Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. Evergreens

How to access the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 beta

Add as a preferred source on Google

It’s been almost a year since last year’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was released, which means it’s time for the next installment in the annual shooter franchise. This time we’re completing the trilogy (again) with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. This entry has already generated a lot of hype among fans of the franchise for the inclusion, and return, of some highly requested features such as the mini-map and Zombies mode.

Sticking to the usual late-fall release schedule, Modern Warfare 3 will officially launch on November 10 of this year, but that doesn’t mean you have to wait until then to get a taste of what’s to come. If you play your cards right, you can get in on the beta to sharpen your skills before the competition.

Recommended Videos

How to access the Modern Warfare 3 beta

A soldier shields themself from an underwater explosion.
Sledgehammer Games, Treyarch, Infinity Ward, Raven Software / Activision

If you want to ensure you can start fragging as early as possible, make sure you preorder any edition of Modern Warfare 3. This will give you access to the open beta, the campaign up to a week early, and a Soap Operator pack you can use right away in Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2.

The open beta will be available on all platforms, including PlayStation, Xbox, Battle.net, and Steam, so it doesn’t matter where you preorder.

When is the Modern Warfare 3 beta?

Captain price and the open beta dates for CoD.
Activision

There will be two beta weekends, the first of which is exclusive to PlayStation players. Early access for that first weekend will start on October 6, with anyone being able to join starting on October 8 until October 10. The second beta will be for all players and include crossplay support starting on October 12 for early access, and October 14 to October 16 for all players.

Jesse Lennox
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Jesse Lennox covers all things gaming but has a specific interest in all things PlayStation, JRPGs, and experimental indies…
Someone paid $200 for a mystery Xbox controller and may have gotten the Elite Series 3
The OfferUp find appears to be an unreleased Microsoft prototype, and it reveals a tiny screen we hadn’t seen before
Transportation, Vehicle, Electrical Device

The next Xbox Elite controller may have turned up in about the least official way imaginable. Reddit user ssuberlex, in a now deleted post, says they paid $200 on OfferUp for a mystery Xbox controller that looks like an unreleased Microsoft prototype.

Photos show a small built-in screen alongside hardware that resembles the Xbox Elite Series 3 design previously exposed through Brazilian regulatory material. The controller is also labeled as not for sale and carries placeholder regulatory information, giving the prototype explanation considerably more weight.

Read more
Sony’s Wolverine PS5 has literal claw marks ripped through its shell
Logan has left his mark on Sony's special-edition PS5
Marvel's Wolverine PS5 Featured

Limited-edition consoles usually settle for a new paint job with a new logo slapped on. But Sony is giving a little extra attention to detail to one of Marvel's most beloved characters. The company has revealed its Marvel’s Wolverine limited-edition PS5 collection, headlined by a Battle Yellow PS5 Digital Edition covered in enormous claw marks that appear to tear through its outer shell and expose what lies underneath.

A matching DualSense gets the same yellow-and-black treatment, complete with scratches and slashes inspired by Logan’s claws. The whole collection arrives September 15 alongside Insomniac Games’ Marvel’s Wolverine, with preorders opening August 19.

Read more
The U.S. needs air traffic controllers, and it’s turning to gamers for help
Secretary Sean Duffy says gamer recruitment is helping the FAA reach its hiring goals.
Airport, Aircraft, Airplane

Perhaps all those hours spent playing Counter-Strike 2, Valorant, or StarCraft II could finally prove useful outside your gaming setup. The U.S. Department of Transportation has been recruiting gamers to become air traffic controllers, and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says the unusual approach is already helping the Federal Aviation Administration make progress toward its hiring target.

The FAA says its gamer recruitment push is working

Read more