the $69.99 Standard plus $30 upgrade route remains available, and qualifying veterans should check their eligibility for the 10% Vault loyalty discount.
• Warzone players: no integration for the first two weeks, so waiting for Season 1 is the only option (around November 12 remains unconfirmed); either adapt early to the “multiplayer plus DMZ” two-door ecosystem or stay in the old Warzone — no loss either way.

Last words. After years of covering COD, this is the first early-access window where all three lines — data, reception and progression systems — flashed positive at once: concurrency past the previous game’s launch weekend, a positive rating breaking the series’ reception ceiling in three days, and DMZ turning preorders into a genuine progression head start. I have not lost the plot either: however pretty the window data looks, the essay questions on this exam are all due after October 23, in multiplayer and long-haul operations. In the yearly-release business, launch is never the finish line — it is where “promises made earlier” start becoming “bills to pay.” Whether this chapter closes well — this time next week, we will let the numbers talk.

——Long Zhuri, NTGame Editor-in-Chief

Appendix: Key Points at a Glance#

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 campaign early access opened October 16 to digital preorder players (all platforms; physical preorders excluded); the early-access Steam concurrent peak passed 108,500, topping Black Ops 7’s launch weekend of about 100,500-100,800 (different conditions: campaign-only vs all content, preorder wall vs open to all, no subscription split vs split).
• Steam positive rating 85.78% (October 18, more than 1,900 reviews, Very Positive), rising to 91% on October 19 (2,655 reviews); against the last three entries’ media figures of 36%/44%/48%, and past Black Ops 3’s series benchmark of 84.36% from 2015; the rating covers the single-player campaign only.
• The reworked DMZ opened early on October 20 (October 19 prerequisite update): story following the campaign, improved enemy AI, reworked FOB forward-base progression; standalone level cap 77 (multi-source Chinese figure, a 70 figure also circulates), with the 3D printer at level 2, Gunsmith at level 10, and the dog tag display case at level 20; player XP and weapon XP (weapon camo included) count toward account progression and carry into multiplayer, and failed extractions still bank XP.
• Multiplayer opens on all platforms October 23, a series first day-and-date with Switch 2; Warzone does not integrate at launch, expected with Season 1 (around November 12 is media speculation, unconfirmed); the Steam page’s October 22 is a timezone wording difference.
• Pricing: Digital Standard Edition $69.99, Vault Edition $99.99 (£69.99/£99.99 in the UK), upgrade $30 (physical editions cannot upgrade), a 10% Vault loyalty discount for veterans who own and played Modern Warfare 2019 through Black Ops 7 (upgrade excluded); not in Game Pass at launch, with media reports differing on when it joins.
• PC requires TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot, supports DLSS 4.5 (RTX 50 series Dynamic Multi Frame Generation up to 6x); the RTX 5090 averaged 44-52 fps at 4K maximum plus high ray tracing with 17.7-27.4GB VRAM used, and enabling ray tracing disables third-party upscaling.
• Related reading on the site: Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 guide, Call of Duty 6 guide, our full breakdown of the Modern Warfare 4 TGS 2026 campaign trailer, launch countdown and subscription strategy breakdown.