It’s been known for a while that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare will be seeing multiple open betas in September. This month will give fans their best hands-on look at the game’s multiplayer yet, but when they’ll be able to access it will depend on a number of factors. With that in mind, a refresher should be helpful.

The Beta Test for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare will be split into two periods taking place this weekend and thne one following on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. During these betas, players will gain access to “an epic and ever-changing series of Maps, Playlists, and other content drops” while they play.

The first Beta will take place from Thursday, September 12 to Monday, September 16. Following that will be the second weekend, running from Thursday, September 19 to the morning of Monday, September 23.

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This is where things get a little confusing. While the Beta Test as a whole is being hyped as a (mostly) free multiplatform event, Activision will only be letting in PlayStation 4 players for Beta Weekend 1. Moreover, for the first two days the Beta will only be accessible to PS4 owners who’ve already pre-ordered the game.

There will also be a two-day early access period for pre-order holders on PC and Xbox One when the multiplatform Beta Weekend 2 kicks off. But as yet another perk for PS4 owners, they’ll be able to play through the entire five-day weekend even if they haven’t pre-ordered.

Activision obviously wants players to pre-order the game in order to get the most of the early access Call of Duty: Modern Warfare crossplay. Luckily, doing this doesn’t make downloading the Beta difficult. Everyone who has pre-ordered a physical copy of the game simply needs to check their emails for the download code. While those who buy digital can just download the Beta directly through the account the game was pre-ordered from. And for those who aren’t planning on pre-ordering, the beta can be downloaded from the game’s page on Battle.net, the PlayStation Store, and the Microsoft Store.

Starting today, PS4 players can preload the Beta ahead of its first weekend, and PC and Xbox One players will be able to do the same ahead of the second next week. It’s worth noting that the Beta is separate from last month’s 2v2 Gunfight Alpha, so anyone who took part in that has to do another download in order to access the next round of early access content.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is out on October 25 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

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Source: Activision