5 Things We Learned From the Modern Warfare® 4 Open Beta

OCT 16, 2026

Discover the biggest takeaways from the Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 4 Open Beta, with pro-level insight from OpTic’s FormaL and Shotzzy on pace, movement, maps, weapons, and what to expect at launch.

The Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 4 Open Beta has come and gone, and it left behind a much clearer picture of the game everyone starts playing on October 23. Two weekends, six maps, 19 weapons and a playable Campaign mission and Infinity Ward kept changing things the whole way through.

So what actually stuck? Don’t just take our word for it. We went to two OpTic voices with different vantage points on the same game.

FormaL is the 2017 Call of Duty World Champion and that tournament’s MVP, now reading the game from the other side of a decade in the hill. Shotzzy is an active OpTic Texas pro in the Call of Duty League, a three-time Call of Duty World Champion and the 2018 Halo World Champion, and the first player to win world titles in two different shooters. Here’s what they took away, and what you should know before you load in.

THE GAME HAS A NEW PACE, AND THAT OPENS THINGS UP

The single biggest shift in Modern Warfare 4 is pace across both beta weekends, Infinity Ward used the Beta to shape a game that rewards positioning, teamwork and decision-making as much as raw speed. Changes to time to kill, movement and loadout choices all pointed in that direction.

“Seems like general pace of play has slowed down since the past couple iterations of CoD, which isn’t a bad thing. Could make for a lot of strats that depend on really thinking about how the round should be played, especially in SND.” - FormaL, OpTic

That’s the practical upside. As engagements last a little longer, holding an angle, timing a rotation and calling a flank all become more valuable. In Search and Destroy, where one death ends your round, that added emphasis on teamwork and decision-making can be especially impactful.

Not everyone came away with the same read on the game’s pace. Asked whether Modern Warfare 4 feels faster or slower than recent Call of Duty titles, Shotzzy landed somewhere in the middle.

“A mix of in between, I’d say.” - Shotzzy, OpTic Texas

Both reads are useful. The beta changes were noticeable enough for players to talk about. How dramatic they feel depends on where and how you play. For experienced competitors it may feel like a gradual adjustment. For everyone else, it could open up new ways to approach fights, rotations and team play heading into launch.

MOVEMENT CHANGES ARE ENCOURAGING NEW APPROACHES

Movement was one of the most discussed topics throughout the beta. Several mechanics were adjusted during testing, and players quickly began evaluating how those changes might influence positioning, gunfights and overall match flow once the full game launches.

“‘Snaking’ seems to be much harder to do, which in my opinion is a great thing for the game.” - FormaL

Snaking is the trick of dipping in and out of prone behind cover to bait shots without fully exposing yourself. It has been a fixture of competitive Call of Duty for years and a permanent argument about whether it belongs.

Asked separately about new movement mechanics, Shotzzy had one note, and it was the same one.

“No, other than no snaking.” - Shotzzy

The adjustment may encourage players to rely more on positioning, timing and teamwork rather than repeating the same engagement patterns.

The slide is the other piece of the movement conversation. Shortened and slowed for the second weekend, it was one of the two things Shotzzy said players talked about most. Get reps with the new timing before launch, not in a ranked lobby.

For FormaL, the potential benefit is greater variety in how engagements and objective modes play out from one match to the next.

“Head smashing hills was getting a bit repetitive for me in previous CoDs, so I’m hopeful this one will have a decent feel.” - FormaL

THE MAPS WORTH KNOWING ON DAY ONE

The Open Beta ran six core 6v6 maps: Rooftops, Silkworm, Transit 213, Cachette, Lotus and Lithium. Modern Warfare 4 ships with 12 core maps at launch, so this was a sample. Three are worth studying now.

Rooftops

Set across the snow-covered rooftops of New York’s Hotel Times West, Rooftops uses elevated walkways and multiple approach routes to give teams more than one way into a fight. That combination of verticality and rotation options is exactly what competitive map pools tend to reward, and it’s the map FormaL singled out.

“I think ‘Rooftops’ has the best chance to make it into the competitive pool, while Cachette might also have a chance too.” - FormaL

Cachette

Cachette is a hideout tucked beside a French rail terminal, built from shipping containers, rooftops and compact interiors. It’s a flanking map. Sightlines break constantly, which means holding a position without information is a fast way to lose it, and rotating without a callout is a fast way to walk into one. It’s the map that separates teams that talk from teams that don’t.

