Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 beta dates have been confirmed

It’s been a busy ol’ week in the world of Call of Duty. A pretty significant chunk of Tuesday’s Gamescom Opening Night Live was dedicated to Modern Warfare III, giving us an in-depth look at the upcoming title in action.

We were treated to nearly 10 minutes of gameplay featuring all of the classics you’d hope to see in a Call of Duty game: special-ops activities, stealthy sneaking, taking down guards, infiltrating a prison .. you get the idea. It was also teased that alongside the traditional campaign missions, Modern Warfare III will introduce open-combat missions which essentially will allow players to choose how they want to proceed through a mission, choosing their own combat approach and loadout. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any Zombies footage, but we do know that an open-world Zombies mode is coming with a full Call of Duty showcase event to be held on 5 October.

Take a look at the brand new opening level gameplay below.

If you’re simply itching to dive into Modern Warfare III, I have some good news. Beta dates have arrived. These beta dates of course apply to Modern Warfare III’s multiplayer component, with the beta launching following the 5 October showcase event. The beta experience will include a selection of maps, including modernised versions of Modern Warfare 2 (2009) classics, in addition to Ground War experiences. We don’t know the confirmed map line-up though.

The first beta kicks off on Friday 6 October at 6pm BST / 10am PT / 1pm ET, and will run until Tuesday 10 October 6pm BST / 10am PT / 1pm ET. There is a catch though. It’s exclusive to PS4 and PS5, and only those who’ve pre-ordered the game can join on between 6 and 7 October. Access then opens up to all PlayStation users from 8 to 10 October.

The next opening then runs from Thursday 12 October to Friday 13 October. This is for Xbox and PC players who have pre-ordered the game, plus all PlayStation players. Same start and end times as above apply. Finally, between Saturday 14 October and Monday 16 October, the beta is fully open. All platform users can participate regardless of pre-order status. Got all of that?