Modern Warfare 4 Early Access Beta: What’s New, What’s Changed

I’ve been in the Modern Warfare 4 beta since the first weekend. I got in early, played the hell out of it, and came back for the Open Beta that’s live right now. And there’s been a lot of noise online. Some of it is fair.

A lot of it is overblown. The time-to-kill complaints, for example? I think the TTK is fine. It feels like a Call of Duty game. People love to scream about balance changes before they’ve even played the new build.

Here’s the part that matters: the Open Beta is free, it’s live right now, and it ends September 1. You don’t need a pre-order. You don’t need a code. You don’t need an invitation.

You just download it and play. I’ve had an absolute blast in both weekends, and the developer has been actively tuning the game between them based on feedback. That’s worth your weekend.

Let me walk you through what’s in it, what changed, and what’s worth grinding before the window closes.

The Beta Runs Now Through September 1, and You Don’t Need a Code

Let me be direct with you: the whole “early access beta” thing has people confused. There were two beta weekends. The first one, the Early Access Beta, required a pre-order. That’s already passed.

The Open Beta that’s running right now? It’s open to everyone, no pre-order or code required.

No invitation. You just go to your store. PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC via Battle.net or Steam, or Nintendo Switch 2, and download it. That’s it.

The window is tight: August 28 at 10 AM PT to September 1 at 10 AM PT. That’s a full weekend, which is honestly plenty of time to decide if this is a day-one purchase for you. Pre-loading is already live if you want to make sure you’re ready to go, that started August 26 at 9 AM PT.y to go, that started August 26 at 9 AM PT.

One caveat: availability can vary by territory and retailer. If you can’t find it in your store, check your region before assuming something’s wrong.

What’s Actually in the Beta: Modes, Maps, and Two Big Surprises

You’re not getting a slice of the game here. You’re getting a decent chunk of everything. Multiplayer, Warzone, Gunfight, Ground War, and Campaign. That’s more than most betas ever offer.

Core 6v6: The Familiar Stuff, Plus Two New Modes

If you’ve played Call of Duty in the last decade, the core rotation will feel like home: Team Deathmatch, Domination, Hardpoint, Kill Confirmed, and Search & Destroy. On top of those, there are two new modes worth trying.

Hijack is a capture-and-carry objective mode built around something called a Data Spike. It’s a new take on the classic “grab the thing, take it somewhere” formula, but it plays differently enough that it’s worth a few rounds.

Inflation is the more interesting one. It’s a cash collection mode with risk/reward built around High Value Targets. You’re constantly making a call: do you bank what you have, or push for the bigger score and risk losing it? It’s a fun change of pace.

For the maps, you get six core ones:

• Rooftops. New York City, snow. Classic vibes.
• Silkworm. Korean shopping district.
• Transit 213. Indian bus depot. This one has a dedicated 24/7 playlist with modified scores (TDM goes to 150, Kill Confirmed to 100, so matches run longer).
• Cachette. French hideout.
• Lotus. Korean fishing village.
• Lithium. Mexican industrial facility.

Beyond 6v6: Ground War, Gunfight, and Warzone

If the core modes start feeling small, the beta has you covered. Ground War: Combat Outpost is 24v24 on two maps. Imjin Farmlands and Wolves Stadium. That’s the big-team chaos mode. Then there’s 6v6 Gunfight on the Kill Block map, which is the intense 2v2-style mode but scaled up a bit.

In Warzone, you get Zodiac Resurgence, 44-player Quads and Casual Quads on a new map. And this is where the XP multipliers get interesting (I’ll get to that below).

The Two Surprises Worth Your Time

Here’s where the beta stops being standard.

Entrenched, a complete Campaign mission set in Korean trench warfare. This is the first time ever that a full Campaign mission has been playable in a Call of Duty beta. Ever. You play as a young squad of South Korean soldiers on the front lines, and it’s a legit taste of what the full campaign will be. If you’re on the fence about the single-player experience, this is your chance to test it before dropping cash.

Mobility Course, a movement training mode with Beginner, Intermediate, and Expert challenges rated C- to S. If you’re the kind of player who wants to slide-cancel and bunny-hop your way to glory, this is where you learn it. Complete the Beta Challenge and you unlock the Clockwork Charm. It also makes the movement changes they made between weekends a lot easier to understand.

