Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is bringing a packed beta lineup, from familiar Core 6v6 battles to the new Hijack and Inflation modes. Gunfight, 24v24 Ground War, and 44-player Resurgence will give players plenty of ways to turn a quiet match into a complete tactical mess, usually within about three seconds.
The official Call of Duty maps and modes guide covers the beta’s rules, maps, and practical advice. Weekend Two is scheduled to run from August 28 through September 1, 2026, and it will bring Resurgence on the new Zodiac map into the rotation.
The beta’s Core 6v6 modes
The Core playlist includes seven modes. Team Deathmatch and the objective modes use unlimited respawns, while Search and Destroy takes the gloves off with one life per round.
Team Deathmatch
Team Deathmatch keeps the assignment simple. Eliminate enemy Operators to score for your team, then keep winning fights without handing the opposition easy points. The team with the highest score when time expires wins, or the match ends when a team reaches the score limit.
Every player has access to Create a Class, including weapons, Equipment, Perks, Field Upgrades, and Killstreaks. That makes Team Deathmatch a useful place to test a new loadout before taking it into modes where every second and angle carry more weight.
Hijack
Hijack is a new objective mode built around one Data Spike. Both teams fight for the device in the middle of the map, then carry, throw, or pass it toward the opposing Comm Station. Planting the Spike generates points over time, with a bonus when it detonates. The defending team can defuse it before that happens.
- Protect the carrier because carrying the Data Spike removes access to the equipped Lethal.
- Keep passing or recovering the Spike instead of letting it sit in the open.
- Clear routes before the carrier moves and establish defensive positions after a successful plant.
- When the Spike resets, reach it quickly before the other team can build a defense.
Inflation
Inflation turns eliminations into a money chase. Players collect cash from defeated Operators, while the wealthiest players become marked High Value Targets. Taking out an HVT can swing the score and strip away the enemy team’s biggest earner.
Cash can also be recovered after an elimination, so a team must decide whether to push for another fight, protect its richest player, or deny money on the ground. Overtime raises the cash multipliers and makes the final stage of the match especially dangerous. Saving a Killstreak or Field Upgrade for those closing moments can turn a close game around.
Domination
Domination uses three objectives marked A, B, and C. Holding a point produces score over time, and both teams switch sides once half of the score limit has been reached. The first team to reach 200 points wins.
Capturing a flag is only the beginning. Teams need to decide when to reinforce a position, when to contest the middle objective, and when to stop chasing a fight that pulls them away from the points.
Hardpoint
Hardpoint places both teams around one active scoring zone. A single teammate inside the uncontested Hardpoint is enough to earn points, and the zone moves to a new location every minute. The first team to reach 250 points wins.
Good rotations matter just as much as winning the current fight. Send players ahead to the next location while others delay the enemy at the active zone, then use Equipment and Killstreaks to break a well-defended setup.
Kill Confirmed
In Kill Confirmed, an elimination does not score by itself. The defeated Operator drops a Dog Tag, and an enemy team member must collect it for the kill to count. Picking up a friendly Dog Tag denies the opposing team its point.
That creates little danger zones all over the map. A tag near cover may be worth fighting over, while one in the middle of an enemy setup can be bait. Choose the pickup that helps the team, not the one that merely happens to be closest.
Search and Destroy
Search and Destroy is the beta’s round-based attack and defense mode. Attackers must eliminate the defenders or plant and detonate the bomb at one of two sites. Defenders win by stopping the plant, eliminating the attackers, or defusing the bomb.
There are no respawns, so information and communication become as important as aim. Teams switch sides every round, giving both squads time to attack and defend across the same map.
The 6 Core 6v6 maps
The beta features 6 maps from the 12-map Core 6v6 launch lineup. Each one pushes players toward a different mix of close-range fights, long sightlines, vertical routes, and objective pressure.
Cachette
Cachette is a secret hideout beside a French rail terminal. Cobblestone streets, shipping containers, rooftops, and compact interiors create a tightly connected arena with plenty of routes above and around the main lanes.
Use the central containers and rooftops to gain a wider view, then drop into the Armory or Lounge when a fight moves indoors. The Garage, Armory, and Server Room favor close-range tools, while explosive Killstreaks can punish enemies moving through the Backlot, Central Containers, and Front Gate.
Lithium
Lithium takes place at a damaged lithium processing facility in rural Mexico. Industrial structures, processing equipment, interactive garage doors, and mid-range sightlines make Assault Rifles, LMGs, and Marksman Rifles useful choices.
The garage doors can be opened or partially closed. When there is only a small gap underneath, sliding through while firing can catch an opponent on the wrong side. The camouflaged truck on the eastern Road also provides cover and a view toward the Runoff Area and Refinery.
Lotus
Lotus is a battle-scarred Korean fishing village filled with abandoned tanks, burning buildings, narrow streets, and accessible interiors. The main thoroughfare creates longer sightlines, but many of the map’s most important fights happen inside the Restaurant, Hostel, Fish Market, and Boathouse.
Overkill can help cover both open areas and interiors by pairing a Marksman Rifle with an SMG or another close-range weapon. Outside the Boathouse, a pipe leads to the lower roof and second floor. From there, players can watch the Docks, enter the nearby building, or dive into the Water if the position becomes too hot.
Rooftops
Rooftops sends the fight across the snow-covered top of New York’s Hotel Times West. Elevated platforms, exterior walkways, and tight rooms create several routes around the city block.
