Modern Warfare 4 Season 1: Start Time, Maps and Warzone Changes

Modern Warfare 4 Season 1 goes live on Friday, November 6, 2026, at midnight ET (9 p.m. PT on Thursday, November 5), Activision has confirmed. The free update lands at the same moment in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 and Warzone, bringing three new multiplayer maps, a new DMZ location, two new weapons, the first Battle Pass and the full integration of Modern Warfare 4 into Warzone.

It is the first big content drop since Infinity Ward’s game launched on October 23 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC and Nintendo Switch 2, and it also marks the day Warzone arrives on Switch 2 for the first time.

Modern Warfare 4 Season 1 Start Time in Your Time Zone

Unlike recent Call of Duty seasons, which usually started around midday in the US, this one starts at midnight Eastern time. Here is when it unlocks around the world:

• 9 p.m. PT on Thursday, November 5 (US West Coast)
• 12 a.m. ET on Friday, November 6 (US East Coast)
• 5 a.m. GMT on Friday, November 6 (UK)
• 6 a.m. CET on Friday, November 6 (Central Europe)
• 8 a.m. on Friday, November 6 (Turkey)
• 2 p.m. JST on Friday, November 6 (Japan)
• 4 p.m. AEDT on Friday, November 6 (Sydney)

The release falls into a crowded month for big games, as our November 2026 game releases list shows, with GTA 6 following on November 19.

New Maps, Modes and Weapons in Multiplayer and DMZ

According to Activision’s Season 1 overview on the PlayStation Blog, multiplayer gets two all-new maps at launch, the stormy Backstab and the rocky Canyon, plus a reimagined Shoot House set in snowy North Korea. The Grind and Drop Zone modes return on day one.

The mid-season update adds two more maps, Ministry, built around an embassy during a diplomatic summit, and Overflow, a factory surrounded by farmland. A new mode called Counter Attack asks teams to blow up the enemy Comm Station while defending their own.

DMZ players get X01, a captured weapons facility made of tunnels and shifting hazards that gradually closes off extraction points. The Battle Pass adds the Cronen Osprey assault rifle and the CSG-35 SMG, which Activision says has the highest fire rate in its class.

The Battle Pass itself has changed. It is now a linear 100-tier track with more than 100 unlockable items, and premium owners who fall behind are automatically caught up to the reward matching the current day of the season, up to day 50.

What Changes in Warzone Season 1

Season 1 is also when Modern Warfare 4 fully merges into Warzone. As detailed in the official Call of Duty blog, the battle royale moves to Hajin, a large map spanning North and South Korea with 13 major points of interest and changing weather such as fog, wind, rain and storms. Zodiac, a compact Resurgence map built around a drone factory, launches alongside it, while Verdansk and Rebirth Island are set to return later in the season.

• Player levels reset, with progression and optional Prestige shared across Multiplayer, DMZ and Warzone.
• Tactical Sprint becomes available to every Operator without a Perk, with a slightly shorter duration.
• Weapons from Modern Warfare II through Black Ops 7 stay usable in a Legacy tab but can no longer be edited in Gunsmith.
• New gear includes a Zipline Launcher and a Grabber Drone, plus new Elite Perks.

The same update ends Warzone on PS4 and Xbox One. Progress carries over to a supported platform when players log in with the same linked Activision account, as we explained in our Warzone PS4 and Xbox One shutdown report.

How to Get Ready

Season 1 arrives as a title update, so expect a download on every platform before you can play. Pre-downloads typically open in the days before the season starts. If you are also planning to jump into Rockstar’s game this month, check our GTA 6 preload guide to keep enough free space: Modern Warfare 4 alone needs 115GB on PC.