Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 launches on October 23, but players can already jump into its single-player campaign through early access. Here is the M4W release date, launch time breakdown, and when Modern Warfare 4 is coming to Game Pass.

When Is the Call of Duty Modern Warfare 4 Release Date?

The Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 release date is Friday, October 23, 2026. The shooter is coming to PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2. However, if you have seen players already making their way through the campaign, there is a reason for that.

Activision is splitting the launch into several stages, with digital preorder customers getting access to certain modes before the full release. The MW4 campaign is already available today as it went live on October 16, while DMZ early access begins on October 20. The full game follows on October 23.

That means you can finish the single-player story before jumping into multiplayer at launch! To make it easier to track, we’ve created an easy-to-read table below that shows when the Modern Warfare 4 release date is in every region:

MW4 Release Date and Time by Region

Region	Local date	Release time
United States / Canada (Pacific)	October 22	9:00 PM PDT
Mexico City	October 22	10:00 PM CST
United States / Canada (Eastern)	October 23	12:00 AM EDT
Brazil (São Paulo)	October 23	1:00 AM BRT
United Kingdom	October 23	5:00 AM BST
Central Europe (Germany / France)	October 23	6:00 AM CEST
South Africa	October 23	6:00 AM SAST
Finland	October 23	7:00 AM EEST
Saudi Arabia	October 23	7:00 AM AST
United Arab Emirates	October 23	8:00 AM GST
India	October 23	9:30 AM IST
China / Singapore	October 23	12:00 PM CST / SGT
Japan / South Korea	October 23	1:00 PM JST / KST
Australia (Perth)	October 23	12:00 PM AWST
Australia (Brisbane)	October 23	2:00 PM AEST
Australia (Adelaide)	October 23	2:30 PM ACDT
Australia (Sydney / Melbourne)	October 23	3:00 PM AEDT
New Zealand (Auckland)	October 23	5:00 PM NZDT

Will Modern Warfare 4 Be on Game Pass?

Yes, Modern Warfare 4 is coming to Game Pass, but it will not be available on the subscription service at launch. Activision has confirmed that MW4 will join Game Pass in Holiday 2027, although an exact release date has not been announced.

So, if you were hoping to play this year’s Call of Duty through your subscription, you will have to wait almost an entire year before it arrives on the Xbox service. Players who want to jump in at launch must purchase the game separately.

How to Get Modern Warfare 4 Campaign Early Access

To play the Modern Warfare 4 campaign early, you need to preorder or prepurchase any digital edition of the game. Campaign early access began on Friday, October 16, 2026, giving eligible players a week to experience the story before the official release date.

You do not need to purchase the more expensive Vault Edition to get the campaign head start. The Digital Standard Edition also includes early access. However, Activision lists this benefit specifically for digital purchases, so a physical preorder does not qualify.

There are two early access dates to keep track of:

Mode	Early access date	Requirement
Single-player campaign	October 16, 2026	Any digital preorder or prepurchase
DMZ	October 20, 2026	Any digital preorder or prepurchase

Both benefits are included with eligible digital editions. However, campaign early access does not unlock the entire game ahead of schedule, so you will still need to wait for the full launch to jump into standard multiplayer.

If you mainly want to experience the story, you can already start playing through a qualifying digital purchase. For everyone waiting on Modern Warfare 4’s Game Pass launch, the confirmed release window is Holiday 2027.

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Druids are one of the most versatile classes in World of Warcraft and Dungeons and Dragons is attempting to recreate that flexibility with recommendations for how to play all four different Druid specializations at the tabletop.

D&D: World of Warcraft Character Creation Guide for All Druid Specs

Druids are a fan-favorite World of Warcraft class that allows players to tank, heal, or heal damage. They have a ton of utility and seem very likely to be equally popular for Dungeons and Dragons players as they form their parties for upcoming adventures in Azeroth.

Druids call upon the power of land, sea, and sky to tear their enemies apart and put their friends back together. Skilled shapeshifters, elementalists, guardians, and healers, Druids are versatile and adaptable spellcasters.

Every Druid in World of Warcraft learns new beast forms: Cat Form, Bear Form, and Travel Form (which includes an Aquatic Form and a Flight Form). These forms take on unique stat blocks for Druids with access to Circle Forms. For Druids without the Circle Forms feature, certain Beast stat blocks are made available.

Druids are already a Dungeons and Dragons class, so that gives players an easy place to start. Once their class is selected, players will want to take one of these branching paths, depending on their specialization preference:

• Balance – Leverage the sacred powers of the moons, the sun, and the stars to keep the elemental forces of the cosmos in equilibrium.
  • The Balance Druid selects the Circle of the Stars subclass and uses the versatility of its Starry Form to take on the appearance of moonkin and adapt their magical aptitude to their circumstances.
• Feral – Pursue a visceral connection to the wild—nature’s eternal dance between predator and prey.
  • The Feral Druid represents nature red in tooth and claw, using the Circle of the Moon subclass and a unique Cat Form to rip nearby foes apart.
• Guardian – Commune with the wild to better understand how life perseveres through adversity.
  • Guardian Druids also use the Circle of the Moon to take on a unique Bear Form that stands between their fellow adventurers and danger, converting magical energy into Temporary Hit Points and imposing Disadvantage on enemy attack rolls.
• Restoration – Where there is decay, bring rejuvenation. Where there is devastation, bring regrowth.
  • The Restoration Druid will pick the Circle of the Land subclass to reflect their relationship with nature’s cycle and use new spells to continuously heal allies.

