Single-player
Modern Warfare 4 Campaign
The Modern Warfare 4 campaign is Infinity Ward’s darkest reboot chapter: North Korea launches a full-scale invasion of the South, a young squad fights on collapsing lines, and Captain Price — wanted after killing General Herschel Shepherd in Modern Warfare III — runs an off-book war that collides with the invasion.
It is not an open-world checklist. Missions move from trench warfare in Korea to close-quarters New York, a chase through Paris, SAS night raids in Mumbai, and city-wide assaults to take ground back. The story dossier covers characters. The walkthrough and Entrenched guide cover the one mission you can already play.
How the campaign is built
You play two threads. Private Park Hyun Jun, voiced by Young Mazino, is a South Korean recruit seeing live combat for the first time. Captain John Price, voiced by Barry Sloane, is no longer inside the system he served. First Lieutenant West, a U.S. Marine, shares Park’s trenches. Valeria Garza is Price’s unlikely partner. Simon “Ghost” Riley is in conflict with Price, not riding shotgun.
Infinity Ward consulted regional specialists, defectors, and Korean staff to treat the setting as more than a backdrop. The studio’s own line is “ripped from the headlines”: what happens if American forces stationed in the South are inside a new war. Whether that lands is a player argument; the missions themselves are classic linear set pieces, not a Warzone tutorial in disguise.
Entrenched, the beta mission
For the first time in franchise history, a Call of Duty beta shipped a campaign mission. Entrenched is a large-scale ground assault: you push trench lines with armor and infantry to keep a nuclear power station from falling. After the beta weekends ended, players with the client could still launch it offline via “Play Campaign Offline” when the multiplayer connection failed.
The mission teaches the new movement and Ballistic Authority without a shooting range lecture. If you get stuck at the coolant tanks, skip to the how to complete Entrenched guide. The walkthrough is the longer, beat-by-beat version with the same IGN footage referenced in the middle of that guide.
When you can play the full campaign
Digital Standard and Vault pre-orders on Xbox Series, PlayStation 5, Battle.net, Steam, Xbox on PC, and Nintendo Switch 2 (pre-orders opened August 26) receive Campaign Early Access on October 16, 2026. The full game, including Multiplayer and DMZ, launches October 23. Physical copies follow street date unless a retailer ships early, which Activision will not promise.
If you only care about the campaign, Standard is enough. Vault’s Hostile Alliance skins do not change missions. Split-screen is a multiplayer feature, not a campaign co-op toggle. For purchase math, use editions and the compare tool.
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Frequently asked questions
Is the MW4 campaign open world?+
No. It is a linear cinematic campaign with large set pieces, not a free-roam map.
When is campaign early access?+
October 16, 2026 for digital pre-orders on supported platforms.
Can I play Entrenched after the beta closed?+
If the beta client is still installed, CharlieINTEL documented an offline “Play Campaign Offline” path when the live servers refuse the connection.