Modern Warfare 4's open beta is free for everyone from August 28

Every player gets a free run at Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 from August 28 to September 1. Activision says no pre-order is required for that weekend, and the door is open on every platform, Nintendo Switch 2 included.

Pre-ordering moves you up the queue. Buying or pre-purchasing on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, PC Battle.net, Xbox on PC or Steam grants early access to the open beta, and Switch 2 pre-orders begin August 26.

The earlier weekend is where the timing gets fuzzy. It starts August 21, and reporting says the beta goes live immediately after the Call of Duty: NEXT broadcast, the first time a beta has ever kicked off straight out of the show, while one creator puts it more precisely at 11:00 am Pacific, two hours after NEXT. Historically, Call of Duty betas and showcases have gone live around 10:00 am PT. That same creator expects the second weekend to open the following week.

One line of fine print worth reading: Activision lists the minimum open beta duration as 2 days.

As for what's actually in it, reports say up to 19 weapons unlock as you level up, built into loadouts from a full pool of guns, Tacticals, Lethals, Field Upgrades, Perks and Killstreaks. The headline new mode is Kill Block, a 10v10 Gunfight-style experience set inside the West Bridge Advanced Military Training Facility, which had its public debut at Fanatics Fest. Vault Edition pre-orders are reported to get a stacked beta on top of early access.

Cosmetics ride along with the pre-order. Moonlit Pearl, a Universal Weapon Camo, unlocks instantly, and a challenge in Black Ops 7 earns a second camo called Gilded Ruin, with a serialized variant individually numbered for the first 100,000 players to unlock it.

The full game launches worldwide on Friday, October 23, 2026, on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, PC via Battle.net, Xbox on PC and Steam, and Nintendo Switch 2.