Modern Warfare 4 early access starts today on PC: can your rig run it?

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 early access starts today, October 16, according to its Steam page. The campaign opens first, DMZ early access follows on October 20, and the full launch is October 22. On October 1 we told you that the game requires an SSD, TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot. Now that it is playable, here is what to check before you jump in. Steam notes that play times may vary because of outages or time zones, and that the start date is subject to change.

Modern Warfare 4 PC requirements

These are the requirements from the Steam page:

Beyond the table, have these three things ready:

• TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot are required, and Activision says other security measures may be enforced.
• Accounts: you need an Activision account and a mobile phone number linked to your Steam account.
• Extra space: mandatory updates may need more than the 115 GB.

The game is Windows only, with no Mac or Linux version. On the anticheat side, PCGamesN reports that Modern Warfare 4 introduces “server culling” technology that stops cheats from seeing you through walls.

Which graphics cards run it

Every card we checked clears the minimum, but the headroom varies a lot. Grades are measured against the recommended requirement, with 16 GB of RAM:

• GTX 1650, GTX 1060 6GB and RX 580: clear the minimum with a D (Struggles). They will run it, but with little headroom.
• GTX 1660 Super, RTX 2060 and RTX 3050: C (Tight). They sit between the minimum and the recommended.
• RTX 3060, RTX 4060, RX 6600 XT and RX 7600: B (Solid). They meet the recommended.
• RTX 4070 and RX 9070 XT: A (Smooth). The RTX 5080 gets an S (Overkill).

One catch with the Arc B580. Steam lists it in the recommended tier, but on canirun’s score it lands below the recommended benchmark, so we grade it C (Tight). With an RTX 3060 you are right at the recommended. With a GTX 1650 you get in at the minimum.

What about Steam Deck?

Valve has not verified it yet. Going by the specs, our estimate is an F: the Deck falls below the minimum. That is a spec-based estimate only, not a real test. You can follow its status on the game’s Steam Deck page.

Price and pre-purchase discount

On Steam it costs $69.99. The page offers a pre-purchase discount if you own and have played one of these titles on the same Steam account: Modern Warfare (2019), Black Ops Cold War, Vanguard, Modern Warfare II (2022), Modern Warfare III (2023), Black Ops 6 or Black Ops 7. The offer is valid until October 23, 2026.

Can your PC run Modern Warfare 4?

Here is how your rig grades against Modern Warfare 4 and against ARC Raiders, for reference:

Game	Rec. GPU score	Rec. RAM	Min. RAM	Your PC
Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 4	15,900	16 GB	8 GB	?
ARC Raiders	16,200	16 GB	12 GB	?

If you fall short, the full game page shows which upgrade raises your grade the most.

Sources: Modern Warfare 4 on Steam, PCGamesN: server culling against wallhacks