Activision are reminding folks that the Open Beta for Call of Duty Modern Warfare is happening this weekend and is special as it will allow cross play, a first for the series.

How does Crossplay work? Here’s some helpful information you’ll need as you enjoy the Crossplay Open Beta.

1. You can Opt in, or Opt out:

In Modern Warfare, players can choose to enable crossplay, allowing players to play with friends on all three supported platforms, so the game offers an opt-in choice.

2. A COD Account is Needed:

Remember, you will need a COD Account to play Modern Warfare, if you don’t have one already you can create one here.

3. Matchmaking and Balancing:

In Modern Warfare, crossplay has been designed to factor play balancing across differences in controller type. No one should feel an unfair advantage. Plus, players have choices on which control device they wish to use on any platform. Here are some examples you may experience:

You can decide to use keyboard and mouse on PlayStation® 4 or Xbox One.

You can decide to use a controller on PC.

PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC players can all play against each other, provided they all utilise controllers, or all utilise KBM (a keyboard and mouse).

You can place into a lobby where there are no control scheme filters, allowing you to play with players using both controllers and/or KBM across up to all three supported platforms.

Plus, with the addition of crossplay, we anticipate that players should look forward to even shorter lobby wait times.

4. Adding your Friends and Gathering Parties:

Using your COD Account, you are able to create cross-platform Friends lists and Parties from all three supported platforms. This unites the community by removing barriers, creating platform-agnostic friend groups. Are you a PS4 player with friends on Xbox One and PC, for example? Now you can organise parties and jump into matches with your friends, easily and quickly regardless of platform!

5. Crossplay Applicable Modes:

Crossplay supports all multiplayer modes in Modern Warfare. There are no plans currently to support Ranked Play or competitive tournaments.

Infinity Ward hosted a brief Live Stream yesterday, to discuss the cross play options in more detail, you can check it out below.

While access to the beta is open for all, if you pre-order you can gain access a whole extra day in advance. The full game is being released on October 25 for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.