That makes three staggered dates: the campaign unlocks on 16th October, DMZ follows on the 20th, and multiplayer arrives with the full launch on the 23rd. Campaign early access is a familiar trick for Modern Warfare titles, but extending it to a multiplayer mode is new. It looks designed to let streamers and curious players generate buzz across the whole week, and DMZ's separate progression means early players can dig in without feeling they are neglecting multiplayer. Those who put in the hours early could also arrive at launch with stockpiled items and map knowledge.

Separately, Infinity Ward has played down hopes of a PvE-only playlist. A first-look gameplay video showed a Single Squad Mission option, which some took as a sign of a mode without other players, but the option vanished from a follow-up trailer. In a Reddit Q&A, the studio said the playlist was a developer tool never meant for public use, and that in the shipping game solo players simply turn off squad fill, though lobbies are not guaranteed to be solo-only. Eurogamer's report is sceptical, noting that dev-only modes rarely get bespoke icons and that such footage is usually blurred.

The appetite for a PvE option is not unique to Call of Duty. In September, Embark Studios announced a PvE matchmaking test for Arc Raiders responding to players uninterested in fighting each other, and Bungie confirmed a permanent PvE mode called Symbiosis for Marathon, delayed to 8th December after its earlier PvPvE-focused start. Extraction shooters are clearly under pressure to cater to players who would rather not be shot.