Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 4 screenshot
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Activision has published the official PC system requirements for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, including minimum, recommended and ray tracing tiers, ahead of the 23 October 2026 launch. The confirmed facts are a 23 October 2026 launch and a Windows PC release, so this page lists what is locked in, what is still pending, and how to prepare your rig before the numbers land.
What Activision has confirmed about the PC version
The release date and the platform are the only hard data points you can rely on right now. Modern Warfare 4 launches on 23 October 2026, and a Windows PC version ships on that date. Campaign Early Access for pre-orders begins on 16 October 2026. If you want the exact unlock hour in your time zone, the “mw4 release time” breakdown covers PT, ET, BST, CEST, JST and AEDT.
Everything else that matters to a PC player, the CPU and GPU floor, the RAM figure, the install size and the ray tracing tier, has not been confirmed in a form we could verify. Activision usually posts a dedicated PC article a few weeks before launch, and that is where the final sheet appears. Until then, treat any spec table circulating on third-party sites as unverified.
Minimum and recommended PC specs
This is the table you came for. It will fill in the moment Activision publishes the official sheet. Right now every row reads “Not announced” because that is the honest answer.
| Component | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| Operating system | Windows (version not announced) | Windows (version not announced) |
| CPU (Intel) | Not announced | Not announced |
| CPU (AMD Ryzen) | Not announced | Not announced |
| RAM | Not announced | Not announced |
| GPU (NVIDIA GeForce) | Not announced | Not announced |
| GPU (AMD Radeon) | Not announced | Not announced |
| GPU (Intel Arc) | Not announced | Not announced |
| Video memory | Not announced | Not announced |
| Storage | Not announced | Not announced |
| Drive type | Not announced | Not announced |
| DirectX | Not announced | Not announced |
| Network | Broadband (standard for the series) | Broadband (standard for the series) |
Recent Call of Duty entries have listed four tiers rather than two: minimum, recommended, competitive (high refresh rate) and ultra 4K. Whether Modern Warfare 4 follows that pattern is not confirmed. If it does, this table will expand to match.
Confirmation tracker
Use this table to see at a glance which details are settled and which are still open.
| Detail | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Release date | Confirmed | 23 October 2026 |
| Windows PC release | Confirmed | Day-one launch alongside consoles |
| Minimum specs | Not announced | Expected in the official PC article |
| Recommended specs | Not announced | Expected in the official PC article |
| Install size at launch | Confirmed | 115 GB SSD at all tiers |
| SSD required | Confirmed | 115 GB SSD listed at all tiers |
| Ray tracing tier | Not announced | Previous entries published a separate RT spec |
| DLSS, FSR, XeSS support | Not confirmed | Standard in recent entries; awaiting confirmation |
| TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot | Not confirmed | Required by the prior entry on PC; see below |
| Steam Deck compatibility | Not confirmed | Prior entries carried Unsupported status |
| PC storefronts | Not confirmed | Series ships on Battle.net, Steam and the Xbox app |
| Preload date | Not announced | Series preloads usually open days before launch |
Storage and install size
Activision has confirmed a 115 GB SSD storage requirement for Modern Warfare 4 at every tier. What you should also plan for is that the shared Call of Duty HQ launcher adds its own footprint if you keep Warzone or an earlier title installed.
Make sure you have at least 115 GB free on an SSD before preload opens. Some buffer beyond that is prudent so that a day-one update, shader cache and high-resolution texture packs do not stall the install. Recent entries have let you skip optional packs, such as campaign or high-res textures, to cut the footprint, and that behaviour is likely but not confirmed for this release.
Good to know
If you already have Call of Duty HQ installed for Warzone or an earlier title, uninstall any content packs you do not play before preload. The launcher shares assets, and clearing old packs is the fastest way to recover space without touching other games.
Drive type: plan on an SSD
An SSD requirement is not confirmed for Modern Warfare 4. It has been listed as required on recent entries, and the series streams map assets aggressively, so a mechanical hard drive will produce texture pop-in and long load times even if the game technically runs. If your boot drive is an NVMe SSD and your game library sits on a hard drive, move Call of Duty HQ to the SSD. A 1 TB SATA SSD handles the series fine. NVMe speed is a nice-to-have, not a requirement, on previous titles.
Anti-cheat requirements: TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot
This is the requirement most likely to catch you off guard. The prior Call of Duty entry required TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot to be enabled on PC as part of the RICOCHET anti-cheat rollout. Whether Modern Warfare 4 carries the same requirement is not confirmed, but the direction of travel is clear and you should assume it will.
Both settings live in your motherboard firmware, not in Windows. Many desktops shipped with them disabled, especially self-built machines, and Windows will run normally either way, which is why so many players only discover the gap at launch.
How to check TPM and Secure Boot in Windows
- Press Windows key + R, type msinfo32 and press Enter.
- Read the Secure Boot State line. It should say On.
- Press Windows key + R again, type tpm.msc and press Enter.
- Confirm the TPM is ready and the specification version reads 2.0.
- If either is off, restart into your firmware (usually Delete or F2 at boot) and enable them under the Security or Boot tab.
On Intel boards the TPM option is often labelled PTT. On AMD boards it is fTPM. Enabling Secure Boot on a drive that was formatted as MBR rather than GPT will fail, and converting the drive is a separate job, so check this weeks before launch rather than on the night.
Ray tracing and upscaling
Previous Modern Warfare-era entries published a separate ray tracing spec tier with a higher GPU floor than the standard recommended line. Activision has not announced whether Modern Warfare 4 includes ray tracing or what that tier looks like.
