Episode 600: Modern Warfare 4 Beta vs WARDOGS — Both Land August 21

Episode 600. On August 21st the Modern Warfare 4 early access beta, the WARDOGS closed beta, and Call of Duty NEXT all land on the same day — and the two games are asking for wildly different amounts of money.

We go through everything Activision is cramming into the MW4 beta: a playable campaign mission called Entrenched, six multiplayer maps, the return of Ground War, and a brand new Warzone Resurgence map called Zodiac. Then we put odds on whether any of it actually works over a single weekend. Spoiler: 20%.

Omnimovement is gone. We get into what replaced it, whether removing it was a gameplay decision or a marketing one, and why "you can climb pipes now" is the funniest thing Infinity Ward has ever put in a press release.

On the WARDOGS side: $39.99 Early Access on September 10, over a million Steam wishlists, and a promise of no in-game monetization that came out of one very bad Reddit post. We argue that the promise is a mistake — and that the most consumer-friendly thing a game can do is just be good.

Plus DMZ2, aim assist, and why Infinity Ward is about to be spread way too thin.

0:00 - Intro — 600 episodes

2:09 - Patreon free trials all August

4:02 - Patron hangout: August 28th

5:30 - Two betas, one Friday

6:49 - MW4 beta dates and the pre-order wall

7:44 - A campaign mission in a beta — a CoD first

10:23 - The battle dad theory