Modern Warfare 4 Beta Will Let Players Ease Up on SBMM
Activision plans to bring Open Playlist options to the beta after testing reduced skill consideration in Black Ops 7.
Activision plans to include lower-SBMM matchmaking options in the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 beta, giving players a way to enter matches where skill plays a smaller role in team and lobby selection.
The beta will begin on August 21, 2026. Players can find the full schedule in the Modern Warfare 4 beta dates breakdown, which covers the early access and open beta periods.
Activision previously tested this approach in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 with an Open Moshpit playlist. That playlist reduced the emphasis placed on player skill during matchmaking, responding to long-running complaints that strict SBMM can make every match feel overly competitive and predictable.
In a July 22 matchmaking update shared through Activision’s post, the publisher said it had spent the past year learning from player data and community feedback. It also pointed to the positive response to older Black Ops games and Black Ops II as part of the reason for continuing to test different matchmaking approaches.
Over the past year, we've continued to learn a lot about Multiplayer matchmaking through player data and community feedback. We’re also excited to see all the recent love for Black Ops and Black Ops II, which reinforced that there are many elements of those experiences that…
— Call of Duty (@CallofDuty) July 22, 2026
Activision confirmed that Open Playlist options will remain available in Black Ops 7 and will also appear in the Modern Warfare 4 beta. The company did not describe the beta playlists as completely free of skill-based matchmaking, so players should expect skill to remain one factor rather than disappear altogether.
The publisher is also testing a new matchmaking system across several Black Ops 7 modes, including Black Ops classic, Quick Play, and party games. Activision said the system will focus on smarter team balancing, a wider range of match types, keeping lobbies populated, and improving matches for parties made up of players with different skill levels.
Game Pass subscribers will not receive special early access to the Modern Warfare 4 beta this year. That makes the August 21 start date especially important for players planning to join the first session.
Whether the looser playlists produce the unpredictable matches players want will become clearer once the beta begins. Tell us what you think about Activision’s matchmaking plans in the comments, and follow us on X, Bluesky, YouTube, and Instagram.
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
