Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is taking a broader approach to pre-release testing, with Activision and Infinity Ward preparing a beta that covers multiplayer, a campaign mission and eventually Warzone. The first phase begins on August 21, roughly two months before the game launches on October 23.
Modern Warfare 4’s early access beta will run from August 21 through August 25 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC. It will begin immediately after Call of Duty: NEXT, where Infinity Ward plans to showcase multiplayer gameplay, provide a more detailed content briefing and reveal additional information about the game. Early access requires a pre-order.
Multiplayer will form the core of the first weekend, with five new 6v6 maps available to test. The playlist includes established Call of Duty modes such as Team Deathmatch, Hardpoint and Search & Destroy alongside additional options.
The more unusual addition is a playable campaign mission. Players will be able to access Entrenched, a level set during the fictional North Korean invasion of South Korea that forms the backdrop to Modern Warfare 4’s story. The mission follows South Korean Marines alongside an American soldier on the front line.
That setting is central to Infinity Ward’s new campaign. Modern Warfare 4 follows a young group of South Korean soldiers attempting to survive the conflict while Captain Price conducts a separate off-the-books operation. The wider campaign will move beyond Korea as well, with missions confirmed for New York, Paris and Mumbai.
The second beta weekend runs from August 28 to September 1 and removes the pre-order requirement. It will also expand the platform lineup to Nintendo Switch 2, where Infinity Ward and Digital Legends are developing a native version of Modern Warfare 4.
Warzone will enter the test during that second phase. The beta will introduce Zodiac, a new Resurgence map, alongside additional Ground War and multiplayer content. The result is a substantially wider test than the multiplayer-focused betas traditionally associated with Call of Duty.
For Infinity Ward, that expanded scope provides an opportunity to gather player data across several parts of the Modern Warfare 4 ecosystem before launch. Multiplayer weapon balance and map flow remain obvious areas for testing, but including Warzone also exposes interconnected gameplay systems to a much larger audience ahead of the seasonal integration expected after release.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 launches on October 23 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC and Nintendo Switch 2. It will not release on PS4 or Xbox One, making the new entry a clean break from the previous console generation and allowing Infinity Ward to build its campaign, multiplayer and other modes around current hardware.