The Catwalk east of Construction offers a concealed approach for an ambush. Around the Patio, players can watch the large Construction zone from behind the counter, then move through the Laundry or Electrical Room when the pressure arrives. A Launcher is also useful here because the dense layout still leaves a clear view of airborne threats.
Silkworm
Silkworm is a dense South Korean shopping district built around a subway entrance. Storefronts, apartments, alleys, and narrow streets keep most fights at close or mid range, with few high positions to dominate the streets.
Attachments that improve aim-down-sight speed can help when enemies round a storefront or alley. Vehicles along Main Street can be damaged until they catch fire and explode, giving Frag Grenades, Launchers, and LMGs another way to clear a crowded lane. The Game Room and Convenience Store also reward close-quarters loadouts and careful use of counters and pillars.
Transit 213
Transit 213 is an overgrown Indian bus depot divided by rusting buses. The vehicles create narrow lanes and hidden approaches, while the Center Lot provides a longer sightline across the middle of the map.
Equipment has plenty of value in such a compact space. Frags can clear buses, Smoke Grenades can cover a crossing, and Trophy Systems can protect a position. Be careful around the Center Lot buses because they offer cover but are also easy targets for grenades. Fast Hands helps reduce reload, weapon-swap, and Equipment times when the next fight is always just a few steps away.
Gunfight on Kill Block
Gunfight returns with 3v3 and a new 10v10 variant on Kill Block. Each round is single-life, and every player receives the same randomized loadout. The mode tests how quickly a team can work with unfamiliar weapons instead of hiding behind a favorite class.
Kill Block changes every two rounds. A new Combo, made from three connected Slabs, arrives with another randomized loadout, and the teams switch spawn sides. If neither team is eliminated before the timer ends, an Overtime Flag appears and becomes the final route to victory.
- Move with teammates so opponents cannot isolate one player.
- Learn the issued loadout quickly and use the shared equipment better than the other team.
- Remember that both sides fight the same Combo before it changes.
- Win the opening gunfight with positioning because Tactical and Lethal Equipment unlock shortly after the round begins.
Combat Outpost in 24v24 Ground War
Combat Outpost expands Domination into a 24v24 Ground War battle across two large maps. Capturing an Outpost earns points and creates another spawn location, allowing a team to extend its front line instead of returning from the original Headquarters every time.
Holding territory also lets a team reinforce its Outposts and unlock stronger support, including Local UAV coverage, a JLTV airdrop, and a Light Tank delivered to Headquarters. Capturing and defending are connected, so sprinting away from a newly secured position can hand the enemy a chance to take it back before the reward arrives.
Imjin Farmlands
Imjin Farmlands spreads the battle across open fields, waterways, farms, roads, rail lines, and a large mill in the rural outskirts of Haijin. The open ground gives vehicles room to move and creates long sightlines between strongholds.
The mill is a natural sniper perch and a useful observation point, but approaching players should use cover and attack from more than one direction. Once inside, close-range weapons become more useful. Launchers can also do serious work against vehicles traveling along the map’s flatter roads.
Wolves Stadium
Wolves Stadium combines a Korean stadium district with dense urban areas and defensible points of interest. The amphitheater stage offers cover that is difficult for vehicles to enter, making it a useful position when a team needs to hold ground.
Ascenders, ladders, and pipes provide quick ways to reach higher positions around downtown. Outposts are also worth defending because they offer a place to refill supplies and prepare Killstreaks before the next push.
Weekend Two brings Resurgence to Zodiac
Call of Duty: Warzone™ Resurgence will arrive in the beta during Weekend Two with 44 players fighting across Zodiac. The map is built around the DRC Advanced Systems drone assembly and manufacturing headquarters.
Zodiac runs from the company Admin building through the central double Trackline, past multiple trains, and toward the R&D facility and shipping docks. Offices, manufacturing buildings, rooftops, tunnels, and the shoreline create several ways to move between points of interest.
Resurgence allows teammates to redeploy while at least one squad member remains alive. Eliminations and Contracts shorten the return timer, giving surviving players a reason to keep moving instead of simply waiting for an opening. The last squad standing wins.
Beta loadouts are available as default choices built around an AR, SMG, LMG, or Sniper. Close-range players can weave through buildings and the center of the facility, while longer-range weapons benefit from rooftops and elevated windows. An underground tunnel network adds another route for rotations, flanks, and quick escapes before the next attack.
That gives the beta a wide spread of combat styles. Whether the plan is to hold a Hardpoint, escort a Data Spike, protect an HVT, or chase a squad beneath Zodiac, the right map knowledge can matter before the first shot is fired.
Which Modern Warfare 4 beta mode or map are you most interested in trying? Share your thoughts in the comments, and follow us on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, and Telegram for more coverage.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4
Developed by Infinity Ward
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is a first-person shooter and the follow-up to Modern Warfare III (2023), continuing the rebooted Modern Warfare storyline. The campaign is set during a North Korean invasion of South Korea and features dual perspectives: a young South Korean soldier named Private Park facing his first combat deployment, and Captain Price operating outside official channels on a personal mission. The game also includes multiplayer with 6v6 core maps, large-scale vehicle combat maps, and a dynamic map system called Kill Block that reshapes layouts between rounds. A DMZ extraction mode is also featured. The game is released exclusively on current-generation platforms and PC.
- Genre Shooter
- Platforms Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5
- Perspective First person
- Modes Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative
- Release October 23, 2026
- Publisher Activision
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Age Rating
