Call of Duty 23 officially drops PS4 support, ending last-gen console era

Activision confirmed via Twitter on May 5, 2026, that Call of Duty 23: Modern Warfare 4 will not release on PS4. The announcement officially debunks earlier rumors claiming the game had entered PS4 testing.

This was overdue. The PS4 launched nearly 13 years ago, and its hardware specs were never going to handle a game of Modern Warfare 4's scale without serious compromises. Activision's decision to drop last-gen support gives players still holding out a definitive answer.

The COD franchise has historically signaled console generation shifts. The PS3-to-PS4 transition followed the same pattern—a few cross-gen releases, then a clean break. Modern Warfare 4 marks that cutoff point, freeing developers from PS4's performance constraints for all future entries.

The downside: PS4's install base remains massive. Cutting off that market will cost Activision users in the short term. But continued backward compatibility would have capped visual fidelity and map complexity. From a technical standpoint, the studio made the pragmatic call.

If you're still playing COD on PS4, Modern Warfare 3 is your last stop. Upgrade to PS5 or switch to PC. The series' technical requirements will only climb from here—better to plan ahead than scramble later.