It's finally here: The Early Access Beta for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 has launched today. Immediately following the Call of Duty: NEXT presentation, all players who pre-ordered the game were able to jump into the fight for the first time. Infinity Ward is thus delivering the next big step before the October release.
When Exactly Does the Modern Warfare 4 Beta Start?
The roadmap is structured in multiple phases to allow Activision to gradually ramp up server load:
- Early Access for Pre-orders: Starts today, August 21, at 11:00 AM PT (8:00 PM German time)
- Early Access Ends: Tuesday, August 25, 10:00 AM PT
- Open Beta Weekend for All Players: starting August 28, 10:00 AM PT
- Platforms for the Open Beta Weekend: Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, PC (Battle.net, Steam, Xbox on PC), and for the first time, Nintendo Switch 2
- Full Version Releases: October 23, 2026
So, if you currently don't have access, you'll have to wait another week until the beta is truly open to everyone.
What Do Players Get When Pre-Ordering Modern Warfare 4?
According to Activision, any pre-order qualifies for the Early Access Beta, regardless of the edition. The Standard Edition costs $69.99 USD in the US, while the Vault Edition is $99.99 USD (around 10 percent cheaper with a loyalty discount). An official Euro price for the German store has not yet been set.
- All Editions: Hunter-Killer Operator Skin, immediately usable in Modern Warfare 4, Black Ops 7, and Warzone
- All Editions: Early Access to the Beta (what's currently live)
- Vault Edition Only: Hostile Alliance Operator Pack and Special Forces Operator Pack
- Vault Edition Only: Signature Weapon Collection with exclusive Weapon Blueprints
- Vault Edition Only: BlackCell Battle Pass Access for Season 1 starting November
- Vault Edition Only: Additional DMZ Deployment Bonus
How Does the Beta Launch Fit into Activision's Current MW4 Strategy?
The timing isn't entirely surprising: We previously reported how Infinity Ward commented on expectations for the new Modern Warfare chapter ahead of the beta. Technically, a lot has also happened at the studio recently: We just recently showed how the annoying "Compiling Shaders" problem on PC was resolved. The staggered beta rollout itself has become a tradition for the series: first, paying pre-order customers get access, followed a week later by the open weekend for everyone. From our perspective, this is primarily a means to secure as many pre-orders as possible early on, just before the big competitive autumn season (featuring Battlefield 6, among others), while server capacities are tested in stages.
Source: Xbox Wire, Call of Duty Blog
Are you already playing the Early Access Beta? Let us know in the comments how Modern Warfare 4 feels for you!
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