The Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 beta runs across two weekends, and the difference between them is not just the price of entry. Activision's own schedule puts weekend one behind a pre-order or a beta code, opens weekend two to everybody, and lists a different set of platforms for each.
Weekend one closes on 25 August at 10:00 AM PT
Early access opened at 11:00 AM PT on Friday 21 August, an hour later than the open weekend will start, and it shuts at 10:00 AM PT on Tuesday 25 August. For readers outside North America that end time lands mid-evening: 6:00 PM in London and 8:00 PM in Tel Aviv on the same date. Progression carries across both weekends, so levels earned now are not thrown away when the servers cycle.
Activision has said eight beta rewards unlock at level 30 and carry into the full game. That is the practical reason to treat weekend one as more than a demo — the ceiling is reachable in a weekend, and the unlocks persist.
Getting in early needs a pre-order or a code
Access to the early weekend is limited to players who have redeemed a beta code or pre-ordered the Standard or Vault edition. Activision adds one clarification worth reading carefully: a beta code is not needed if you already pre-ordered a digital copy. A physical pre-order is the case where the code matters, because entitlement travels with the retailer's code rather than the account.
Nintendo Switch 2 is missing from the weekend one pre-load list
This is the detail most coverage skips, because each platform holder published its own version of the announcement. Activision lists early-access pre-loading as live on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, PlayStation 5, Steam and Battle.net. Nintendo Switch 2 does not appear on that list, even though it is named in the same post as a launch platform on 23 October.
Xbox Wire, meanwhile, describes weekend two as open to all platforms including Nintendo Switch 2. Read together, the two statements point the same way: Switch 2 owners get one weekend of beta access, not two. Activision has not published a reason for the gap, and absence from a pre-load list is not the same as a cancelled platform — but anyone planning a Switch 2 weekend should plan it for 28 August.
What the open weekend adds on 28 August
The second weekend drops the paywall entirely and widens the content. Warzone's Resurgence mode appears on the Zodiac map, and the campaign mission Entrenched is playable inside the beta client. The 6v6 core rotation covers Rooftops, Silkworm, Transit 213, Cachette, Lotus and Lithium, with Ground War running 24v24 on Combat Outpost.
Twenty-two weapons are available through Gunsmith, alongside a new Apex Attachments system. Infinity Ward leads development, with Beenox handling the PC build for Battle.net, Xbox on PC and Steam.
The movement changes are the thing to actually test
Ladders are gone from the traversal vocabulary. Climbable pipes replace them, and the art team colours those pipes copper so they read at a glance — a small legibility decision that tells you the studio expects vertical routes to be improvised mid-firefight rather than memorised. Players can also slide while mantling to keep momentum, slide supine under garage doors, and reposition while hanging from a ledge.
Technical designer Jack Hoppus points players toward the beta's mobility course to try the new options in isolation, which is the fastest way to find out whether the new routes change how you approach a lane before the beta window closes.
