Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4‘s beta was released on August 21, 2026, and it has a lot of people talking about the franchise’s current state. The CoD franchise has been struggling recently with its fanbase due to a plethora of reasons, including steep price increases, unfair skill-based matchmaking, and over-the-top movement mechanics that have made the game much more muddled. This game really feels like a chance at a comeback, if done right.
So far, this beta has been performing extremely well in terms of player count. According to SteamDB, it peaked at 115,000+ concurrent players, while Black Ops 7 peaked at just 100,000 for its full release. So let’s dive right into how the beta plays so far, with a focus on multiplayer aspects like gameplay, first impressions, and overall thoughts.
The matchmaking process in MW4 seems to be one of the better ones of any of the 17 CoD games I have played, which is saying a lot. It shows the player the current ping, starting at the absolute lowest possible, then increasing as needed. It also shows which servers it is attempting to connect to in order to give the player the best experience. The games I have been having seem relatively even skill-wise, although I will say that since everyone is generally low level right now, there are some extra people at the front and back of the bell curve. This is to be expected, though, and happens with most games on launch, so I do not hold that against MW4.
So far, I am loving most of the gameplay and mechanics in MW4. The movement feels like some of the older CoD games, bringing back a lot of nostalgia for me. Everything feels fresh and not overwhelming in comparison to the most recent CoD instalments. The first time I played Black Ops 7 my head was spinning with all the different movement techs and it felt a bit over-the-top, with too much movement and an extremely fast pace.
In MW4, though, there is no wall-jumping or grappling; slides feel authentic, and the overall movement patterns are just fast enough without being too overwhelming. It feels like a great return to some of the best CoD games, and while it’s certainly not Modern Warfare 2, I believe the CoD franchise might be right on track with where it needs to be.
So far, things feel relatively balanced, with a strong focus on classic run-and-gun-style CoD finally returning. Some SMGs feel a bit too strong with the right attachments, but Infinity Ward has already commented that there will be weapon adjustments coming based upon beta feedback. Leveling up seems to happen pretty quickly; in less than two hours, I was already pushing level 15, which I wasn’t too mad about. Honestly, in Black Ops 7, I felt like leveling up went a bit too slowly. Having the levels go relatively quicker is a lot better.
One thing I am struggling to accept, though, is the gun leveling system and the number of attachments for guns, which also seem to be major sources of complaints among most players in the beta. Gun leveling happens at an acceptable pace, perhaps a bit too slowly if I had to lean one way or the other. However, many guns require you to grind levels past 65, which is quite a lot to unlock basic attachments for a regular, starting weapon. The gunsmith is one of the worst features in the game right now, and if Infinity Ward wants MW4 to be the comeback CoD game, then they should consider revamping the gun leveling and attachment systems.
The graphics look absolutely phenomenal. I am playing on a NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 graphics card at the highest settings. I had no lag whatsoever, and the game runs extremely smoothly. I remember some previous CoD games would have minor stutters at the highest settings, but I had no issues with MW4.
So far, I am extremely happy with the gameplay in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4. It seems that Call of Duty is returning to what it used to be, which feels great as someone who has been playing the franchise since I was 13. This game has a lot of potential based on the beta alone, and I hope to see Infinity Ward listen to the community feedback about weapon leveling and other small details that can be fixed here and there.
Angel played Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 with her own Beta Access review code on PC.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 uses Generative AI, as mentioned on its Steam page.
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