With Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 now mere days from becoming available, Activision and Infinity Ward have released a metric ton of information on the game, starting with the extended PC requirements, which include recommendations for competitive and/or Ultra 4K gameplay.
Operating System
Minimum: Windows 10 64 Bit (Latest Update)
Recommended/Competitive/Ultra 4K: Windows 10 64 Bit (Latest Update) // Windows 11 64 Bit (Latest Update)
CPU
Minimum: Intel Core I3-6100 / Core I5-2500K OR AMD RYZEN 3 1200
Recommended: Intel Core I5-6600K / Core I7-4770 OR AMD RYZEN 5 1400
Competitive: Intel Core I7-8700K OR AMD RYZEN 7 1800X
Ultra 4K: Intel Core I9-9900K OR AMD RYZEN 9 3900X
RAM
Minimum: 4 GB
Recommended: 6 GB
Competitive/Ultra 4K: 16 GB
Storage Space
Minimum/ Recommended/Competitive/Ultra 4K: 72GB at Launch
Hi-Rez Assets Cache
Minimum/ Recommended/Competitive: Up to 32 GB
Ultra 4K: Up to 64 GB
Hi-Rez Assets Cache is optional disk space that can be used to stream high-resolution assets. The option can be turned off in the game’s settings.
Video Card
Minimum: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 or AMD Radeon RX 470
Recommended: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 or AMD Radeon RX 580
Competitive: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060Ti or AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT
Ultra 4K: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 or AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT
Video Memory
Minimum: 2 GB
Recommended: 4 GB
Competitive: 8 GB
Ultra 4K: 10 GB
Recommended NVIDIA/AMD
NVIDIA: 516.59
AMD: 22.9.1
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will be available for pre-load starting later today at 10 AM Pacific Time for anyone who pre-ordered the game digitally. Early access to the campaign begins tomorrow at the same time, allowing players to complete the story and unlock several rewards that can be carried over to multiplayer.
The official launch is set for October 27th at 9 PM Pacific Time. Here's an image showing local times across the entire globe.
At launch, Modern Warfare 2 features twelve competitive modes, ten of which are set in Core Maps. The remaining two are Ground War modes set in the larger Battle Maps.
The cooperative Special Ops mode features three missions on Day One:
Low Profile
Infiltrate a town in the dead of night to uncover intel and evidence left behind by Al Qatala before exfiltrating. Stealth is key to survival.
Denied Area
Multiple SAM turrets are preventing reinforcements from entering Al Mazrah. With the help of a vehicle, navigate through the winding streets of a suburb to destroy them; then speed over to the exfil plane to escape.
Defender: Mt Zaya
A love letter to fans of survival modes — defend the observatory from increasingly difficult waves of enemies attempting to detonate bombs. Between each wave, Operators can spend cash to get items, such as Killstreaks, Self-Revive kits, and armor plates.
The Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 pre-season lasts from launch day until November 15th. The following day, Season 01 begins with the return of a fan-favorite multiplayer map, additional Spec Ops missions and, most importantly, the launch of Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 with its Battle Royale and DMZ modes. Lastly, on December 14th, Season 01 Reloaded will add the first episode of the brand-new three-player Raids, another legendary multiplayer map, and the first Warzone 2.0 update.
For more on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, check out our dedicated info roundup page.