Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 beta and reveal event set for September

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will get two multiplayer beta weekends in September, Infinity Ward and Activision announced Sunday. The first will be for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, and the second will be a cross-play beta including all platforms.

Weekend one is Sept. 16-20, with the first two days open to those who have pre-ordered Modern Warfare 2. Sept. 18-20 will be an open beta for all users with a PS4 or PS5. Infinity Ward said a PlayStation Plus subscription is not necessary to access the beta.

“Note that Beta codes are tied to your Activision account, and are platform agnostic,” the studio said, “meaning you can access the Beta on your hardware of choice.”

Weekend two is Sept. 22-26 for Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PlayStation users, again with the first two days set aside for pre-orders. Sept. 24-26 is an open beta for all platforms, with cross-platform play enabled. Infinity Ward said Xbox players must have an Xbox Live Gold subscription, and PC players will need to have a free Battle.net or Steam account.

Infinity Ward’s designers said the beta will “[go] beyond the Core 6v6 experience,” with a variety of maps (at a variety of sizes) and modes of play. One of those will be Marina Bay Grand Prix, whose map was revealed on Sunday during the Call of Duty League Championship.

Image: Infinity Ward/Activision

It seems that Call of Duty is getting in on the Formula One craze, with Modern Warfare 2 combat taking place on the infield of a street circuit. Additionally, pre-order holders get access to “all four of the Red Team 141 Operators — Ghost, Farah, Price, and Soap,” as well as the FJX Cinder Weapon Vault.

Infinity Ward and Activision will reveal more during a livestream event called Call of Duty Next, which will be held Sept. 15. “This is an era-defining franchise event showcasing the immediate future of Call of Duty,” the studio said. The show will also share more information on the next Call of Duty Warzone as well as the forthcoming Call of Duty Warzone for mobile devices.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will be released on Oct. 28.