Modern Warfare 4 supports ultrawide monitors on PC, alongside standard 4K, 1440p and 1080p resolutions. The game launches on October 23, 2026, for Xbox, PC, Battle.net and Steam. An ultrawide monitor is therefore not required to play, but it is supported. On PC, the game also introduces an Enhanced FOV option that takes advantage of the extra screen space at the edges.
There is a cost to this format: a 3440 x 1440-pixel monitor displays 34% more pixels than a standard 1440p monitor. At the same settings, the graphics card has more pixels to render in every frame. With the publisher's recommended configuration, designed to target 90 frames per second in multiplayer, a 144Hz ultrawide monitor can handle everything the system produces. Monitors running at 300Hz or higher are only useful with a significantly more powerful system, or when lowering the resolution.
General criteria such as response time, screen size and panel type are covered in our article on choosing a monitor for Call of Duty. This article focuses exclusively on how Modern Warfare 4 affects your choice.
Which monitor formats does Modern Warfare 4 support?
The technical specifications published by Call of Duty on September 29, 2026, state that the game supports “all screen formats and sizes,” from 4K to 1080p, including 1440p, in both standard and ultrawide formats. The game automatically adjusts its graphics settings on first launch based on the detected hardware.
The publisher does not specify any particular aspect ratios. In practice, ultrawide refers to 21:9 monitors, most commonly with a resolution of 3440 x 1440, as well as even wider 32:9 displays. Whether the game fills a 32:9 screen or displays black bars will only be confirmed at launch.
Four upscaling and frame-generation technologies are available: AMD FSR Redstone, NVIDIA DLSS 4.5, Intel XeSS 3 and Filmic SMAA T2X. They share the same basic principle: rendering the image at a lower resolution and then scaling it up to match the monitor's resolution. On an ultrawide monitor, these technologies help maintain a high frame rate without having to change displays.
Ultrawide comes at the cost of more pixels
A 3440 x 1440 monitor has exactly the same height as a 1440p monitor: 1440 lines. The difference is entirely in the width, with 3440 columns instead of 2560. This extra width creates an aspect ratio close to 21:9, compared with 16:9 on a standard monitor. UWQHD resolution is designed around this principle: QHD extended to the left and right.
The pixel count shows how much work the graphics card must perform for every frame.
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1920 x 1080 (Full HD): 2,073,600 pixels.
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2560 x 1440 (1440p): 3,686,400 pixels.
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3440 x 1440 (UWQHD): 4,953,600 pixels, 34% more than 1440p.
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3840 x 1600 (UWQHD+): 6,144,000 pixels, 67% more than 1440p.
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3840 x 2160 (4K): 8,294,400 pixels.
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5120 x 1440 (5K UHD Ultra Wide DQHD): 7,372,800 pixels.
A 3440 x 1440 monitor therefore sits between 1440p and 4K: it requires around 60% of the rendering workload of a 4K image. A PC that runs 1440p comfortably will have less headroom at ultrawide resolutions, while a PC designed for 4K should handle it without difficulty. Choose your monitor based on your graphics card, not the other way around.
The publisher's three PC configurations and the resulting refresh rate
The publisher lists three system requirements tiers, all requiring 115 GB of SSD storage.
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Minimum: AMD Ryzen 5 1400 or Intel Core i5-6600 processor, 8 GB of RAM, Radeon RX 470, GeForce GTX 970 or 1060, or Intel Arc A580 graphics card, with 3 GB of video memory. This tier is sufficient to run the game.
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Recommended: Ryzen 5 3600 or Core i7-8700K, 16 GB of RAM, Radeon RX 6600 XT, GeForce RTX 3060 Ti or Intel Arc B580, with 8 GB of video memory. It targets 90 frames per second in multiplayer at high graphics settings.
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Ultra with ray tracing: Ryzen 7 3700X or Core i7-10700K, 32 GB of RAM, Radeon RX 9070 XT or GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, with 16 GB of video memory. It targets high-quality ray tracing at 4K using upscaling.
The resolution associated with the recommended configuration's 90 FPS target is not specified. However, this figure provides a useful reference when choosing a monitor: a display can show no more frames than the system renders, and no more than its refresh rate allows. A system producing 90 frames per second will not display more frames on a 240Hz monitor than on a 144Hz monitor.
Three scenarios stand out.
