Call of Duty NEXT 2026 takes place today, August 21, and it leads straight into the first Modern Warfare 4 beta weekend. The showcase starts at 9 a.m. PT / 11 a.m. CT / noon ET, and the Early Access Beta begins after the broadcast ends rather than at a separate fixed time. Activision’s announcement confirms that the beta follows the event immediately.
If you only want to play, you do not need to watch the full show. You do need to know when it starts, which account has your early-access entitlement, and which platform you selected if you redeemed a code.
Call of Duty NEXT 2026 start time
The broadcast begins at 9 a.m. Pacific on Friday, August 21. That is 11 a.m. Central, noon Eastern, 5 p.m. in the United Kingdom, and 6 p.m. in Central Europe. The current time guide also lists 4 p.m. UTC and notes that Activision has not published a runtime, so the beta’s exact start may move with the length of the show.
Activision has billed NEXT as a global event, so the start moment is the same worldwide. For viewers in Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, the broadcast begins after midnight on August 22.
Where to watch the showcase for free
Call of Duty NEXT is a digital event with no ticket or paid stream. You can watch it on the official Call of Duty YouTube channel or the official Call of Duty Twitch channel.
You can use a phone, browser, television app, or console. Watching the show is separate from owning Modern Warfare 4; the purchase requirement applies to Early Access, not to the broadcast itself.
What Activision plans to show
Activision’s official preview promises live gameplay, a multiplayer briefing, developer insight, and new reveals before the beta. Coverage of the event points to core 6v6 matches, a first look at Kill Block, Warzone information tied to the Zodiac map, and code giveaways during the broadcast. Windows Central’s preview separates those expected segments from the details Activision has confirmed directly.
The event is about multiplayer and the wider launch plan. The campaign is not the main focus of NEXT, although the beta that follows includes a playable campaign mission called Entrenched.
When the Modern Warfare 4 beta begins
Weekend One is the Early Access Beta, scheduled for August 21 through August 25 on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC. It opens as soon as Call of Duty NEXT ends. Weekend Two is the Open Beta, running August 28 through September 1 for everyone on supported platforms, including Nintendo Switch 2. Activision’s beta schedule confirms that the second weekend does not require a preorder.
The transition may not be instant on every platform because the event can run long and the beta client still has to finish preparing. Treat the end of the stream as the handoff point, not as a promise that every player will enter the lobby at the same second.
How to get into Early Access today
Digital preorders through a platform store or the Call of Duty in-game store receive Early Access automatically. Physical preorders and digital purchases through some retailers use a code that must be redeemed while signed in to the correct Activision account. Activision says the redemption page is callofduty.com/betaredeem, and the code is tied to the platform chosen during redemption. Our beta-code guide covers the redemption steps in more detail.
If you do not have a preorder or code, the Open Beta begins August 28. You can also use our full date guide to check the difference between the two weekends before downloading anything.
The short version: watch Call of Duty NEXT at 11 a.m. Central, expect the Modern Warfare 4 Early Access Beta after the show, and check your Activision account before the broadcast starts. The open weekend is still waiting for everyone else next week.
