On November 5, 2026, Infinity Ward published the Season 1 patch notes for Modern Warfare 4 on the official Call of Duty site. The notes are long and packed with tables of numbers, so the SequeLariCOD team picked out what matters most to players and explained it in our own words. The site rule still applies: only what the official notes say goes here. When the source does not say something, such as the exact update time or when the next weapons arrive, we say so instead of guessing. The link to the full notes is at the end of the article.
Season 1 at a glance
The notes confirm that the season started on that same day, November 5, with a linear 100-tier Battle Pass. It catches up late starters automatically: up to day 50 of the season, players receive the rewards for the current day. Anyone who completes all 100 tiers can earn bonus rewards later. The pass includes two new weapons, operator skins, weapon blueprints, calling cards, charms, reticles, double XP tokens, COD Points and DMZ survival kits. We explain the pass in detail in another blog article, linked below.
There are events too: Threat Briefing: Battle Tank in DMZ, and Wager Match, listed as "coming soon", where trophies are the currency. The notes say more events, including camo and DMZ events, will arrive during Season 1 and Reloaded, but they give no dates.
New multiplayer maps and modes
Multiplayer gets four maps. Backstab is a 6v6 map in a snow-covered town. Canyon is also 6v6. Shoot House, a familiar map from earlier games, returns in a new setting while keeping its classic three-lane layout. And Kill Block: Crash arrives as a featured combo for 6v6 matches. Each one has its own page on this site with the official source.
For modes, Grind is back: points only count when players collect dog tags and bank them at the objective. Drop Zone is new, with a moving objective that rewards killstreak drops to the team holding it. 6v6 modes now run on Kill Block, and Gauntlet 1v1, which is Gunfight played through the Wager Match event, is coming soon. The notes promise more modes at mid-season, without a date.
The two new weapons
The weapons that come with the pass are the Cronen Osprey, a 5.56 assault rifle, and the CSG-35, an SMG that can be dual-wielded, one in each hand. The notes say two more weapons and several attachments will arrive later in Season 1, but not which ones or when. As soon as an official post confirms them, they will be added to the site.
Weapons that got stronger
Most balance changes made weapons stronger. Among assault rifles, the Axion gained medium damage range and bullet velocity, going from 415 to 470 meters per second. The M4 now keeps its maximum damage farther out, from 25.91 to 27.94 meters, and rewards headshots more. The Kastov 762, Han 86 and Patriot XMR also got small boosts, and the Patriot moves a little faster while aiming.
Among SMGs, the Wz.55 Striga gained the most: maximum damage went from 26 to 27, minimum damage from 17 to 19 and the head multiplier from 1.3 to 1.4. The ISO Nightshade, PPSh-41 and X-58 Nyx became stronger at longer range. The Rezi 12 shotgun gained range in every damage band, with minimum damage going from 14 to 16. The Mosin-Nagant, Oris 8.6, Type 73 LMG and Krait P68 pistol also got range improvements.
Weapons that got weaker
Only a few weapons lost power. The VEL 46 had its range shortened in every band but gained one point of minimum damage, so it got better up close than far away. The APOC-338 LMG lost one point of minimum damage and a bit of its head multiplier. The most interesting case is the Hyeon Burst's Hyperburst Apex: maximum damage dropped from 30 to 23, but that damage now holds up to 30.99 meters instead of 24.64. In practice, the weapon was redesigned to be more consistent at medium range, not simply weaker.
Apex parts are special parts that change how a weapon plays, and each weapon page on this site already shows which part it has and the list of changes from each official note, in the Changes tab.
Killstreaks and equipment
Some killstreaks and equipment changed as well. The Argonaut now has 1,200 health instead of 800. Crossfire got much weaker: it gained spawn protection, its shots are 25% smaller and deal half the damage. Proximity mines now arm in 0.75 seconds, half the previous time, and the Claymore also arms faster and reacts in a wider angle. In Hardcore, maximum health dropped from 30 to 22.
DMZ: Exclusion Zone X01
In DMZ, the highlight is Exclusion Zone X01, an underground GRANIT Arms black site entered through the Hajin map. According to the notes, it brings new areas, threats, equipment and orders, plus an in-world 3D printer; the rest of the details are marked classified. The forward operating base (FOB) received new boss board intel, and the Possum trait became stricter: enemy squads must be 2.5 times farther away before it activates. Item duplication exploits were also fixed.
Improvements for everyone
A welcome change for console players: the 120 Hz performance mode is now open to all PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S players with a 120 Hz display, even without VRR, although VRR is still recommended. Gunsmith now warns you before you change a weapon's receiver, and there were many fixes for crashes, spots where players got stuck and modes like Hardpoint and Search and Destroy.
The notes also say an unauthorized third-party program is now detected: anyone running it is warned and blocked from multiplayer until it is closed, and anyone who tries to get around the block may have their account or hardware banned. The lesson applies to any game: do not install programs that promise an advantage, because besides the ban risk they can steal your account. The Play safe page explains more.
What the notes do not say
The notes do not give the exact update time, do not say which two weapons come next and do not set dates for Reloaded or the mid-season modes. They also say nothing about ranked play or Zombies. When the official blog publishes those dates, they will go into the site calendar with the source.
If you want to follow the next changes, the Updates section gathers the official notes with the weapons that changed in each one, and the calendar shows the dates already confirmed.