Activision has set the beta schedule for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, giving players two windows in August to try the shooter’s multiplayer ahead of its October 23 release. The first weekend is restricted to players who pre-order; the second is open to everyone.
The pre-order window runs from August 21 to August 25 on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. Rock Paper Shotgun notes that the five-day stretch is being called a weekend regardless. The open beta follows from August 28 to September 1 and adds Nintendo Switch 2, which is excluded from the earlier session. Dot Esports reports that Switch 2 pre-orders do not open until August 26, and that a Nintendo Switch Online subscription is required to play the beta on that console.
The early-access window begins on the same day as Call of Duty: NEXT, Activision’s showcase broadcast for the game. Dot Esports says the stream will cover maps, modes and Operators, along with a briefing on what is in the beta build.
What is in the beta
Activision set out the contents of the test in a blog post published alongside the dates.
Test your mettle across new and returning modes, from Search & Destroy to the brand-new Kill Block, plus the Training Mobility Course.
- Up to 19 unlockable weapons across the test
- A selection of new Operators, including the Vault Edition Operators for players who pre-order that edition
- Modes ranging from 3v3 skirmishes to larger tactical battles featuring tanks
- Search & Destroy alongside the new Kill Block mode
- The Training Mobility Course
Kill Block is the headline addition: a modular multiplayer map whose sections swap between rounds so that routes and sightlines change during a match. Polygon reports Activision describing more than 500 possible configurations. PC Gamer, which played the game in May, described a 10v10 round in which the map reassembled into a recreation of Crash, the map from 2007’s Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.
No Game Pass early access this year
Xbox Game Pass subscribers were given early beta access for Black Ops 6 and Black Ops 7. PC Gamer reports that the perk does not return for Modern Warfare 4, consistent with Microsoft’s decision to keep new Call of Duty releases off the subscription. Rock Paper Shotgun notes the game will not be on Game Pass when it releases on October 23.
Infinity Ward leads development, with support from Beenox, High Moon Studios, Raven Software, Sledgehammer Games, Treyarch and Activision’s central design and technology teams, according to Dot Esports. Polygon reports the campaign is set around a conflict between North and South Korea, and that the game will also include DMZ, the extraction mode first featured in 2022’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Players who pre-order digitally get access to the single-player campaign a week early.
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