Call of Duty Modern Warfare 4 Beta early access starts August 21; check preload times, PC requirements and more

The Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 Beta Early Access begins at 11:00 AM PT on Friday, August 21, following the Call of Duty: NEXT event. Players who pre-ordered or pre-purchased the game, or have a Beta Code, can participate in Weekend One on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, PlayStation 5, Steam and Battle.net.The Modern Warfare 4 Beta preload is already available from 9:00 AM PT on Thursday, August 20 for eligible players on supported platforms, while the Open Beta will begin on August 28. The Beta also introduces PC requirements including TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot, along with Shader Preloading and changes to how updates are applied.

Modern Warfare 4 Beta: Early Access and Open Beta dates

The Early Access Beta will start on August 21 at 11:00 AM PT and end on August 25 at 10:00 AM PT. To be able to access the Beta, players will need to pre-order or pre-purchase Modern Warfare 4 or redeem a Beta Code.The Open Beta begins at 10:00 AM PT on August 28 and ends at 10:00 AM PT on September 1. It will be available to all players on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, PlayStation 5, Steam, Battle.net and Nintendo Switch 2, with no pre-order or Beta Code required. Weekend One will not be available on Nintendo Switch 2.

Modern Warfare 4 Beta preload times

Eligible players can preload the Early Access Beta from 9:00 AM PT on August 20 on all supported platforms except Nintendo Switch 2.The Open Beta can be preloaded from 9:00 AM PT on August 26 on all platforms. Players taking part in both weekends only need to download the Beta once, as content and progression will carry over from Weekend One to Weekend Two.The Beta is a completely different install from the main Call of Duty experience. Players will need to find it on their platform’s digital shopfront and download it separately from a normal Call of Duty update.On Xbox and PC, only a small portion of the Beta is initially downloaded, with the main download becoming available at 7:00 AM PT on August 21.

Modern Warfare 4 Beta PC requirements

PC players will need an SSD, a DirectX 12-compatible system and a broadband internet connection. The Beta’s minimum and recommended specifications are:

The recommended drivers listed for the Beta are NVIDIA 610.47, AMD 26.7.1 and Intel 32.0.101.8861. These specifications apply to the Beta and may differ from those required for the full game at launch.

Modern Warfare 4 Beta requires TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot

PC players must have TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot enabled to play the Beta online. According to the information provided for the Beta, these Windows security features support the RICOCHET Anti-Cheat system and make system-level tampering more difficult.Players who already have both features enabled do not need to make changes. Those without TPM 2.0 or Secure Boot enabled will not be able to play the Beta online.

Modern Warfare 4 Beta adds Shader Preloading

The Beta also introduces Shader Preloading on PC. The feature prepares shaders before they are needed during gameplay, reducing shader processing after you launch the game.On Battle.net, Shader Preloading will be enabled when players first install the Beta. On Steam, players will still need a one-time shader compilation when launching the game for the first time, after which Shader Preloading will take effect following subsequent updates.Players may see a Windows system-tray notification stating that “Shader Pre-Loading Will Start.” The process runs in the background and can be interrupted or disabled through the available settings.

Modern Warfare 4 Beta reduces update-related restarts

The Modern Warfare 4 Beta will also change how some data patches are applied. On PC, data patches will generally not require a restart unless the update is released while the game is running.On PlayStation 5, data patches generally won’t require a restart, although one may still be necessary if a patch arrives while the game is running or suspended. Xbox Series X|S will continue to require restarts for data patches during the Beta, with changes planned for launch. Nintendo Switch 2 will also require restarts for these updates during the Beta and at launch.

Modern Warfare 4 Beta rewards

Players can unlock cosmetic rewards by progressing through the Beta. Weekend One allows players to reach Level 20, while Weekend Two increases the maximum level to 30. The listed progression rewards include:

The rewards earned during the Beta will be available in the full game when it launches on October 23. However, Beta player levels, weapon unlocks, and other in-Beta progression will not carry over after the Beta ends.Players can also earn additional cosmetic items through challenges and the Combat Record, including items that remain unclassified in the current information.

How to download the Modern Warfare 4 Beta

Players need to sign in with an Activision Account before launching the Beta. This account links progression across supported platforms and associates eligible Beta rewards with the player’s Activision ID.On PlayStation 5, players can search for the Modern Warfare 4 Beta in the PlayStation Store and select Download.On Steam, players can search for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 in the Steam Store. The Beta will be added to the Library, after which players can install and launch it once the Beta is live.On Battle.net, players need to open the Call of Duty page, select MW4 Beta from the Game Version dropdown and choose Install.On Xbox Series X|S, players can search for the Beta through the Store and select Install. Once installed, players can launch it through My Games & Apps when the Beta window opens.Nintendo Switch 2 players can preload the Beta from 9:00 AM PT on August 26 through the Nintendo eShop and participate in the Open Beta beginning August 28.