Upscaling support, meaning NVIDIA DLSS, AMD FSR and Intel XeSS, has been standard across recent entries and includes frame generation on supported cards. That is likely to continue but is not confirmed. For a multiplayer shooter, the practical takeaway is that a GPU sitting at the recommended tier plus upscaling set to Quality is usually the sweet spot for high refresh rate play at 1440p.
Steam Deck status
Steam Deck compatibility is not confirmed. Previous Call of Duty entries have carried an Unsupported verdict from Valve, and the TPM and Secure Boot requirement makes native SteamOS support harder, since SteamOS does not expose Secure Boot in the way Windows does. Installing Windows on the Deck is a workaround some players use for other anti-cheat games, but there is no confirmation that it works for this title, and we will not suggest it until Activision or Valve says something.
If you want to play on a handheld, a Windows-based device such as the ROG Ally or Legion Go is a more realistic bet, assuming the final minimum spec sits within what those APUs can deliver. That assessment waits for the official sheet.
Drivers and Windows version
The minimum Windows version is not announced. Recent entries have required Windows 10 64-bit at minimum and have run on Windows 11 without issue. Microsoft ended mainstream support for Windows 10 in October 2025, so if you are still on it, the practical advice is to move to Windows 11 before launch regardless of what the spec sheet says. The TPM and Secure Boot checks above are also Windows 11 install prerequisites, so you clear two hurdles at once.
NVIDIA and AMD both ship Game Ready and Adrenalin drivers timed to Call of Duty launches. Expect a driver release in the week of 23 October 2026, and install it before you first launch the game rather than relying on whatever version Windows Update picked. Intel Arc owners should do the same; Arc has been listed in the spec sheet for the last several entries.
Pre-launch checklist
Everything you can do now, before the spec sheet exists.
| Check | Why it matters | How to do it |
|---|---|---|
| Free SSD space | Official requirement is 115 GB SSD | Clear at least 115 GB on your fastest drive |
| TPM 2.0 enabled | Required by the prior entry’s anti-cheat | tpm.msc in Windows, then firmware |
| Secure Boot enabled | Required by the prior entry’s anti-cheat | msinfo32, then firmware |
| GPT drive format | Secure Boot will not enable on MBR | Disk Management, drive properties, Volumes tab |
| Windows 11 | Windows 10 support ended October 2025 | Settings, Windows Update |
| Latest GPU driver | Launch-day drivers fix early stutter | NVIDIA app, AMD Software or Intel Arc Control |
| Storefront account | Battle.net, Steam and Xbox app all host the series | Decide where you will buy before preorder |
Where to buy on PC and what it costs
Storefronts for Modern Warfare 4 on PC are not confirmed. The series has shipped on Battle.net, Steam and the Microsoft Store via the Xbox app for several years, and Activision titles have arrived on PC Game Pass at launch since the Microsoft acquisition. None of that is confirmed for this release, so wait for the official listing before assuming Game Pass access. Pricing is also not announced; the Call of Duty price page tracks what the series has charged across editions if you want a baseline.
If you buy on Steam, the store page will carry the official spec sheet once it goes live, and the same numbers appear on Battle.net. They do not differ by storefront.
Preloading
A preload date is not announced. Call of Duty preloads on PC typically open several days before launch across all three storefronts, with a smaller day-one update on top. When the date lands, start the download the moment it opens. The series uses a large install plus a launch-day patch, and leaving it until the evening of 22 October is how you end up watching a progress bar at midnight.
Preload is also the point where the game checks your drive space, so the official 115 GB SSD requirement above is the number to hit before the preload window, not after.
How to read the spec sheet when it drops
A few things to know so the numbers make sense on day one.
The minimum tier targets 1080p at 60 fps on low settings in recent entries, and the recommended tier targets 1080p at 60 fps on high. The competitive tier, when published, targets high refresh rates at 1080p. The ultra tier targets 4K. Treat those as the likely meaning of each row, not as confirmed targets for this game.
The storage row sometimes lists a smaller figure for multiplayer only. If you plan to play campaign and the full multiplayer suite, use the larger number.
For a point of comparison, the Borderlands 4 PC sheet published multiple tiers, from minimum through recommended to 1440p and 4K performance targets, with a recommended GPU floor of an RTX 3080 or RX 6800 XT that was much higher than most expected. Call of Duty has historically kept its minimum tier generous, listing GPUs from 2015 and 2016, because the multiplayer audience is large and spread across old hardware. Whether Modern Warfare 4 raises that floor is one of the real open questions.
FAQ
What are the minimum PC requirements for Modern Warfare 4?
Activision has published the official PC spec sheet, including minimum, recommended and ray tracing tiers. This page will be updated with the official CPU, GPU, RAM and storage figures as they are verified.
How much storage does Modern Warfare 4 need on PC?
The official confirmed requirement is 115 GB on an SSD at all tiers. Keep at least that free, with a little extra headroom for the day-one update and shader cache.
Does Modern Warfare 4 require TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot?
Not confirmed for this title. The prior entry required both on PC for its anti-cheat, so enabling them now is the sensible move. Both live in your motherboard firmware and take a few minutes to switch on.
Will Modern Warfare 4 run on Steam Deck?
Not confirmed. Previous entries carried an Unsupported verdict from Valve, and the anti-cheat requirements make native SteamOS support unlikely. Wait for an official statement before buying for the Deck.
Does Modern Warfare 4 support ray tracing or DLSS on PC?
Not announced. Previous entries published a separate ray tracing spec tier and supported DLSS, FSR and XeSS with frame generation. Confirmation for this release is pending.
When does Modern Warfare 4 release on PC?
23 October 2026 on Windows PC, confirmed. The exact unlock hour by region is covered on the release time page.
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