Modern Warfare 4 Season 1 starts on Friday 6 November 2026, for MW4 and Warzone together, and that is the day Warzone moves onto MW4's weapons, unlocks and progression. Before then, three pre-season drops fill the gap: Shipment on 27 October, Possession on 29 October and Infected on 30 October.
That gives you under two weeks to get your account ready. The first Battle Pass, a new Warzone and a fresh set of Warzone challenges all land at once, and every hour you spend on them is an hour not spent on the base grind. Checked against Activision's 14 October roadmap (as reported by Inven Global and Insider Gaming), the Ready for Launch progression and maps posts, the launch patch notes and Infinity Ward's Trello board.
Activision's 14 October roadmap image carries these dates, as reported by Inven Global and Insider Gaming. Its own blog posts confirm Shipment on 27 October and list Possession and Infected only as pre-Season 1 modes.
Activision hasn't given a start time for Season 1. Dotesports expects the usual Call of Duty slot of 10am PT, which would be 5am AEDT on Saturday 7 November (US clocks will have gone back on 1 November). Treat that as an estimate until Activision confirms it.
Yes, from Season 1. Until then the new Warzone isn't playable: the launch notes say choosing Warzone installs the current live version. Activision's progression post lists what switches on.
Activision hasn't revealed Season 1's content yet; Insider Gaming reported the details were expected shortly after launch. Until then, these are open questions.
The audience is already there for whatever arrives. Launch weekend peaked at 227,622 concurrent players on Steam, according to SteamDB figures reported by PlayGround.ru.
Infinity Ward pushed a stability patch over the launch weekend, reported by PCGamesN on 25 October. Its Trello board also flags a few live issues that matter if you're grinding.
Season 1 piles a Battle Pass, Warzone and new challenges on top of the base grind. Clear the slow parts now so your time on 6 November goes on the new content.
