Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer release time and preload explained

A solider stares at the screen during Call of Duty: Modern Warfare's campaign
(Image credit: Activision)

The Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer releases in just a few hours, so you don't need to hold on too much longer until we can play MW2 multiplayer.

Activision is breaking up how the new Call of Duty game releases, with the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 campaign being available through early access since October 20. As we’ve come to expect with major launches, we saw our fair share of crashes and error codes that needed to be ironed out. As such, we imagine the full Modern Warfare 2 launch will be met with much of the same – we’re sure Activision has ironed out plenty already, though the influx of multiplayer players will no doubt be hard to suppress. 

Thankfully, Activision and Infinity Ward have laid out when you can pre-load and play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’s multiplayer, so you can keep on top of everything in your immediate control, just expect some turbulence when multiplayer unlocks.

Call of Duty: MW2 multiplayer preload time

You can preload Call of Duty: MW2 multiplayer right now, Preloads for Modern Warfare 2’s multiplayer are already available for PlayStation and Xbox, though you’ll have to wait until 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm BST on October 26) to download the multiplayer on PC. Infinity Ward confirms in a blog post that Modern Warfare 2 requires at least 72 GB on PC to download the full game, so you best prepare your hard drive.

MW2 release date 2022 times

Modern Warfare 2’s multiplayer releases alongside the full game, with rollout beginning at 4am PT / 7am ET / 12pm BST on October 27 for Xbox and PlayStation platforms.

The rollout concludes at 9pm PT on October 27 and midnight ET / 5am BST on October 28, at which point multiplayer unlocks also on PC. There will be a few things absent at launch, however, including the classic Modern Warfare 2 Hardcore mode, which is simply 'coming soon, and the Modern Warfare 2 Battle Pass which will arrive later on November 16th. 

If you haven’t already, you might want to ensure you have all the Modern Warfare 2 campaign rewards as they’ll net you a host of bonuses to carry into multiplayer. You can check out our Call of Duty MW2 pre-orders guide for everything you need to get access to the campaign early. 

We’ve been working on our Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 review, finding the campaign to be “thrilling from start to finish".

TOPICS
Deputy News Editor

Iain joins the GamesRadar team as Deputy News Editor following stints at PCGamesN and PocketGamer.Biz, with some freelance for Kotaku UK, RockPaperShotgun, and VG24/7 thrown in for good measure. When not helping Ali run the news team, he can be found digging into communities for stories – the sillier the better. When he isn’t pillaging the depths of Final Fantasy 14 for a swanky new hat, you’ll find him amassing an army of Pokemon plushies.

With contributions from
Read more
Monster Hunter Wilds beta and trailer screenshots
Monster Hunter Wilds pre-load times – differences between PS5 and Xbox / PC explained
Monster Hunter Wilds character with binoculars
Monster Hunter Wilds release date and times – here's when the behemoth action RPG unlocks
Assassin's Creed Shadows screenshot showing female protagonist Naoe
Assassin's Creed Shadows release time – the countdown to Ubisoft's Japan-inspired RPG is on
A player wearing a gasmask and holding a gun during the shooter, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.
Call of Duty season 2 brings back Gun Game and a fan-favorite Zombies weapon we haven't seen in 10 years
A player wearing a gasmask and holding a gun during the shooter, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.
10 Games like Call of Duty that you should play now
Monster Hunter Wilds lance wielder in Balahara armor
Monster Hunter Wilds beta dates and how to play
Latest in FPS
Destiny 2 Lightfall
When Destiny 2 "weekly active users dropped lower and faster than we'd seen since 2018," Bungie assembled an A-Team to put out some fires: "We needed to do something"
halflife screenshot showing a headcrab jumping at a player
Half-Life devs worried Gabe Newell "promised things that they couldn't possibly deliver" for the iconic FPS, but "they just didn't know" that they'd be able to do it yet
Former Valve exec recounts the meeting where Half-Life's publisher almost killed the iconic FPS: "Half-Life would quietly die. I was stunned"
FBC Firebreak screenshot for GamesRadar Big Preview showing a character throwing an electric shock grenade in a crowded room
FBC: Firebreak may be Remedy's first live-service game but the Control creators are going about it the right way, confirming that all playable post-launch content "will always be free"
"Valve would never ship another game": Former exec forced Half-Life publisher's hand by saying Gabe Newell and the team would pivot away from game dev
Gordon Freeman
Valve literally gives Half-Life away now, but 27 years ago it was carefully crushing its angry pirates: "None of them had actually bought the game"
Latest in News
Final Fantasy 16 protagonist Clive uses magic in closeup screenshot
Despite fans begging for Tifa, Final Fantasy 16's Clive is "significantly more popular" than any other Tekken guest fighter
Patrick Stewart in X-Men
Marvel fans are already theorizing how Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, and James Marsden's X-Men will be integrated into Avengers: Doomsday
Daredevil: Born Again episode 6
Daredevil's Charlie Cox isn't in the Avengers: Doomsday cast list – but Marvel fans have an idea about how he might still show up
Simu Liu in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Simu Liu had the best reaction to Shang-Chi’s announcement for Avengers: Doomsday, but fans think it's "criminal" there hasn’t been a direct sequel
Mario faces the camera with a thumbs up pose in Super Smash Bros. Ulimate.
Nintendo Direct March 2025 live – all the Switch news, trailers, and reveals as they happen
Batman: Arkham Knight
Rocksteady's rumored single-player Batman game is in development for PC, PS5, Xbox, and "the next generation of consoles"