Modern Warfare 4: how the Beta went, from the dates to the rewards that carried over

Before Modern Warfare 4 reached stores on October 23, 2026, the game went through a Beta across two weekends in August and September. On August 21, 2026, the official Call of Duty blog published the post "Modern Warfare 4 Open Beta: Everything You Need to Know", with the dates, platforms, rewards and everything available to test. This article, written by the SequeLariCOD team in our own words, organizes that post for anyone who wants to understand how the Beta went, what carried over after launch and what changed by the final version. The Beta is over: the dates below are a record of what happened, not an invitation to play now.

The dates of the two weekends

The post splits the Beta into two parts. The first weekend was Early Access, only for players with a Beta code or a pre-order of the game. The second weekend was the Open Beta, open to everyone, with no code and no purchase. The post gives times in US Pacific Time; below we also convert them to Brasília time, which at that time of year is four hours ahead.

• Early Access pre-load: Thursday, August 20, at 9 AM Pacific (1 PM in Brasília), on every platform except Nintendo Switch 2.
• Early Access: from Friday, August 21, at 11 AM Pacific (3 PM in Brasília), until Tuesday, August 25, at 10 AM Pacific (2 PM in Brasília).
• Open Beta pre-load: August 26, at 9 AM Pacific (1 PM in Brasília). Pre-orders for the game on Nintendo Switch 2 opened at the same time.
• Open Beta: from Friday, August 28, at 10 AM Pacific (2 PM in Brasília), until Tuesday, September 1, at 10 AM Pacific (2 PM in Brasília).

A curious detail: the post calls August 26 a Wednesday once and a Thursday another time. On the 2026 calendar, August 26 was a Wednesday.

Another difference between the sources: the Beta patch notes, published by Infinity Ward on September 1, say the Beta ended at 10 PM Pacific that day, not 10 AM. We explain this in the article about the Beta patch notes.

Platforms and who could join

Early Access ran on Xbox Series X|S, the Xbox app on PC, PlayStation 5, Steam and Battle.net, but not on Nintendo Switch 2. In the Open Beta, Switch 2 joined the same platforms, and anyone could play, including on Switch 2 without buying the game. On every platform, the Beta was a separate download from each platform's store. For PC, the post pointed to the requirements and to the support article on TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot, which we already explained in our article about MW4 on PC.

The post also recommended signing in with an Activision Account to save progress, carry progress across platforms and keep rewards. Beta codes only worked for Early Access; nobody needed a code for the Open Beta.

Progression: what stayed and what was wiped

The Beta had a level cap per weekend: 20 on the first and 30 on the second. Create a Class unlocked at level 4, and Daily Challenges gave extra XP. According to the post, XP earned after hitting one weekend's cap did not carry into the next. When the Beta ended, all gameplay progress (rank, unlocked weapons and the rest) was reset. What carried over were the cosmetic rewards, which moved into the full game.

The eight level rewards, according to the post's list, were: a "Through the Paces" Legendary Emblem at level 4, a "First Served" weapon charm at 8, a "Meonjeo" Legendary sticker at 12, a "Last Charge" Legendary calling card at 16, a "Dread Tiger" skin for the Operator Reece at 20, a "Field Tested" Epic spray at 23, a "Beta Rights" Epic loading screen at 26 and a "Beta Forged" Epic weapon blueprint at 30. Here the post contradicts itself: one section says the level 30 blueprint is for the Han 86 and another says it is for the ISO Nightshade. Since the post alone cannot settle it, we list both versions.

On top of those, there were emblems, calling cards, a spray and loading screens available right away, the "Clockwork" charm from the Mobility Course challenge and Combat Record rewards. Players in the first weekend also earned progress in the Black Ops 7 Season 05 Battle Pass, with the pass itself or ten tier skips for those who already owned it.

The first campaign mission in a Beta

According to the post, it was the first time a Call of Duty Beta included a campaign mission. The mission is called "Entrenched" and is a large ground assault, with armored vehicles and infantry, to protect a vital nuclear power station. The post says nothing more about the story, and we will not make anything up either.

The Mobility Course

To practice the new movement, the Beta had the Mobility Course, at a place called the West Bridge Advanced Military Training Facility. First came guided tutorials; then timed courses at beginner, intermediate and expert levels, with ratings from C- to S. Completing a course earned a Beta-exclusive weapon charm. The course covered the mechanics we explain in our movement and gunplay article, such as Mantle Slide, Supine Slide, pipe climbing and Hang Shimmy.

Weapons, Operators and Create a Class

The Beta unlocked 22 of the 33 launch weapons, according to the post: assault rifles such as the Han 86, M4, Hyeon Burst, Kastov 762 and Patriot XMR; SMGs such as the ISO Nightshade, PPSh-41 and X-58 Nyx; the Rezi 12 shotgun; the FiNN LMG and Type 73 LMGs; the MAR-9 and Oris 8.6 marksman rifles; the KG-7 Vulcan and Signal 50 sniper rifles; pistols such as the .50 GS; the PILA launcher; and the combat knife. The Axion and Sang 9mm only appeared in the default loadout, and the Wz. 55 Striga only in the campaign mission; those three had no Gunsmith or Apex attachment in the Beta.

The rest of Create a Class already worked as it does at launch: up to 12 custom loadouts, the Gunsmith with each attachment unlocked once for every weapon that accepts it, Apex attachments unlocked by maxing out a weapon, Gunny suggesting short, balanced and long range builds, and the Firing Range for testing. Operators were picked per loadout and only changed the look; several were available to everyone, such as Coffey, Blackwell, Reece, Park, Kal, Dallas, Dunn and Zimo, while others, such as Ghost, Valeria and Blix, came with the Vault Edition pre-order.

Modes and maps

In the core 6v6 modes, the Beta had Team Deathmatch, Domination, Hardpoint, Kill Confirmed and Search and Destroy, plus two new modes: Hijack, where teams fight over a data device and try to plant it at the enemy station, and Inflation, where every elimination earns cash and the richest players become high value targets. The 6v6 maps were Cachette, Lithium, Lotus, Rooftops, Silkworm and Transit 213. There was also Kill Block in 3v3 Gunfight, Ground War in the Combat Outpost format on Imjin Farmlands and Wolves Stadium, and Warzone Resurgence on the new map, Zodiac.

What the post does not say

The post does not say how many people played the Beta, gives no damage or recoil numbers for the weapons and does not explain what changed between the two weekends besides the level cap; the Beta patch notes were in a separate post. It also contradicts itself on some equipment and perk counts, so we chose not to repeat those totals. We do not fill these gaps with guesses.

An important reminder: the official Beta was free and downloaded only from the platform stores. Sites and videos promising "free Beta codes", early access or items in exchange for a login, password or download outside the store are scams. If in doubt, see our Play safe page.