Modern Warfare 4 Patch Notes (October 30): Infected Arrives, DMZ Cash Up to 4x, S&D Kick Fix

Infinity Ward's daily patch streak for Modern Warfare 4 rolled into Halloween weekend with the October 30, 2026 update. The studio itself calls it a smaller update heading into the weekend, and on paper it is – but two items in it matter a lot. Infected is back as a Halloween party mode, and DMZ cash rewards went up sharply, in one case fourfold. There's also a fix for Search and Destroy players getting booted for inactivity too early.

Since our last breakdown covered the October 23–25 patches, we'll also catch up on the October 28 update, which finally delivered the first round of weapon tuning, and touch on October 29. All of it is logged on the official launch patch notes page on callofduty.com.

TL;DR

• Infected is now in the playlist as a Halloween Party Mode (October 30).
• DMZ cash rewards raised: Dynamic Ops now pay 10,000–20,000, Side Ops 2,000, and each Mission Step 500.
• Search and Destroy: players are no longer kicked for inactivity too soon.
• Coal: multiple exploits closed, with no specifics given.
• Six DMZ bug fixes, including FOB crashes and a broken Boss Board Intel purchase that blocked an Order.
• Catch-up: October 28 brought the first Multiplayer weapon tuning pass (Han 86, Oden, APOC-338, several SMGs) and cut dive speed by 23% to curb a movement exploit.

The biggest change: DMZ just got a lot more profitable

If you've felt broke in DMZ, Infinity Ward agrees. The October 30 notes say cash rewards were adjusted across the mode to improve the in-game economy, and the new values are generous:

Dynamic Ops payouts have doubled, and Side Ops are now worth four times what they were. Side Ops in particular go from something you might skip to something worth routing for, since one completion now pays as much as four did before. Mission Steps get a smaller bump, but it adds up over a long questline.

The October 29 notes had already flagged higher cash for Dynamic Ops, Side Ops and Story Mission replays without listing amounts. The October 30 entry is where the actual numbers appear. No figure has been published for Story Mission replays.

In practice, this makes buying Builds, reconciling gear and recovering from a bad run less painful – which matters in a mode where losing your loadout is part of the deal.

Infected joins the Halloween lineup

The other headline is Infected, listed as a new Halloween Party Mode. The callofduty.com post says it joins the playlist for Halloween weekend. If you've played it in earlier Call of Duty games, you know the idea: one player starts as the Infected, and every Survivor they take down switches sides until nobody is left standing.

It's the second Halloween mode in two days. The October 29 update added Possession, also labeled a Halloween Party Mode. Neither entry gives an end date, so there's no official word yet on how long they'll stay in the playlist.

Multiplayer fixes

• Search and Destroy: fixed players being kicked for inactivity prematurely. Good news for anyone who gets eliminated early and spends rounds spectating.
• Coal: various exploits addressed. Infinity Ward didn't say what they were.
• Private Matches: fixed a black screen after the game auto-assigned you to a different team while waiting for the match to start.

DMZ bug fixes worth knowing

• The Broken Resupply Dynamic Op could spawn without the required item in the vehicle trunk. Fixed.
• Intel sometimes couldn't be bought at the Boss Board, which stopped players from progressing the Information Power Order. Fixed.
• The Hunt Operator Dynamic Op was missing its mission timer and showed the wrong marker text. Fixed.
• The helmet icon for "hit but not broken" showed as white instead of blue. Fixed.
• Shadows in the FOB could shift suddenly, and spamming knife attacks in the FOB could crash the game. Both fixed.

Global fixes

• Various crashes during gameplay resolved.
• On PC, Platinum Camo progress for Marksman Rifles now displays correctly.
• Calling Card Challenges in the Multiplayer lobby were showing the reward name instead of the challenge name. That's corrected.

Catching up: October 28 weapon tuning

The community had been waiting for this one since launch. The October 28 update is described in the official notes as the first Multiplayer weapon tuning update, focused on making hit-location damage more consistent (for a steadier time-to-kill) and on SMG performance. Highlights:

The same update cut dive velocity by 23% as a stopgap against a sprint-jump-into-dive speed exploit, with a proper fix still in the works. The Quick Fix perk was also corrected so that taking damage now interrupts its health regeneration, which it previously didn't. Shipment 24/7, Kill Block 6v6 Gunfight and Gun Game joined the playlist around the same time.

What it means for players

For DMZ players, October 30 is the more important patch of the week. Doubled Dynamic Ops payouts and quadrupled Side Ops change how much a single run is worth, and the Boss Board fix unblocks anyone stuck on the Information Power Order. Expect people to prioritize Side Ops more than they did before.

In Multiplayer, Infected and Possession give you a lighter option for Halloween weekend, while the S&D inactivity fix removes a frustrating way to lose a match you were still technically playing. And with the October 28 tuning live, the launch meta gets its first nudge: the Oden and APOC-338 lost some punch, and SMGs got more reliable when your shots land on arms and hands. Infinity Ward calls it the first tuning update, so don't treat these numbers as final.