Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 beta adds a campaign mission for the first time

For the first time in Call of Duty history, a beta will include a single-player campaign mission. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma announced on August 14 that the Modern Warfare 4 beta — kicking off August 21 for digital pre-order buyers — will let players try a story mission called Entrenched ahead of the game's October 23 launch on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Switch 2.

The early access beta runs August 21–25 and is open to pre-order buyers on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. Multiplayer maps include Rooftops, Silkworm, Transit 213, Cachette, Lotus, and Kill Block. The open beta follows August 28–September 1, swapping Lotus for Lithium and adding Zodiac — a brand-new Warzone Resurgence map — for its debut. Switch 2 players can join starting with the open beta weekend. The Entrenched campaign mission is playable across both beta periods.

The timing of this move is hard to separate from what happened with Black Ops 7. Last year's entry was widely panned — its campaign in particular drew heavy criticism for a disjointed story involving giant plants and demonic spiders, with Activision issuing a rare public apology shortly after launch and promising to do better. Letting players sample the MW4 campaign before launch is a direct signal that Activision wants to rebuild trust in that part of the package. The Modern Warfare sub-series has historically been the franchise's prestige line, known for cinematic, grounded storytelling — a sharp contrast to where Black Ops 7 landed.

Community reaction is reading this beta as unusually stacked, with Kotaku noting it feels like Activision is working overtime to prove MW4 won't be another disappointment. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 launches October 23, 2026.