On September 29, 2026, almost a month before launch, the official Call of Duty blog published a post only about the PC version of Modern Warfare 4: the PC trailer, the technical features, the minimum and recommended requirements and the preload dates. This article, written by the SequeLariCOD team in our own words, organizes that post for anyone who wants to know whether their home computer can run the game and what to change in the settings. The numbers below are the ones the post published for launch; the post itself warns they may be updated in the future.
Who made the PC version
According to the post, Modern Warfare 4 is developed by Infinity Ward, and Beenox is the lead studio for the PC version. The game came out on October 23, 2026 on PC through three stores: the Xbox app on PC, Battle.net and Steam. The studios' stated goal was 90 frames per second in multiplayer on a recommended-tier computer with High graphics, without the player having to tweak anything by hand.
The PC requirements
The post lists three tiers. Minimum is what you need to play. Recommended is the one that should reach 90 frames per second in multiplayer on High graphics. The third, ray tracing, is the "ultra" tier, for playing with High quality ray tracing at 4K upscaled by an upscaler.
- Minimum: up-to-date Windows 10 64-bit, AMD Ryzen 5 1400 or Intel Core i5-6600 processor, 8 GB of memory, Radeon RX 470, GeForce GTX 970 or 1060, or Intel Arc A580 graphics card, with 3 GB of video memory.
- Recommended: up-to-date Windows 11 64-bit, AMD Ryzen 5 3600 or Intel Core i7-8700K processor, 16 GB of memory, Radeon RX 6600 XT, GeForce RTX 3060 Ti or Intel Arc B580 graphics card, with 8 GB of video memory.
- Ray tracing (ultra): up-to-date Windows 11 64-bit, AMD Ryzen 7 3700X or Intel Core i7-10700K processor, 32 GB of memory, Radeon RX 9070 XT or GeForce RTX 5070 Ti graphics card, with 16 GB of video memory. The post lists no Intel card in this tier.
- In every tier: 115 GB of space on an SSD (the SSD is required), a broadband internet connection, a DirectX compatible sound card and DirectX 12 compatibility.
The post also lists the recommended drivers for each maker (AMD 26.7.1, NVIDIA 616.56 and Intel 32.0.101.8974) and says NVIDIA would release a driver compatible with the precompiled shader delivery, explained below, before launch. Updating your graphics driver from the maker's website is always a good first step when the game freezes or runs slowly.
Requirements that surprise many players
Some items are not about speed but about whether the game opens at all. The post says TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot are required to play on PC. They are two motherboard security features that are often turned off on older or home-built computers. If the game complains about them, they should be turned on by an adult who knows the computer, following the motherboard manual or the maker's support, because it is a BIOS setting. On top of that, Intel Arc cards need Resizable BAR turned on, and only Intel or AMD processors with the AVX instruction set are supported for now. Finally, the post notes that mandatory updates may need more space than the 115 GB at launch.
What changes in the picture
The visual part of the post is about seeing enemies better. The highlight is Enhanced FOV, PC only: a lens effect that widens the field of view near the screen edges without changing the center, where your aim is. The game also uses HDR10+, which adjusts contrast and brightness in real time without sliders. There is a sharpness slider that works with any upscaler, new shading quality and anti-aliasing options, and improvements to reflections, shadow filtering and lighting.
Two changes help with aiming. The muzzle effect is now masked right at the point of aim so it does not hide the target. And depth of field was split in two, one for the world and one for the weapon, so you can turn off only the part that bothers you. The post also repeats the change first announced in August: bullets come out of the barrel instead of a random point inside an area, and laser attachments help show where the shot goes.
Performance and settings
Ray tracing works in the campaign, multiplayer and DMZ. To gain frames, the game offers the upscalers from all three makers, each in the version the post names: NVIDIA DLSS 4.5, AMD FSR Redstone and Intel XeSS 3, plus the game's own anti-aliasing, which is the default. The post says the list includes frame generation technologies but does not say which option generates frames, so we do not claim that on our own. The picture can be 4K, 1440p or 1080p, on a standard or ultrawide screen.
There are more than 800 settings across graphics, gameplay, input devices and interface, and the game picks a starting setup based on the computer it detects. For those who like to test, a built-in benchmark tool runs a simulated multiplayer match and shows average frames, processor and graphics card use, ping and input latency live. At the end it shows a report by area of the map and suggests changes. For mouse players, the post mentions sub-frame mouse polling so aiming responds faster.
Less waiting to play
The post introduces Advanced Shader Delivery (ASD): shaders arrive already prepared, so the game opens faster without that long compilation the first time. To get this on any store, the post recommends installing the Xbox app on PC first, but says it is only needed if you want ASD. Updates also stopped requiring a restart when you open the game; a restart is only still needed when an update goes live during a session, usually between matches.
Preload dates
For digital pre-purchasers, PC preloading started on October 15, 2026 at 9 AM Pacific time. Campaign Early Access started on Friday, October 16, and the full game came out on October 23 at midnight local time. These dates have passed and are kept here as a record, together with the site's calendar.
Collateral and account security
The post also introduces the Collateral mode, in the style of Search and Destroy: two bomb sites, teams that swap between attack and defense, everyone starts with a pistol and earns cash to buy upgrades between rounds. Whoever dies loses what they bought, and there are no respawns, killstreaks, automatic health regeneration or custom loadouts. On security, the post describes the layered RICOCHET anti-cheat (server-side detection, protection tied to TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot, investigations and legal action) and recommends two-factor authentication and email verification on your account.
What the post does not say
The post gives no price, no monitor refresh rates, no controller or keyboard details and no "competitive" requirements tier; anyone who wants the most should look at the ray tracing tier. It also does not say which upscaler generates frames. We did not fill any of these gaps with guesses.
An important reminder: programs that promise "more frames", automatic aim or free unlocks outside the game are cheats or scams, can get your account banned and often carry viruses. Download the game and drivers only from the official stores and makers and, if in doubt, see our Play safe page.