The beta for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 kicked off in earnest this weekend this weekend, with Infinity Ward commencing public testing of what we all hope is a return to form after the disappointment of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. And changes are already being made, with the developers releasing a new patch that makes a couple of mechanical tweaks while also adding a new map and mode.

We'll deal with the latter additions first. The new map is called Cachette, and it is truly a new map, making its debut in Modern Warfare 4. It's a compact, 6v6 affair set on the outskirts of a French rail terminal, where some military types have made an armoury out of an old mechanics garage and an abandoned wine warehouse.

The new mode, meanwhile, is called Inflation, and it is a cash grab in the most literal sense. Eliminating enemies during a match gives you cash, while players with the most cash become marked as high-value targets. If you get the better of a high-value target, you get to steal their cash and, presumably, become an HVT yourself. I always think Call of Duty shines brightest when it adds a little bit of structure to its inherently frenetic nature, and this sounds like the right balance of the two.

As for those mechanical adjustments, footstep volume has been reduced after players complained it was too loud. On top of that, Infinity Ward concurs with players that "time-to-till [TTK] isn't quite right yet" and as such has "turned down the lethality of some of our guns." Oh, and map voting has been introduced, with Infinity Ward stating that the system needed four maps to work effectively—which it now has with the addition of Cachette.

Infinity Ward says it will continue working on the beta throughout its runtime, so further patches may be waiting in the wings. The early access beta ends on August 25, with a second, open beta arriving on August 28. Alongside the multiplayer modes and playable campaign mission made available this weekend, the open beta will also let players get hands-on with the latest iteration of Warzone. If you want to know how to access the beta yourself, you find all the info you need here.

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Rick has been fascinated by PC gaming since he was seven years old, when he used to sneak into his dad's home office for covert sessions of Doom. He grew up on a diet of similarly unsuitable games, with favourites including Quake, Thief, Half-Life and Deus Ex. Between 2013 and 2022, Rick was games editor of Custom PC magazine and associated website bit-tech.net. But he's always kept one foot in freelance games journalism, writing for publications like Edge, Eurogamer, the Guardian and, naturally, PC Gamer. While he'll play anything that can be controlled with a keyboard and mouse, he has a particular passion for first-person shooters and immersive sims.