Modern Warfare 4 PC Trailer Reveals Final Specs, 90 FPS Target and New Collateral Mode

Modern Warfare 4 is just over three weeks out, and PC players finally have the full picture. Activision has dropped the official PC trailer alongside a big breakdown of tech features, final system requirements and a brand new round-based mode called Collateral.

The game launches 23 October on Xbox on PC, Battle.net and Steam. Beenox is leading the PC version in close partnership with Infinity Ward, and the headline target is 90 FPS at Recommended specs without you having to fiddle with settings.

90 FPS Target, DLSS 4.5 and FSR Redstone

Beenox says Modern Warfare 4 runs on most hardware and scales up on high-end rigs, with the game auto-configuring settings for your setup. If you do want to dig in, there are more than 800 customisation options across graphics, gameplay, input, interface and more.

Upscaling and frame generation cover everyone. You get NVIDIA DLSS 4.5, AMD FSR Redstone, Intel XeSS 3 and Filmic SMAA T2X. Ray tracing is supported in Campaign, Multiplayer and DMZ. Displays from 1080p to 4K are covered, including ultrawide.

There’s a built-in Benchmark Tool that runs a simulated multiplayer sequence and shows average FPS, CPU, GPU, ping and input latency, then breaks it all down by zone with setting suggestions. Sub-frame mouse polling is in too, for more precise aim.

Shader waits should be shorter as well. Advanced Shader Delivery, previously called Shader Preloading, delivers precompiled shaders ahead of time. Activision recommends installing the Xbox PC app before launch to use it, no matter which PC store you buy from. Updates also no longer need a restart when you boot the game.

Enhanced FOV and No More Random Bullet Spread

A few changes here will matter more in actual gunfights than any graphics slider. Enhanced FOV is a PC-exclusive option that uses lens effects to widen the view at the edges of your screen without changing the centre. So you can run a tighter FOV and still get more peripheral awareness.

HDR10+ support adjusts contrast and lighting to your screen in real time. Muzzle effects are now masked at the point of aim so your target stays visible. Depth of Field is split into separate World and Weapon settings.

The big one is weapon bloom. Bullets used to land randomly within an area. In Modern Warfare 4, shots follow the weapon’s barrel position in both ADS and hipfire, and a Laser Attachment can show you where they’re going. I’m all for this. Random spread has always felt like the game rolling dice on your aim, and tying it to the barrel should reward good fundamentals.

Full PC Requirements and TPM 2.0

Minimum specs ask for Windows 10 64-bit, an AMD Ryzen 5 1400 or Intel Core i5-6600, 8GB of RAM and a Radeon RX 470, GeForce GTX 970 or 1060, or Intel Arc A580 with 3GB of video memory.

Recommended, for 90 FPS in multiplayer on High, steps up to Windows 11, a Ryzen 5 3600 or Core i7-8700K, 16GB of RAM and a Radeon RX 6600 XT, GeForce RTX 3060 Ti or Intel Arc B580 with 8GB of video memory.

For High quality ray tracing at 4K upscaled, you’re looking at a Ryzen 7 3700X or Core i7-10700K, 32GB of RAM and a Radeon RX 9070 XT or GeForce RTX 5070 Ti with 16GB of video memory. Every tier needs 115GB on an SSD.

TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot are required to play on PC. That ties into RICOCHET Anti-Cheat, which combines server-side detection, hardware-level protections, investigations and legal action, plus 2FA and email verification for account security. We covered how RICOCHET is carrying 70,000 hardware bans into Modern Warfare 4.

Collateral Mode Brings an Economy to Search and Destroy

Collateral is a new multiplayer mode aimed at Search and Destroy fans and the competitive crowd. Teams swap between attacking and defending two bomb sites. Everyone starts with a pistol and earns cash by getting kills and playing the objective, then spends it on upgrades between rounds.

The shop covers armour and perks, equipment like flashes, Molotovs and a Riot Shield, pistols, a Standard Issue tier with shotguns, LMGs and SMGs, and a Tier 1 row with rifles and a sniper. There’s even a team-bought UAV. Die and you lose your loadout, but your money carries over.

Respawns, killstreaks, health regen and custom loadouts are all switched off. If that sounds a lot like a certain other tactical shooter, yeah, it does. Activision says more details are coming closer to launch.

Preload and Campaign Early Access Dates

Digital pre-orders on PC can preload from 15 October at 9AM PT, which is 16 October in Australia. Campaign Early Access starts 16 October in the US, or 17 October AEDT. The full game releases 23 October at midnight local time.

Source: press release from Activision. Images courtesy of Activision.