Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 Open Beta Adds Maps, Movement Tuning, and Warzone Changes

What we know

Infinity Ward has released an extensive set of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 Open Beta notes. Rolled out across the weekend, the updates add maps and playlists, revise movement and weapon behavior, alter spawn systems, and deliver dedicated changes for Warzone and Resurgence.

The August 30 update introduces the Transit 213 24/7 playlist for continued play on that map, as well as 6v6 Gunfight on Kill Block. Double XP and Double Weapon XP also go live at 10 AM PT, helping players work toward Level 30 and the Beta Forged Blueprint.

On Transit 213, Team Deathmatch's score limit rises from 100 to 150, while Kill Confirmed moves from 75 to 100.

More beta content

The Open Beta updates have added the 6v6 map Lithium, the Hijack mode, and Ground War: Combat Outpost. The Ground War offering arrives with Wolves Stadium and Imjin Farmlands. Warzone, meanwhile, adds Resurgence on the Zodiac map, with standard and Casual Quads playlists rotating by time of day.

The August 30 playlist selection also includes Quick Play, Open Moshpit, Combat Outpost, Hijack, Search & Destroy, Mobility Course, and the Zodiac Resurgence variants.

Weapons, combat pace, and spawns

The beta's weapon pass is intended to make handling feel more responsive. Aim-down-sights movement speed is up by 6% to 10% depending on weapon class, while sprint speeds have risen by 3% to 5%. A range of individual weapons also received faster ADS or sprint-to-fire timings, including the Han 86, M4, Kastov 762, and Patriot XMR assault rifles; the ISO Nightshade, X-58 Nyx, and PPSH-41 SMGs; and the FINN LMG and Type 73.

The Combat Knife gains an additional 3.5% sprint-speed increase, which stacks with the general movement boost. Several default loadouts have also been revised while Custom Loadouts remain unavailable during the beta. Infinity Ward says Custom Loadouts will be fully available at launch.

Tactical Sprint is no longer active by default and has been moved to the Blood Rush Perk. Its sprint-to-fire penalty has been brought in line with regular sprint, though its speed is reduced by 4%. Slide distance has been cut by 10%, slide speed by 9%, and stamina by 8%, while the delay between sliding and jumping has increased.

Spawn logic has been changed across respawn modes to better separate players and place less priority on spawning near teammates. Hardpoint has received work intended to make spawns more predictable, although the studio says the beta version of the system remains a work in progress. Temporary spawn protection now includes Battle Hardened to lessen the effect of flash and concussion grenades.

The base cost of every Killstreak has also increased by one kill. UAV health is down 60% and its height is reduced by 12%, while Artillery Beacon loses one missile and has smaller damage and knockdown radii.

Warzone and Resurgence revisions

Warzone's changes focus on engagement clarity and loot interactions. The interaction radius for ground weapons has been reduced to prevent players from accidentally taking a weapon when attempting to pick up a nearby item. The Armor Hit Damage Indicator has also been updated to more clearly show when an enemy's armor is taking damage.

HUD shake effects are disabled for the Open Beta, and screen-shake and gun-shake values have been adjusted. The notes say these changes are intended to reduce visual motion and make targets easier to track while firing.

The August 29 update allows players to revive downed teammates while prone, disables the Infil Gas Explosion, and makes the Sang 9mm the Infil and Backup Pistol. Sprint and ADS strafe speeds were also increased according to weapon class.

Resurgence Quads now grants 55% more Player XP and 13% more Weapon XP. Casual Resurgence Quads receives a 46% Player XP increase and a 240% Weapon XP increase.

Other Warzone fixes address the downed-state icon, delayed loot-feed messages, loot and crate audio, Spectator Mode, loot cards, Resurgence disconnects, and interface elements. Multiple UAVs can no longer combine into an Advanced UAV.

Performance and known issues

The beta includes general PC performance improvements, though Infinity Ward warns that some in-game settings may return to their defaults on the first boot after the update.

In the Operator Select menu, the studio has refined model streaming to avoid lower-powered hardware briefly showing Operator models at reduced visual quality. Work on Operator hair quality at long distances is also ongoing.

Known issues include a Switch 2 problem where characters may begin rendering in Operator Select before an appropriate level of detail is loaded into memory. The notes also list player names occasionally appearing blank on the in-match scoreboard, Operators sometimes missing from the lobby, and loadout changes that may fail to save immediately before a match loads.