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A system close to the recommended configuration: A 144Hz monitor is sufficient, whether at 1440p or ultrawide. Switching to 3440 x 1440 will reduce the frame rate, although upscaling can partially compensate.
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A system close to the Ultra configuration: It is designed for 4K with ray tracing. Without ray tracing, or at 1440p, it has more performance headroom that a 160Hz-or-higher monitor can take advantage of, including at 4K.
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Maximum frame rate: This requires a lower resolution. Full HD is where a 300Hz or 320Hz monitor makes sense, provided the graphics card can deliver the necessary frame rate.
In all three cases, a variable refresh rate monitor with FreeSync or Adaptive Sync matches its refresh rate to the game's actual frame rate. A shooter's frame rate changes from one scene to another, and this synchronization helps prevent screen tearing when the frame rate drops below the monitor's refresh rate.
Enhanced FOV: a PC-exclusive option
Modern Warfare 4 introduces a PC option called Enhanced FOV, or enhanced field of view. According to the publisher, it applies a lens effect that expands the field of view near the edges of the screen without affecting the center of the image. It is designed for players who prefer a narrower field of view in the center for more precise aiming, without losing sight of activity around them.
On an ultrawide monitor, these edges occupy a much larger portion of the display. On a 3440 x 1440 screen, the additional 880 columns compared with 1440p are distributed across the left and right sides of the image — precisely the area affected by this option. The effect is also available on a 16:9 monitor, but across a narrower area.
The benefit ultimately depends on perception. Your eyes focus on the center of the screen, while the edges fall within your peripheral vision. The wider and closer the monitor is, the more you may need to turn your head to see details at the edges. Ultrawide monitors between 34 and 40 inches are best viewed from roughly an arm's length away, rather than closer.
Campaign or multiplayer: two uses, two monitors
Modern Warfare 4 combines a single-player campaign with multiplayer modes. Each places different demands on a monitor: the campaign benefits from resolution and a wider image, while multiplayer benefits from a high frame rate. Two monitors from the range address these different uses in distinct ways.
The JN-IPS401UWQHD144-C90W is a 40-inch IPS monitor with a 3440 x 1440 resolution, a 144Hz refresh rate, a 1ms MPRT response time and AMD FreeSync. It offers the same resolution as a 34-inch ultrawide monitor, on a panel approximately 94 cm wide and 39 cm high.
Its pixel density is around 93 pixels per inch, making it more suitable for viewing from a greater distance than a 27-inch monitor. It features DisplayPort 1.2, HDMI 2.0 and USB-C with up to 90W of power delivery, allowing you to charge a laptop through the same cable. It is suitable for the campaign and multiplayer at moderate frame rates, with a system close to the recommended configuration.
The JN-IPS27G1632UF is a 27-inch IPS monitor with a standard 16:9 aspect ratio and two operating modes. At 4K, it reaches 160Hz, with a pixel density of around 163 pixels per inch that benefits the campaign. At Full HD, it reaches 320Hz for multiplayer when the system can deliver a frame rate at that level.
It offers a 0.5ms response time, variable refresh rate, two HDMI 2.1 ports and two DisplayPort 1.4 ports. It does not provide the expanded image of an ultrawide monitor, but it covers both ends of the refresh-rate spectrum with a single display.
The choice between the two comes down to one question: do you want a wider image or the highest possible frame rate? A monitor cannot deliver both at the same level unless it is paired with a system close to the Ultra configuration.
What to check before choosing
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Check your graphics card against the publisher's three system configurations. It determines the achievable frame rate and therefore the useful monitor refresh rate.
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Choose between width and frame rate. A graphics card close to the recommended configuration is unlikely to sustain both 3440 x 1440 and more than 144 FPS.
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Check your desk space. A 40-inch ultrawide monitor requires nearly a metre of width, including the stand, and enough desk depth to maintain an arm's-length viewing distance.
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Connect the monitor to the correct port. The monitor's maximum refresh rate depends on the port specified in its technical specifications and a cable that supports the same standard.
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Enable variable refresh rate in both your graphics driver and the monitor's on-screen menu. Let the game select its settings on first launch before making adjustments.
The game launches at midnight local time on October 23, 2026. Actual ultrawide performance benchmarks will only be available after launch. Until then, the publisher's three system configurations remain the published reference for choosing the right monitor.
