The multiplayer beta for the upcoming Call of Duty title, Modern Warfare 4, is scheduled to begin in August, two months prior to the game's late October launch. Activision has outlined a two-weekend schedule for the beta, with distinct access periods for pre-order customers and the general public.
Weekend one of the beta will commence on August 21 and conclude on August 25. This period is exclusively for players who have pre-ordered Modern Warfare 4 on PC, PlayStation 5, or Xbox consoles. Notably, the Nintendo Switch version of the game will not be included in this initial testing phase. The second weekend, a public beta accessible to all platforms including the Switch, will run from August 28 to September 1.
This beta schedule includes a few deviations from typical Call of Duty rollouts. The Switch version's exclusion from the first weekend suggests potential development timelines may differ for that platform. Additionally, the pre-order beta has been extended to five days, beginning the same day as the Call of Duty Next livestream event. This allows pre-order players to start testing the game concurrently with content creators who often receive early access.
A significant change for this year's beta is the exclusion of Game Pass subscribers from early access. Previously, Game Pass members received preferential treatment for beta testing in titles like Black Ops 6 and 7. However, with new Call of Duty titles reportedly not joining the Game Pass service, this early access benefit has been discontinued for the Modern Warfare 4 beta.
Players participating in the beta will have the opportunity to test a variety of content, including 19 unlockable weapons. The beta will feature several game modes, such as Search & Destroy, the new Kill Block mode, and a Training Mobility Course. Kill Block is described as a modular map designed for smaller and medium-sized engagements, with its layout dynamically changing between rounds. Initial impressions from early playtests indicate that the map's experimental nature, which once featured a direct recreation of the original Modern Warfare's Crash map, was a highlight.