Modern Warfare 3 open beta release time, dates and new features

Call of Duty fans are counting down to the start of the open beta on PS4, PS5, PC, Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One. The second beta weekend is about to enter its second phase, when it opens up to all players, regardless of platform and pre-order status. The Modern Warfare 3 open beta has an October 14 release date and a 6pm BST UK start time. If you want to jump into the action the moment the beta goes live, then it’s worth pre-loading ahead of schedule. Xbox players can download the beta from the Microsoft Store, while PC users can download the Beta from Steam or Battle.net.

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The second beta weekend expands on the original, featuring five Core maps and two Ground War maps.

Core maps include Favela, Estate, Skidrow, Rust and Highrise. These maps can be played in Team Deathmatch, Domination, Hardpoint, Kill Confirmed, Cutthroat and Search & Destroy.

In addition to the classic maps and game modes, fans can check out the Popov Power Plant map and Orlov Military Base, which are playable as part of the Ground War mode.

This is a larger-scale map and game mode, where teams will have to participate in multiple phases in order to emerge victorious.

Fans will also be able to unlock a selection of exclusive in-game rewards by playing the beta, including Modern Warfare 3 beta sticker, ‘Did the Beta’ Vinyl, Operation Beta weapon charm, Beta Tester animated calling card, Beta Ripper weapon blueprint and an animated emblem.

Activision has also made some changes to the game ahead of the open beta, releasing a new patch for all platforms. As you can see from the patch notes below, Activision has tweaked weapon damage and range, updated killstreaks and made changes to some of the maps.

Modern Warfare 3 open beta patch notes…

GAMEPLAY

• UIX

 – Enemy Operators will now display a red nameplate above their head.

• Movement

 – Decreased the slide to sprint delay by 200ms.

WEAPONS

• Reduced Tac-Stance spread while sliding for several weapon classes.

 – Assault Rifles: Decreased 17-26%.

 – Submachine Guns: Decreased 14-17%.

 – Light Machine Guns: Decreased 30-45%.

 – Marksman Rifles: Decreased 29-31%.

 – Pistols: Decreased 10-20%.

• Striker (Submachine Gun)

 – Decreased near-medium damage from 39 to 36.

 – Decreased near-medium damage range from 24m to 19m (-21%).

 – Decreased medium damage range from 30m to 25m (-17%).

 – Decreased far-medium damage from 28 to 27.

 – Decreased minimum damage from 23 to 21.

 – Increased headshot damage multiplier from 1.2x to 1.3x.

 – Increased lower-arm damage multiplier from 1x to 1.1x.

KILLSTREAKS

• Guardian-SC

 – Decreased health from 550 to 400 (-27%).

 – Decreased lifetime from 120s to 60s (-50%).

MODES

• Ground War

 – Vehicles driven by the player no longer have limited fuel.

• Hardpoint

 – Disabled overhead spawn camera sequence upon respawn.

MAPS

• Estate

 – Added collision near various areas of the Waterfall to prevent players from accessing unintended locations.

• Favela

 – Players will no longer be killed immediately after respawning near the yellow car on the Side Street.

• Popov Power (Ground War)

 – Added collision near Reactor Beta to prevent players from accessing an unintended location.

OPERATORS

• Operator movement animations will now play properly in the moments following a respawn.

UIX

• Added a missing icon for the Incursion XII Long Barrel Attachment for the SVA 545.

• Players will now be properly notified of Playlist updates while idling in the menus.

STABILITY

• Addressed a crash that occurred while matchmaking in the Ground War playlist.

• Addressed multiple crashes that occurred while launching the game.

• Resolved an issue that caused an error message stating “a required network service has failed” upon attempting to join another player’s party.