Modern Warfare 4 Reveals Campaign Rewards as DMZ Early Access Update Approaches

Modern Warfare 4 early access is officially underway, letting players who digitally pre-order the game jump into the campaign before the full release on October 23. Alongside the early launch, Activision has revealed the rewards you can unlock by completing campaign missions, including operators, calling cards, emblems, and XP tokens. The article also shares new details about an upcoming DMZ update, its early access launch schedule, and the technical issues some players are already experiencing.

If you have been waiting to get started before the full game arrives, there's plenty to track over the next few days. Campaign early access is already available, DMZ has its own update on the way, and a separate day-one patch is expected to bring further changes when Modern Warfare 4 launches in full.

The campaign is one of the main attractions right now, and its early access launch lets you experience the story before everyone else. The latest campaign is also getting good feedback, making it a promising entry for players who have followed the series in recent years. It has high-stakes moments that give you plenty of reasons to see how everything plays out.

You can access the campaign by pre-ordering Modern Warfare 4 digitally, so you don't necessarily have to wait until October 23 to start playing. If you haven't purchased the game yet but want to experience the campaign early, you can still secure digital access before the full launch.

But the campaign isn't the only reason to jump in early. Activision has finally detailed the rewards you can earn by completing its missions, and some of them could be particularly useful once you move over to multiplayer and DMZ.

The campaign features 16 missions and 16 completion rewards. These include eight operators, alongside calling cards, a loading screen, an emblem, and several XP-related rewards. Completing specific missions unlocks different items, giving you an extra incentive to work through the story rather than rush to the end.

For completing the first campaign mission, you unlock Chiao. Mission four rewards you with Dallas, while mission seven unlocks Luca. You can then earn OG by completing mission nine, Cal after mission 11, Dun after mission 13, West after mission 15, and Park after mission 16.

These operators aren't limited to the campaign. You can use them in multiplayer and DMZ, which makes them more valuable if you plan to spend most of your time in those modes after launch. In particular, having additional operators available for DMZ could help you prepare your active-duty operator for the extraction-based mode.

The remaining rewards are spread across the campaign's 16 missions. Alongside the operators, you can earn a calling card, a loading screen, and an emblem, while several missions reward you with double XP tokens or double weapon XP tokens. Rewards alternate between these categories as you progress through the campaign, giving you a mix of cosmetic items and practical bonuses.

XP tokens are especially useful at this stage because they can help you get ahead of the progression grind. With multiplayer and DMZ both becoming major parts of the Modern Warfare 4 experience, you will have rank to level up and weapons to work on. Having a few tokens ready can help you progress faster as you unlock new equipment and work toward your preferred loadouts.

Another important detail: these tokens only count down during in-game time. That means you do not have to worry about their duration being wasted while you are sitting in menus or otherwise not actively playing. If you want to make the most of your limited double XP time, that system should make it easier to plan your sessions.

Of course, the cosmetic rewards also give you something to work toward if you are more interested in collecting items than speeding through progression. Whether you want additional operators for your matches or simply want to complete the available campaign challenges, the rewards give you another reason to finish all 16 missions.

With the campaign rewards now officially available through early access, players have a clearer idea of what they can earn before the full game launches. Activision's announcement timing may have left some players waiting for details, but anyone with the required early access can now claim the rewards.

The early access launch hasn't been all smooth sailing, though, despite a good start. Even if you digitally pre-ordered Modern Warfare 4 and did everything right, some players are having trouble accessing the game on PC via Xbox and the Microsoft Store. In some cases, the game simply refuses to let them enter the campaign.

COD Updates acknowledged the issue, initially confirming that the team was investigating reports from affected players. A later update said a fix had been released to address the issue preventing some Xbox PC players from accessing campaign early access. According to the update, affected players should be able to get into the game after restarting their systems.

Unfortunately, the fix has not worked for everyone. While some players have regained access to the campaign, others still report the problem remains unresolved. Responses to the update suggest Activision may need to roll out another round of fixes before everyone can play without running into the same issue.

If you are playing on Xbox PC, keep this in mind when trying to access the campaign. Hopefully, the developers can sort it out quickly, especially with DMZ early access approaching. If players run into similar problems when another major part of the game becomes available, it would be an unwelcome start to launch week.

Speaking of DMZ, Activision has also confirmed that a separate update will be available ahead of the mode's early access launch. According to COD Updates, the required update will begin rolling out across all platforms by 9:00 A.M. Pacific on Monday, October 19. You may receive it over the weekend as well, depending on your platform and update settings.

For example, launching the game or its associated application may prompt you to download the update before you can continue. If you use Battle.net on PC and have automatic updates enabled, the download might also start in the background while the application runs.

The timing matters because DMZ isn't available to players yet, and this update arrives shortly before its early access launch. At the very least, it should help prepare the game for release and give the developers a chance to address technical problems before players enter the mode.

However, the update may also include more than routine fixes and preparations. Now that COD HQ is the central hub for the series, game files are available for data mining when updates are released or new content is added. Players often comb through these files for information on future features, weapons, maps, and other content that Activision hasn't officially revealed.

That makes the separate DMZ download particularly interesting, although there is no confirmation that it contains additional content intended to prevent leaks. DMZ has already been leaked, and the update may simply be necessary to ensure the mode is ready for early access. Still, it's worth watching for additional files introduced ahead of launch as more information becomes available.

DMZ early access is scheduled to go live globally at 10:00 A.M. Pacific on Tuesday, October 20. You will need to have digitally pre-ordered or pre-purchased Modern Warfare 4 to gain access during this early period.

Another useful detail to remember if you plan to spend the first day exploring DMZ: Any XP and weapon XP you earn during early access will carry over toward your Modern Warfare 4 career progression and unlocks, including weapon camos. In other words, you won't start from scratch when the full game launches, and the time you spend progressing through DMZ can contribute to your overall account progression.

Keep an eye on the scheduled launch time, too, because the campaign's early access release arrived earlier than planned. Although campaign early access was scheduled to begin at 10:00 A.M. Pacific on October 16, it became available roughly an hour earlier. DMZ could follow a similar pattern, though an early launch hasn't been confirmed.

Beyond the upcoming DMZ update, you should also prepare for another substantial download ahead of the full Modern Warfare 4 launch on October 23. Activision is expected to release a separate day-one patch, likely arriving later in the week before launch.

This patch should be particularly important because it is expected to come with detailed patch notes outlining the changes made between the beta and the full release. This includes changes based on player feedback, gameplay tuning, and other improvements the developers made before releasing the game to a wider audience.