Call of Duty: Modern Warfare open beta dated for September, will include crossplay

(Image credit: Activision)

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is coming in October, but before it gets here players will have a chance to give its multiplayer action a shot courtesy of a couple of weekends of beta testing.

The first weekend of testing is exclusive to the PlayStation 4, which isn't really our bag. But maybe you've got a PS4 and you don't want to wait, so here you go: The early access beta, for people who have preordered the game, will run September 12-13, while the open beta—for PS4 only, remember—goes September 14-16.

The fun begins for PC the following weekend. The pre-order beta for PC and Xbox One will take place September 19-20 (which will also be open to all PS4 owners), and the open beta for all platforms will take place September 21-23. 

Breaking it down, here are all of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare beta dates:

  • September 12-13 - PS4 pre-order beta
  • September 14-16 - PS4 open beta
  • September 19-20 - PC, Xbox One pre-order beta, PS4 open beta
  • September 21-23 - PC, Xbox One, PS4 open beta

The second beta weekend will also include crossplay testing, which could be interesting but may not make much of a splash for PC players: Forbes said in May that Modern Warfare will feature "input matchmaking," similar to that used by Fortnite, which matches players together based on whether they're playing with a controller or mouse and keyboard. Because of that, console players will generally only be matched against PC gamers if they're partied with a friend on PC.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare will be out on October 25. Here's our new hands-on preview of what you've got to look forward to.

Andy Chalk
US News Lead

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

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