Modern Warfare 4 DMZ & Weapon Platforms Could Return in Call of Duty 2026

Call of Duty publisher Activision hasn't even made an announcement regarding this year's release, but there are already a decent number of leaks and rumors about next year's release. One of the more recent claims made was that DMZ would return for Call of Duty 2026. The extraction-based mode also appeared in 2022's Modern Warfare 2 and was similar to Escape from Tarkov or Gray Zone Warfare.

Sadly, likely due to the sweepingly popular Warzone at the time, DMZ never gained sufficient players. Support for the mode was later dropped in 2023 following the Modern Warfare 3 release. However, with Infinity Ward taking over the helm again in 2026, it seems the developer may be trying its hand at DMZ 2.0.

A leak recently set off a whirlwind of speculation among Call of Duty players about the possible return of Weapon Platforms, a mode that created a lot of buzz when it was released in 2022's Modern Warfare 2. The leak was done by a well-respected data miner who has managed to find a long list of codenames for the highly anticipated Call of Duty 2026, which is heavily rumored to be yet another installment in the revived Modern Warfare series.

It now seems like DMZ won't be the sole feature of Modern Warfare 2 making a return in 2026, as the community is now speculating that the highly contentious Weapon Platforms feature will also be returning. The new system was widely disliked by the majority of the Call of Duty community, as it asked players to level up specific weapons in order to unlock their counterpart's weapons. 

For instance, the M4 Assault Rifle needed to be brought to level 19 before the 556 Icarus Light Machine Gun could be unlocked since the two are in the same Platform tree. Now that reality has set in with the leaks recently, the hope is being entertained that it will return sometime next year.

The leaker also recently released all the Call of Duty 2026 gun codenames, but fans such as Detonated have speculated they could refer to returning Modern Warfare 2's confusing weapon unlocking system. Although this has not been confirmed, nor will it be for a very, very long time, Detonated mentioned in another tweet that some of these codenames were also included in Modern Warfare 2 for its Weapon Platform system.

Others, such as leaker Vondyispog, believe the codenames are merely references to real-life gun names. This shift would pave the way for improved graphics and more innovative gameplay additions, which have long been in demand among fans.

This year's Call of Duty, however, is still coming out on last-gen consoles. Most players believe that this reliance on outdated hardware is keeping the series back. The graphical enhancements and gameplay features that could be achievable with next-generation hardware have been a constant point of discussion among fans demanding that the series move in new directions. In the meantime, the debate over whether Weapon Platforms and other elements will come back continues to rage.

The world is split; there are gamers who want to know what the system would be like if it were refined, while others wish it remains in the past. No one can promise what the future will hold for Call of Duty, but one thing is certain: all the anticipation and hype about Modern Warfare 4 are just beginning. With every leak and rumor, the fans are drawn further into discussion regarding what they want from the new game and how it will affect the future of the series.

Along the way, as time goes on in the timeline, the fans will wait with bated breath for a game that both honors the legacy of its predecessors and evolves in ways that are pleasing to a modern audience. The wait for Call of Duty 2026 is on, and only time will tell if the Weapon Platforms will return triumphantly or remain in the history books.