Modern Warfare 4 Season 1 finally has an exact hour, and it isn't the usual 9 AM PT slot. The drop lands late Thursday night in the US and on Friday morning in Europe, so anyone planning around the normal patch window would show up about 12 hours late. This page was rebuilt on November 2 from Activision's Season 1 briefing, with every time zone converted and confirmed facts kept apart from everything still unannounced.
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Quick answer (TLDR): MW4 Season 1 goes live at midnight ET on Friday, November 6, 2026, which is 9 PM PT on Thursday, November 5, or 5 AM in the UK. It starts on all platforms in both Modern Warfare 4 and Call of Duty: Warzone, per Call of Duty's October 28 briefing. That is 14 days after MW4's October 23 launch. It brings 3 launch multiplayer maps (Backstab, Canyon, Shoot House), the X01 Black Site in DMZ, a 100-tier Battle Pass at 1,100 COD Points, and the Warzone move to MW4 with Hajin, Zodiac, Verdansk and Rebirth Island. Activision has not posted an update size. Warzone also stops working on PS4 and Xbox One with this update.
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When does Modern Warfare 4 Season 1 start?
Friday, November 6, 2026, at midnight Eastern. The official wording settles the question that earlier guides, including older versions of this one, could only estimate:
"Get ready for a massive influx of content when Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 Season 1 goes live at 0000 (midnight) ET on November 6 (2100 PT on November 5) across all platforms." — Call of Duty Staff, October 28, 2026
Two details trip people up. The first is the date: if you live on the US West Coast or in the Central time zone, Season 1 arrives on Thursday night, not Friday. The second is the rollout. MW4's launch used midnight local time, but Activision gives Season 1 one fixed time for all platforms, so plan on a single global drop rather than a rolling one.
What time does MW4 Season 1 start in my region?
All of these convert the official 05:00 UTC moment. US clocks went back on November 1, so older conversions that assumed daylight time will be an hour off.
| Region | Local time | Local day |
|---|---|---|
| Pacific (PT) | 9 PM | Thursday, Nov 5 |
| Mountain (MT) | 10 PM | Thursday, Nov 5 |
| Central (CT), Mexico City | 11 PM | Thursday, Nov 5 |
| Eastern (ET) | 12 AM (midnight) | Friday, Nov 6 |
| Brazil (BRT) | 2 AM | Friday, Nov 6 |
| UK and Ireland (GMT) | 5 AM | Friday, Nov 6 |
| Central Europe (CET) | 6 AM | Friday, Nov 6 |
| Eastern Europe (EET) | 7 AM | Friday, Nov 6 |
| Moscow, Istanbul | 8 AM | Friday, Nov 6 |
| Dubai | 9 AM | Friday, Nov 6 |
| India (IST) | 10:30 AM | Friday, Nov 6 |
| Beijing, Singapore | 1 PM | Friday, Nov 6 |
| Japan, South Korea | 2 PM | Friday, Nov 6 |
| Sydney (AEDT) | 4 PM | Friday, Nov 6 |
| Auckland (NZDT) | 6 PM | Friday, Nov 6 |
Only the ET and PT times are printed by Activision. The rest are straight conversions of the same moment.
How big is the MW4 Season 1 update, and can you preload it?
Neither is published yet. The October 28 briefing lists no download size and no preload window for any platform, and we found no official size on the Call of Duty blog as of November 2. Treat any number you see right now as a guess. With Warzone moving over in the same update, expect a sizeable download and leave room before Thursday night. If storage is already tight, our COD HQ shared launcher storage fix covers what to clear. We will add official sizes here as soon as Activision posts them.
What is new in MW4 Multiplayer in Season 1?
Activision promises "more than six maps" and "6+ modes" across the season. Here is what arrives on day one and what waits for the mid-season update:
| Content | When | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Backstab (new, 6v6, snowy war-torn town) | Nov 6 | ✅ Confirmed |
| Canyon (new, 6v6, desert rock walls) | Nov 6 | ✅ Confirmed |
| Shoot House (reimagined, 6v6, North Korea) | Nov 6 | ✅ Confirmed |
| Kill Block: Crash (static combo) | Nov 6 | ✅ Confirmed |
| Grind, Drop Zone | Nov 6 | ✅ Confirmed |
| Gauntlet 1v1 (limited-time, via Wager Match) | Nov 6 | ✅ Confirmed |
| Ministry, Overflow, more classified maps | Season 1 Reloaded | ✅ Confirmed, no date |
| Counter Attack and a Team Deathmatch twist | Mid-season | ✅ Confirmed, no date |
Layouts and sightlines for all three launch maps are in our Backstab, Canyon and Shoot House breakdown. Trophies and rewards are explained in the MW4 Wager Match guide, and the Crash combo adds to the Kill Block format you already know.