Progression, Leveling, and What Actually Carries Over

Let me answer the question everyone cares about: what carries into the full game, and what’s just a weekend grind?

The Grind

The level cap is 30. Create a Class unlocks at Level 4, so you’re not stuck with a default loadout for long. And for the entire Open Beta window, Double Player XP and Double Weapon XP are live. That means you’re leveling up twice as fast as normal the whole weekend.

In Warzone specifically, Zodiac Resurgence has confirmed XP rates: +55% Player XP in standard, +46% Player XP in Casual, and here’s the kicker+240% Weapon XP in Casual. If you want to level weapons fast, Casual Resurgence is the move. That’s not speculation; that’s the rate they’ve confirmed.

Level 21 through 30 is where the arsenal opens up:

• Level 21: Kastov 762 (AR)
• Level 22: Trip Wire (Lethal)
• Level 23: .50 GS (Pistol)
• Level 25: Patriot XMR (AR)
• Level 27: X-58 Nyx (SMG)
• Level 30: Signal .50 (Sniper)

You also pick up Ghost, Battle Hardened, and Cold-Blooded perks in that range, plus the Missile Salvo and Combat Drone killstreaks.

What Carries Over

Here’s the part that matters: normal beta progression doesn’t not carry into the full game. Anything you unlock or level up during the beta? Gone at launch. You’re playing a sampler, not a head start.

But the beta rewards? Those carry over. They’re tied to your Activision account, so make sure you’re logged in with the same account you’ll use at launch. The main track has eight rewards spanning Level 4 to Level 30.

The two big ones are the Dread Tiger Reece Operator Skin at Level 20 and the Beta Forged Han 86 Weapon Blueprint at Level 30. There’s also the Litmus Camo, earned separately by getting 1,500 Operator Kills during the beta.

And there are Twitch Drops if you’re into that kind of thing: watch 15 minutes for the Get Tactical Emblem, 30 minutes for the Clearing House Calling Card, and 45 minutes for the Action Ready Charm.

What Changed Between Beta Weekends

This is where the developer deserves credit. Between the Early Access Beta and the Open Beta, there were substantial changes. And they’re mostly direct responses to feedback, which explains why Tarkov is still in beta amid ongoing development and content additions.

The TTK Controversy

The big one: every weapon was tuned to slightly increase overall time-to-kill. This was a direct response to complaints that the first weekend’s kills came too fast. The community was loud about this. I think the original TTK complaint was overblown, the game felt good to me on day one. But I also think the tuning direction is right.

Slightly longer TTK creates more skill gap in gunfights. Aim assist was also weakened in both Multiplayer and Warzone, so your aim needs to be more deliberate.

Movement Changes

The most significant change: Tactical Sprint is no longer a default movement option. It still exists, but you have to equip the Blood Rush Perk to access it. This was a good decision. It simplifies the default movement and makes the perk choice meaningful.

Tactical Sprint speed was also reduced by 4%, slide distance by 10%, slide speed by 9%, and stamina was cut by 8%. The slide-to-jump delay was increased. Movement is noticeably less slide-cancel heavy now.

Pistols and Combat Knife got a sprint speed buff as a trade-off. But here’s the interesting twist: Warzone got the opposite treatment. On Zodiac, weapon sprint speeds increased 3-5%, ADS strafe speed went up 6-10%, and melee sprint speed got a 3.5% boost. Movement got more fluid in Resurgence while it got tightened in Multiplayer.

Killstreaks, Spawns, and Weapons

Killstreaks are harder to earn now, all of them require one additional kill. UAVs got a 60% health reduction and 12% lower flight height, so they’re much easier to shoot down. Artillery Beacon missiles went from 6 to 5, with reduced damage and knockdown areas.

Spawn logic got a pass: there’s more separation between opposing players, and you’re less likely to spawn right next to your own teammates. You also get temporary Battle Hardened protection after spawning, meaning reduced Flash and Concussion effects. Spawn deaths are still a thing, but they’re less infuriating.

For weapons, Sniper Rifles take 28% more flinch. Marksman Rifles take 17% more. Weapons with less than 60 rounds of reserve ammo got one extra magazine. And the.50 GS Magna Apex Attachment got murdered: max damage dropped from 46 to 34, min from 37 to 27, with a new 30-damage middle range. If you were running that in the early beta, you’ll feel the difference.