That should be everything Dungeons and Dragons players need at this point to start formulating ideas for their Druids before the Dungeons and Dragons: World of Warcraft book officially arrives in November.

Be sure to check back soon for lots more Dungeons and Dragons news and updates as the World of Warcraft gameplay expansion release date approaches.

Dungeons and Dragons is available now at local game shops and digitally through D&D Beyond, Roll20, and similar online services. The Dungeons and Dragons: World of Warcraft gameplay expansion releases on November 17, 2026.

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Gamers who are curious about World of Warcraft: Forever will soon have a chance to test the MMO experience out for free without any subscription or beta invite.

How TO Participate in the Wow: Forever Stress Test

Tons of players have already flocked to World of Warcraft: Forever during the games bet and spent hours leveling up characters and exploring Blizzard’s official take on the Classic+ experience.

Now that the upcoming pillar of WoW is approaching its early November launch date, Blizzard is preparing for a major stress test that will allow any interested gamers to dive into the experience and give it a try before launch.

 For a limited time on October 19, all interested players can sign into World of Warcraft: Forever and help us put the servers through their paces. Anyone can take part and no subscription, Game Time, invitation, or beta access is required.

he Stress Test runs on October 19 at the following times locally:

• North America: 2:00 p.m. PDT
• Europe: 19:00 CEST
• Korea: 06:00 KST (October 20)
• Taiwan: 05:00 CST (October 20)

The beta will be taken offline shortly before the Stress Test begins and is expected to return shortly after it ends. The test window may end earlier or run later as needed.

To join the upcoming WoW: Forever stress test, interested gamers need to take the following steps:

• Make sure your graphics drivers are up to date.
• Open the Battle.net desktop app and allow it to update if needed.
• Select World of Warcraft from the list of games.
• In the Game Version menu above the Play button, select World of Warcraft: Forever Stress Test under In Development, then select Install.
• Once installation is complete and the Stress Test begins, select Play and choose an available test realm.
• Create a new test character when available, enter the game, and join the test.

That should be everything players need to know to prepare their PCs and Battle.net apps for the upcoming stress test on October 19.

Players should definitely keep in mind that at the end of the Stress Test, all created characters, names, and guilds will be wiped from the Stress Test servers in preparation for the beginning of Name Reservations opening on October 27.

Be sure to check back soon for lots more World of Warcraft news and updates as the WoW: Forever release date approaches.

World of Warcraft is available now on PC. World of Warcraft: Forever releases on November 4, 2026 for PC.

The post How To Try World of Warcraft: Forever With No Subscription, Beta Invite, or Game Time appeared first on VICE.

It’s been more than six months since World of Warcraft’s latest expansion launched and it is now time for a massive update to refresh the retail experience with lots of new content.

Everything Arriving in Midnight’s 12.1.5 Update

World of Warcraft: Midnight just dropped update 12.1.5 and delivered a ton of new content for retail players to explore.

The champions of Azeroth face a new threat in the wake of Ula’tek’s defeat during the events of Curse of Ula’tek (12.1). Now, an ancient enemy rises once again as the long-thought defeated C’Thraxxi general, Kith’ix, returns in the latest Midnight content update.

Here is a breakdown of the biggest key features added in the new update:

• New Raid: The Unbinding of Kith’ix
  • Venture into the hidden and newly unsealed chamber beneath the venomous abyss for an epic one-boss encounter to topple the newly freed C’Thraxxi general, Kith’ix.
  • Available in Story Mode, Normal, Heroic and Flexible Mythic difficulties.
• New Delve Feature – Labyrinths: Labyrinth of Kindo’jan
  • WoW’s first “mega-delve,” this ancient Amani funeral complex has been sealed for centuries. Now reopened, looters and Vilebranch comb the complex for relics while the interred spirits defend it with deadly force.
  • Players will venture in with their delve companion Valeera enjoying dedicated progression systems, powerful unlocks, and rewards that match the scale of the challenge, including Mythic gear.
• New Outdoor Events: Aqir Invasions
  • Zone-wide public events taking place in Eversong or Zul’Aman.
    • For ten minutes each hour, champions will tackle a series of public events across the zone, one after another, before confronting an intense boss fight.
• Keystone Level: Myth
  • Keystone Myth returns and rewards players of high levels of Mythic+ gameplay as they achieve a score of 3600 for the season.

Although most World of Warcraft recent hype has focused on the WoW: Forever beta, it should be interesting to see if this new retail update helps bring back some lapsed players. A lot of players reactivated their subscriptions for the Forever beta, so some players may be more open to checking out Retail’s latest update while they wait for the Classic+ launch date to arrive.

Be sure to check back soon for lots more World of Warcraft news and updates.

World of Warcraft: Midnight is available now on PC. World of Warcraft: Forever releases on November 4, 2026.

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