Infinity Ward has published the August 24 Modern Warfare 4 Early Access Beta patch notes — the final full day of Weekend One. The studio’s focus today is time-to-kill: several weapons that were still winning fights too quickly lose damage range, locational multipliers, or both.
This is a follow-up to Sunday’s update, which cut headshot multipliers across a wider set of guns. Monday’s pass is narrower and more surgical — six weapons, with the biggest range cuts on the M4, HAN 86, AXION, and MAR-9.
Playlist-side, 10v10 Gunfight on Kill Block is out until Weekend Two. 3v3 Gunfight stays. Infinity Ward also says more weapon and attachment changes are coming when Open Beta starts later this week.
Playlists
| Status | Playlist |
|---|---|
| Available | Quick Play |
| Available | Open Moshpit |
| Available | Search and Destroy |
| Available | Transit 213 |
| Available | Inflation |
| Available | 3v3 Gunfight on Kill Block |
| Removed | 10v10 Gunfight on Kill Block — returning Weekend Two |
If you were grinding Kill Block in the 10v10 playlist, switch to 3v3 for the rest of Early Access. Infinity Ward has already flagged the larger Gunfight mode for Open Beta.
Weapon tuning
Infinity Ward says today’s changes increase minimum TTK — it takes more shots, or shots from closer, to finish a kill on the guns below. The tools are shorter damage ranges, lower body-zone multipliers, and (on a couple of weapons) a small drop in raw damage.
| Weapon | Class | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| AXION | AR | All three range bands shortened; damage unchanged |
| HAN 86 | AR | Ranges shortened; head 1.4 → 1.25; neck 1.4 → 1.1 |
| Kastov 762 | AR | Medium damage 30 → 29; head 1.48 → 1.35 |
| M4 | AR | Max range cut; new mid-range band; min damage 17 → 16 |
| PPSh-41 | SMG | Ranges shortened; medium-1 damage 18 → 17; neck and upper torso 1.1 → 1.0 |
| MAR-9 | Marksman | Max range 30.7m → 20.8m; neck, upper, and lower torso multipliers flattened |
AXION
Damage numbers stay the same. The drop-off points move in, so you fall off max and mid damage sooner.
| Range | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Max (25 dmg) | 0–27.6m | 0–25.1m |
| Medium (22 dmg) | 27.7–50.8m | 25.2–47m |
| Minimum (19 dmg) | after 50.8m | after 47m |
HAN 86
Same pattern as AXION on the damage table — ranges shorten, damage per bullet does not — plus a head and neck multiplier cut. Headshots and “almost headshots” both do less than they did this weekend.
| Range | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Max (26 dmg) | 0–26.1m | 0–23.5m |
| Medium (22 dmg) | 26.2–47.5m | 23.6–43.7m |
| Minimum (18 dmg) | after 47.5m | after 43.7m |
- Headshot multiplier 1.4x → 1.25x
- Neck multiplier 1.4x → 1.1x
Kastov 762
Sunday already hit this Vault Edition assault rifle hard. Today is a smaller follow-up: one damage point off the medium band, a slight range trim, and another headshot cut.
| Range | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Max (34 dmg) | 0–22.2m | 0–22.2m (unchanged) |
| Medium | 30 dmg, 22.3–41.7m | 29 dmg, 22.3–40.8m |
| Minimum (23 dmg) | after 41.7m | after 40.8m |
- Headshot multiplier 1.48x → 1.35x
M4
The default AR gets the most structural change. Max damage now ends at 20.3m instead of 25.4m, a new 17-damage mid-range band is added, and the old 17-damage floor becomes 16 — though that floor now starts further out, after 51.5m.
| Range | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Max (28 dmg) | 0–25.4m | 0–20.3m |
| Medium 1 (22 dmg) | 25.5–45.7m | 20.4–38.3m |
| Medium 2 | — | NEW: 17 dmg, 38.4–51.5m |
| Minimum | 17 dmg after 45.7m | 16 dmg after 51.5m |
In practice that means the M4 falls off sooner in the ranges where most 6v6 fights actually happen. The new far-range band is a long-shot consolation, not a buff to the gun’s core TTK.
PPSh-41
Sunday only cut the PPSh headshot multiplier. Today the SMG loses range on every band, one damage point at medium 1, and the 1.1x neck / upper-torso bonus.
| Range | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Max (22 dmg) | 0–10.9m | 0–10.4m |
| Medium 1 | 18 dmg, 11–18.5m | 17 dmg, 10.5–16.3m |
| Medium 2 (15 dmg) | 18.6–26m | 16.4–22.8m |
| Medium 3 (13 dmg) | 26.1–34.2m | 22.9–31.2m |
| Minimum (11 dmg) | after 34.2m | after 31.2m |
- Neck multiplier 1.1x → 1.0x
- Upper torso multiplier 1.1x → 1.0x
Chest shots no longer get a hidden bonus. If the PPSh still feels fast, it is because you are inside that first 10 metres — not because upper-torso pellets are padded.
MAR-9
The marksman rifle takes the largest range cut of the day. Max damage now ends at 20.8m instead of 30.7m, and the torso multipliers that made body shots compete with headshots are flattened.
| Range | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Max (50 dmg) | 0–30.7m | 0–20.8m |
| Medium 1 (48 dmg) | 30.8–44.4m | 20.9–39.3m |
| Medium 2 (46 dmg) | 44.5–53.5m | 39.4–51.3m |
| Minimum (37 dmg) | after 53.5m | after 51.43m |
- Neck multiplier 1.2x → 1.1x
- Upper torso multiplier 1.2x → 1.0x
- Lower torso multiplier 1.05x → 1.0x
Headshots still matter. Centre-mass shots at 25 metres do not get the same help they did yesterday.
Audio
- Artillery Beacon: explosion mix adjusted again to cut secondary echo and make the cue clearer. Sunday already remixed this streak; today is a follow-up pass.
Bug fixes
Player-facing fixes in this drop:
- Incorrect Cons text on the Kastov 762 Cronen Zero-K and Bruen Clash-40 optics.
- An out-of-bounds issue on Cachette.
- Lobby music sometimes continuing after the match started.
- Operator icons in the Social bar displaying or updating incorrectly.
- Gunny unlock notifications repeating — this was still listed as in-progress on Sunday.
- Best Play selection including a clip where the player died mid-play.
What’s next
Tuesday wraps Early Access Beta. Open Beta runs Friday, August 28 through Tuesday, September 1. Infinity Ward says more Patch Notes will land every full day of Open Beta, with further weapon and attachment tuning expected once that window opens.
Full Beta schedule, platforms, and rewards: MW4 Beta hub. Sunday’s content drop (Lotus, 3v3 Gunfight, Transit 24/7): August 23 patch notes.
Source: Call of Duty — Modern Warfare 4 Beta Patch Notes (August 24, 2026). Reporting by Chandler Bellgrave. This page covers today’s (Monday) update only — not the August 21 launch notes, the August 22 patch, or the August 23 update.
Source: official Call of Duty / Activision information, cross-checked against the MW4 archive. This page is an independent reference.