Transit 213

Transit 213 is an overgrown bus depot in western India, where rusting buses split the lot into tight lanes, concealed routes and a few long sightlines across the center. It was the beta’s clearest casual favorite and earned its own featured playlist late in the test.

“Transit was my personal favorite from the beta. It will be similar to a ‘Shipment’ or ‘Shoot House’ where you can get your camos done.” - FormaL

Maps in that lineage are where players grind weapon levels and camo challenges. If you’re planning a launch-week camo run, Transit 213 is where it starts.

TWO WEAPONS, NAMED TWICE

The beta arsenal covered 19 standard multiplayer weapons, including six assault rifles and four SMGs. Asked separately which felt strongest, both pros came back with the same two.

“Both the AR and SMG had weapons that were really strong. The ‘ISO’ sub and the ‘M4’ and ‘Patriot’ ARs both felt extremely strong throughout both weekends.” - FormaL

Shotzzy’s answer to the same question was just as short: the M4 and the ISO. And when both were asked what the pros would run if the game dropped that day, they named the same pair again.

“If the game dropped today I would say the pros would be using the M4 and the ISO for the meta.” - FormaL

“Definitely ISO and M4 for the main weapons for the AR and subs.” - Shotzzy

Independent agreement between a retired world champion and an active Call of Duty League pro is about as close to a pre-launch meta call as anyone can offer. That’s the ISO Nightshade in the SMG slot and the M4 in the assault rifle slot, with FormaL adding the Patriot XMR as a third. The Patriot XMR carries the Volt apex attachment, an underbarrel launcher that stuns a target with high-voltage darts before you finish the kill.

Shotzzy flagged one more, outside the two classes everyone was arguing about.

“That one sniper that felt like a pistol was a one hit kill.” - Shotzzy

That’s the KG-7 Vulcan, the bolt-action with one-shot potential and quickscope-level handling. Worth a look if you want something in the bag that isn’t an AR or an SMG.

One caveat: every one of these weapons moved during the test, and beta rankings are not launch rankings. The class-level read is more durable. Assault rifles control lanes, SMGs punish anyone caught in a tight interior, and the gap narrowed once kill times went up.

WHAT OPTIC IS WATCHING ON LAUNCH DAY

Infinity Ward used the beta as an opportunity to gather feedback, test changes and share gameplay updates with players in real time. Time to kill got three passes inside the first four days, then another rework for the second weekend. Footstep audio was quieted. Transit 213 got a lighting pass after players said they couldn’t see opponents in its darker corners. That responsiveness is the part both pros keep coming back to.

“TTK still needs a little bit of adjustment, but from weeks 1 to 2 the devs seem to be trending in the right direction.” - FormaL

“The obvious was the TTK the first day, but it got resolved throughout the beta.” - Shotzzy

FormaL’s read on what decides the year is worth sitting with, because it isn’t about any single setting.

“CDL pros seem to be hopeful, as with every year. But in my opinion it’s going to come down to how well the bridge between players and the devs is throughout the game, especially at the launch.” - FormaL

Asked what drew the most positive reaction, Shotzzy answered in one word: graphics. The beta also included Entrenched, a large-scale assault on a nuclear power station, and the first time a full Call of Duty campaign mission has been playable in a beta.

What to expect at launch

Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 4 launches Friday, October 23, 2026 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Battle.net, Steam and Nintendo Switch 2, digital pre-orders get Campaign Early Access on October 16 and DMZ Early Access begins on October 20.

One thing you can bank ahead of time: the Monster Energy x Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 4 rewards program is already running, and codes uploaded before October 23 are held and ready to redeem the moment the game goes up. Stock up, upload early, and load in on day one with the rewards waiting.

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM FORMAL AND SHOTZZY

• Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 4 comes with a new pace that puts greater emphasis on positioning, teamwork, and decision-making, with adjustments to time to kill, movement, and loadout choices creating more room to read the fight and make your next move.
• Movement adjustments were one of the most discussed topics of the Beta, and both pros independently highlighted changes that will influence positioning and engagements at launch.
• FormaL rates Rooftops the most likely beta map to reach the competitive pool, with Cachette a possible second.
• Transit 213 was the casual favorite and the camo-grinding map of the beta, in the lineage of Shipment and Shoot House.
• The M4 and the ISO Nightshade were standouts during the Beta. Both pros named them independently as the standout weapons during the Beta. FormaL adds the Patriot XMR.
• Beta progression resets at launch. The cosmetic beta rewards tied to your Activision account carry over.
• Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 4 launches October 23, Digital pre-orders get Campaign Early Access on October 16 and DMZ Early Access begins on October 20.