Weapons, Gunsmith, and Apex Attachments

The beta gives you 22 weapons across 9 classes. Six assault rifles (Han 86, M4, Hyeon Burst, Kastov 762, Patriot XMR, Axion), four SMGs (ISO Nightshade, PPSh-41, X-58 Nyx, Wz. 55 Striga), one shotgun (Rezi 12), two LMGs (FiNN LMG, Type 73), two marksman rifles (MAR-9, Oris 8.6), two snipers (KG-7 Vulcan, Signal .50), three pistols, one launcher, and one melee weapon.

One note: three of those, the Axion, the Sang 9mm, and the Wz. 55 Striga, are only accessible through Default Loadouts or the Entrenched mission. You can’t grind them through normal progression in the beta.

Gunsmith and Apex Attachments

Gunsmith is back with full weapon customization, and this time there’s a Firing Range so you can test your builds before you jump into a match. That’s a quality-of-life improvement worth appreciating.

The new system worth understanding is Apex Attachments. These are special upgrades you earn by fully leveling a compatible weapon. The key detail: they equip separately and don’t use a normal attachment slot. So you can have a full loadout plus the Apex Attachment. That’s a meaningful customization layer.

There’s also Gunny, an optional build assistant that recommends Short Range, Long Range, or Balanced setups using attachments you’ve already unlocked. If you don’t want to think about builds, it’ll handle it.

And the attachment unlock system got better: standard compatible attachments only need to be unlocked once, then they work on other supported weapons. No repeated grinding for the same attachment on different guns.

Should You Pre-Order? Editions and Launch Considerations

The full game launches October 23, 2026 on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, and Windows 10/11. Not on Xbox One. Not on Game Pass at launch. If you’re on last-gen or a Game Pass subscriber, you’ll need to buy it or upgrade.

There are multiple editions, but the one worth talking about is the Vault Edition. It includes the base game, Campaign Early Access (starting October 16, a week before launch), the Hostile Alliance Operator Pack, Special Forces Operator Pack, Signature Weapon Collection, BlackCell for one season, and a DMZ Deployment Bonus.nus. If you’re a returning player who owns a Call of Duty game from 2019 or later, you get 10% off the Vault Edition as a loyalty discount. Free-to-play and mobile don’t count for that.

Xbox Play Anywhere is worth noting: buy it once and you get it on both console and PC. PC players should check their systems though, you need Windows 10/11, TPM 2.0, and Secure Boot. If your rig doesn’t support those, you might not be able to play at all.

Here’s my practical take on pre-ordering: the main hooks are Campaign Early Access and the Vault Edition cosmetics. If you want to play the campaign a week early, that’s your reason. If you don’t care about early access or cosmetic packs, there’s no rush, the marketing materials say you can wait. I’m not going to tell you to pre-order, but if you know you want the campaign early, that’s what you’re paying for.

Known Issues: What’s Currently Broken

The beta is a live product. Things will break. Here’s what I know is currently not working, so you don’t panic when you hit it:

• Hardpoint is temporarily disabled on the Rooftops map due to a spawn issue. The map is still there, it’s just in other modes. If Hardpoint on Rooftops isn’t showing, that’s why.
• Playlist rotation varies. Featured playlists may flip periodically depending on time of day. If a specific mode isn’t showing, check back later.
• Stats page delay. Beta stats can take up to 20 minutes to appear on the official stats page. That’s not a bug on your end; that’s them.

That’s about it. I haven’t hit anything game-breaking.

Final Take: Should You Play This Beta?

Yes. And I don’t say that as someone who’s paid by anyone to say it.

Here’s the situation: the beta is free. It’s live right now. It ends September 1. There is no reason not to try it.

Double XP is active the entire time, so you’ll level fast. The rewards that carry into the full game, the operator skin, the weapon blueprint, the camo, give you a concrete reason to grind to Level 30 before the window closes. And the game has actively improved between the two weekends. The developer is listening and responding. That’s not a given these days.

I get the TTK complaints. I’ve read them. I disagree with them, the game feels good to me, and the changes they made between weekends have made it feel better. If you are someone who was turned off by the early access discourse, I’d say: form your own opinion.

It’s free. The weekend is still here.

Your normal progression won’t carry over. You’re not getting a head start. But you are getting a legitimate taste of what’s coming in October, and a skill that carries over: knowing whether this game is worth your money before you spend it. That’s worth a weekend. Download it while you still can.

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