What does Season 1 add to DMZ?
The X01 Black Site, a former GRANIT Arms facility reached through Hajin. Activision describes cargo bays, underground labs, production lines and a sealed Deep Vault, with Ghost guiding Operators through new Orders. Extraction points close off as a deployment goes on, and most enemies and items stay [CLASSIFIED] until release.
The FOB also gets a Battle Pass and Store Station, and a Vendor that sells extra weapons and gear for DMZ Cash if you own Season 1 BlackCell. New boss targets are named too: Lieutenants Tae-Hyun ("Knuckle") and Chol-Min ("The Wrench"), plus Commanders The Captain and an autonomous Wheelson. Our X01 Black Site guide walks through entry, who is inside and what to prepare.
What weapons and Battle Pass rewards come with Season 1?
Four new weapons are confirmed, and two of them arrive free on the Battle Pass track:
| Weapon | Class | How you unlock it | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cronen Osprey | Assault Rifle | Battle Pass Tier 16 | 882 RPM, 70 levels |
| CSG-35 | SMG | Battle Pass Tier 36 | 1,200 RPM, 42 levels |
| JAK 12 | Shotgun | In-season Event | 323 RPM, full-auto |
| ZLR Talonhawk | Melee | In-season Event | 10 levels |
Unlock paths and Apex Attachments for each are in our Season 1 weapons guide.
The Battle Pass is a linear 100-tier track. The premium pass costs 1,100 COD Points, or 2,400 COD Points for the bundle. Instant rewards include a 10% Battle Pass XP boost for the whole season and up to 1,100 COD Points. The new catch-up system automatically moves premium owners who fall behind up to the reward matching the current day of the season, through day 50, which Activision says guarantees 50+ rewards. Finishing all 100 tiers unlocks the "Bellum" Ultra Mosin-Nagant Blueprint.
BlackCell adds the XERO Operator, 1,100 COD Points, 20 Tier Skip Tokens and a Mastery Camo Track. Vault Edition owners can unlock this season's BlackCell offering. See the BlackCell and Battle Pass explainer for how the two stack.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 - Mastery Camo Bundle
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When does MW4 Warzone come out?
Same moment: midnight ET on November 6. Warzone stays free, and MW4 becomes "fully integrated with the free-to-play game," in Activision's words. Call of Duty named the season Hajin Conflict on November 1:
"Deploy into an all-new war. This is Hajin Conflict. Call of Duty: Warzone Season 1. Drop in, play free on November 6. Trailer and Roadmap tomorrow." — @CallofDuty, November 1, 2026
Here is what's officially confirmed and what isn't:
- Maps: Hajin (Battle Royale) and Zodiac (Resurgence, built by Beenox, with a train) are new. Verdansk and Rebirth Island return. Start with our Hajin map page and Verdansk return explainer.
- Carry-forward: Operators, Operator Skins and Weapon Blueprints from MWII, MWIII, BO6 and BO7 stay usable, per Activision's Warzone notice. Legacy weapon camos do not. Details are in the Warzone carry-forward guide.
- Warzone camos: Parallax, Damascus Reforged and Empyros are named, and their Warzone mastery track opens with Season 1.
- Not yet detailed: modes, map changes and the Warzone roadmap. Activision scheduled that post for November 2, and it was not live when this page was checked that day. Ignore leaked POI lists until it lands.
Ranked Play is the big missing piece. The October 28 briefing never mentions it, so there's no confirmed date for MW4 Ranked or Warzone Ranked.
Is Warzone shutting down on PS4 and Xbox One at Season 1?
Yes, and players are already saying goodbye to it. One r/CODWarzone thread this weekend, from a PS4 player who has been on the game since 2020, drew 58 replies. Activision's Warzone platform update says Warzone "will no longer be available to play on PlayStation 4 and XBOX One" with MW4 Season 1. Going by the global start time, the last match on those consoles falls on Thursday night in the US. Progress and COD Points move to current-gen or PC on the same Activision account, though COD Points only move within the same console family. Our last-gen explainer has the upgrade paths.
