Modern Warfare 4 Beta: How to Get In (21 Aug-1 Sep)

Pre-order holders can play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4's multiplayer beta from 7pm BST on Friday 21 August. Everyone else, including Nintendo Switch 2, waits until 6pm BST on Friday 28 August. The full game still launches on 23 October.

Those clocks come from Activision's 19 August intel post, not from secondary round-ups. Call of Duty: NEXT is scheduled for 5pm BST the same day, two hours before Early Access. This piece is written against that 19 August post and the July beta-dates blog. If NEXT names the 19 weapons or changes a window, the dates below are what Activision had published as of 21 August.

The two windows, in UK time

Activision is running a two-weekend multiplayer beta, not a single open test and not a closed NDA session.

Pacific times are taken from the 19 August intel post. UK conversions use British Summer Time (PDT is eight hours behind). Forbes called Weekend One a closed beta. Activision's own language does not. It is Early Access: a store pre-order or a code, not an invite list.

The beta hub repeats the same date split. Footnotes on both official pages still say times and platform availability can change, and that the open beta's minimum duration is two days.

How to get into Early Access

You need one of two things, per the intel post and Activision's Open Beta FAQ:

1. A digital pre-order or pre-purchase of Standard or Vault Edition on PlayStation Store, Microsoft Store, Battle.net, Steam, or the in-game store. No code. The platform should already treat you as eligible.
2. A beta code, which is the physical-edition path. Activision says the code is usually printed on the retail receipt or emailed with an online receipt. Redeem it at callofduty.com/betaredeem while signed into an Activision account, then pick one platform. The FAQ is explicit: one code, one platform. If the receipt is blank, that is a retailer problem, not an Activision-account problem.

Codes are only useful for Early Access. They do nothing for Weekend Two.

Sign in with an Activision account before you launch. Rewards and cross-platform progression in the beta are tied to that ID, and the cosmetics you earn are what transfer into the 23 October launch build. Rank, weapon unlocks, and other in-beta progression do not.

The beta is a separate download from the main Call of Duty app. Search the store for "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 Beta". It will not arrive as a silent update to Black Ops 7 or Warzone.

Switch 2 is Weekend Two only

Weekend One is not on Switch 2. That is in the intel post, the July dates blog, and the FAQ.

Switch 2 players get two things on 26 August, both at 9:00 AM PT (5pm BST):

• Full-game pre-orders open.
• Beta pre-load opens, ready for the 28 August open weekend. You do not need that pre-order to play the open beta.

The 19 August post labels 26 August as Wednesday in the open-beta pre-load paragraph and as Thursday in the Switch 2 pre-order paragraph. The calendar date is Wednesday 26 August 2026. Treat the date and 9:00 AM PT as the claim; the weekday labels in that post do not agree with each other.

Activision's FAQ adds a Switch 2-only gate: a linked Nintendo Switch Online account is required for multiplayer in the beta. Infinity Ward is developing the Switch 2 version with Digital Legends, per the same official blogs.

Pre-load times

Eligible Early Access players could pre-load from 9:00 AM PT on Thursday 20 August (5pm BST) on every platform except Switch 2.

Open-beta pre-load, including Switch 2, starts 9:00 AM PT on 26 August (5pm BST). If you already installed Weekend One, Activision says you do not install again. Progression carries from Weekend One into Weekend Two.

Xbox on PC is the awkward case: a small chunk downloads first, and the bulk was scheduled for 7:00 AM PT on 21 August (3pm BST). Battle.net, Steam, and PlayStation Store are described as full pre-loads.

What is in the beta, and what is not named yet

The July dates blog is the source for the content ceiling: multiple maps and modes, Search & Destroy, the Training Mobility Course, fights from 3v3 up to modes with tanks, and "as many as 19 different weapons". The 19 August intel post does not publish that 19-name list. Any outlet circulating named guns, map titles, or a Warzone playlist that is not on those official pages is ahead of what Activision has signed.

Kill Block is in that official content list. It is the West Bridge training-facility mode Infinity Ward showed in July, with 3v3 Gunfight and the new 10v10 Gunfight on a layout that reconfigures between matches. Source: the Kill Block intel post.

Vault Edition pre-orders also get the Hostile Alliance and Special Forces operator packs, plus the five Signature Weapon Collection blueprints, in the multiplayer beta. That is a paid extra, not the open-beta floor.

This beta is not campaign early access. Digital Standard and Vault pre-orders still unlock the full campaign on 16 October, a week before launch, which we covered when Activision confirmed it. Mixing those two calendars is the easy way to send someone into the store looking for a story mission this weekend.

The cover-and-Korea leak we tracked in May is no longer the story. The useful facts now are the two dated windows above.

Rewards that survive launch, and progress that does not

Weekend One caps player level at 20. Weekend Two raises it to 30. Cosmetics earned in either window are kept for 23 October. Level, weapon unlocks, and other beta progression are not.

From the 19 August post:

• Level 4: "Through the Paces" Legendary Emblem
• Level 8: "First Served" Weapon Charm
• Level 12: "Meonjeo" Legendary Weapon Sticker
• Level 16: "Last Charge" Legendary Calling Card
• Level 20: "Dread Tiger" Operator Skin for Reece
• Level 23: "Field Tested" Epic Spray
• Level 26: "Beta Rights" Epic Loading Screen
• Level 30: "Beta Forged" ISO Nightshade Weapon Blueprint

Default cosmetics (three emblems, three calling cards, one spray, three loading screens) are available immediately. Several challenge and Combat Record rewards are still marked [CLASSIFIED] on that post.

Twitch Drops, if you link an Activision account, are separate and pay out at launch: NEXT watch-time rewards at 15, 30 and 45 minutes, then a second set for watching beta streams.

PC, anti-cheat, and regional fees

The intel post's beta PC minimum is Windows 10 64-bit, Ryzen 5 1600 or Core i5-8400, 12GB RAM, Radeon RX 470 / GeForce GTX 970 or 1060 / Intel Arc A580, 3GB VRAM, and an SSD. Recommended is Windows 11, Ryzen 5 3600 or Core i7-8700, 16GB RAM, RX 6700 XT / RTX 3060 Ti / Arc B580, 8GB VRAM. Those figures are for the beta. Activision says the launch specs may differ.

TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot are required for online play. If they are off, you are not in the beta. Activision's walkthrough is on the official Call of Duty YouTube channel.

Shader pre-loading is new for this beta on Battle.net from first install. Steam still compiles shaders on first boot in Weekend One, then picks up pre-loading for the Weekend Two update.

The FAQ also flags two paid exceptions: Xbox players in Japan and PlayStation players in Germany "will need to pay a nominal fee to access the Beta." It does not publish the amount.

If you did not pre-order, the date that matters is Friday 28 August at 6pm BST. Search the store for the Modern Warfare 4 Beta, install it, and you are in. Switch 2 included. No code.