By Jacob Miller | May 04, 2026
Neither Activision nor Infinity Ward has made a formal announcement regarding either the title or the release date for the next Call of Duty installment. The next installment in the franchise is believed to be a new entry in the Modern Warfare series, and reportedly based on multiple leaks dating back to June 2025 they will take place in the Korean Peninsula, with a story that picks up directly from the events of Modern Warfare 3 and will feature the return of Makarov and the Konni Group as key bad guys.
The following leaks describe updates on what is known thus far about Modern Warfare 4.
In addition to platform leaks, there are also several other leaks regarding what will be featured in the 2026 release. One of the leaks from late 2025 indicated that the multiplayer portion of Modern Warfare 4 may not be redesigned or feature many changes to its more traditional gameplay style, with some reporting that it is likely to have a very similar gameplay structure to the multiplayer component of Modern Warfare 2 when it is finished.
There are also reports that the DMZ mode will return and that new maps created for DMZ players will be included in the release. The game is currently scheduled for an October 2026 release, but there has been no confirmation of this from anyone at either Activision or Infinity Ward. There have also been other reports from earlier in the development of Modern Warfare 4 indicating that it might be launched as a launch title for the new platform from Microsoft, and some speculated that Activision has other titles that will also be launched with the new system.
There has also been recent speculation about whether the next installment will contain a stand-alone Zombies mode, but Activision wasted no time in dispelling those rumors.
As everyone anxiously awaits the next release within the Call of Duty franchise, the current Call of Duty title, Black Ops 7, is adding to its growing library of live content. On April 30 the Black Ops 7 Season 3 mid-season update was released containing three new maps for 6v6 gameplay: Onsen, Summit, and Hacienda.
Onsen is also being used for team players to battle against in 2v2. In addition to these three maps coming to the game as part of the mid-to-late Season 3 update, two new weapons were also added with the update: the Siren special weapon and the Katana melee weapon.
With interest continuing to grow for Modern Warfare 4 based on current leaks, fans of Call of Duty will not have to wait much longer for an announcement from Activision and Infinity Ward that will officially announce what the next chapter of the iconic franchise has to offer.