Why is MW4 Season 1 so early?
Fourteen days is the shortest launch-to-Season-1 gap of recent Call of Duty games:
| Game | Full launch | Season 1 | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Modern Warfare II (2022) | Oct 28, 2022 | Nov 16, 2022 | 19 days |
| Modern Warfare III (2023) | Nov 10, 2023 | Dec 6, 2023 | 26 days |
| Black Ops 6 (2024) | Oct 25, 2024 | Nov 14, 2024 | 20 days |
| Black Ops 7 (2025) | Nov 14, 2025 | Dec 4, 2025 | 20 days |
| Modern Warfare 4 (2026) | Oct 23, 2026 | Nov 6, 2026 | 14 days |
Early access explains much of it. Digital pre-order players started the Campaign on October 16 and DMZ on October 20, so the most engaged players will have had about three weeks with the game by November 6. The pre-season drops have all landed on schedule too: Shipment on October 27, Possession on October 29 and Infected on October 30.
What should you finish before Season 1 starts?
You have four days. Season 1 stacks a Battle Pass, two new guns and Warzone progression on top of whatever you haven't finished, so clear the old grind now.
- Max the guns you actually use. The Osprey alone adds 70 weapon levels and the CSG-35 adds 42, so older weapons won't get any easier to come back to. The fastest weapon leveling guide and the Shipment XP farm are the quickest routes.
- Bank your 2XP tokens for Thursday night only if you'll play at launch. Otherwise spend them now. Our token guide covers every source, and how 2XP tokens pause tells you what burns time outside a match.
- Finish rank before the pass arrives. MW4 has 55 levels and 10 Prestiges. MW4 Prestige explained shows which path to take.
- Plan around SBMM. MW4 launched without Open Matchmaking playlists, and players are still arguing about how strict it feels. Our MW4 SBMM guide explains what that means for grind speed, and our bot lobby methods ranking covers the alternatives.
For the wider picture of how the two games connect, read the MW4 and Warzone integration explainer.
Four days left before the Battle Pass grind stacks on top of everything else? Lock in your MW4 setup now: bot lobbies, camo and weapon leveling are ready today.
- MW4 Bot Lobbies: private easy lobbies to level and finish camo challenges away from sweaty matchmaking.
- MW4 Weapon Leveling: max any gun and unlock its attachments before November 6.
- MW4 Mastery Camo Unlock: bank the multiplayer mastery camos before the Warzone track opens.
- MW4 Account Leveling: hit max rank and Prestige before the pass arrives.
- All MW4 services
FAQ
Can I buy this loadout instead of farming it? Yes: this loadout costs $32.61 on Timesaver, and a Timesaver pro completes it by hand within 4 hours. How handover works and what happens if something goes wrong: account safety.
When is MW4 Season 1? MW4 Season 1 starts on Friday, November 6, 2026, for both Modern Warfare 4 and Call of Duty: Warzone. On the US West Coast that means Thursday night, November 5.
What time does MW4 Season 1 start? Activision confirmed midnight ET on November 6, which is 9 PM PT on November 5, across all platforms. That converts to 5 AM UK, 6 AM CET and 4 PM in Sydney.
How big is the MW4 Season 1 update? Activision hasn't published a size or a preload window yet. Any figure online right now is unconfirmed.
When does MW4 Warzone come out? Warzone moves to Modern Warfare 4 at the same time as Season 1, midnight ET on November 6. It stays free to play and adds Hajin and Zodiac, with Verdansk and Rebirth Island returning.
How much is the MW4 Season 1 Battle Pass? The premium pass is 1,100 COD Points and the bundle is 2,400 COD Points. It's a 100-tier linear track, and both new launch guns sit on it: the Cronen Osprey at Tier 16 and the CSG-35 at Tier 36.
Can I still play Warzone on PS4 or Xbox One? Only until Season 1 goes live. Activision says Warzone "will no longer be available to play on PlayStation 4 and XBOX One" from that update. Your progress carries to current-gen or PC on the same Activision account.
Do my old Warzone camos carry over to MW4 Season 1? No. Activision's correction confirms legacy weapon camos won't be available. Legacy Operators, Operator Skins and Weapon Blueprints do carry over.
