Sony values Call of Duty a lot. So much so that when it was offered four years of continued access to all Activision Blizzard games (should its Microsoft merger go through), it turned it down in favour of ten years of just Call of Duty. PlayStation clearly believes that its players want the latest Call of Duty above all else, so it wouldn't be surprising to see the company get beta exclusivity once again.
According to a now-deleted YouTube video, it's getting just that. As spotted online, an Arabic PlayStation video boasts that players will be able to access the Modern Warfare 3 beta "at least five days before any other platforms". This is the same deal Sony has had for the previous Modern Warfare reboots, but it could be the last, as the Microsoft acquisition may have been completed by the time the next game is announced.
This apparent video was taken down before we could see it, but not before it could be screenshot and shared on Twitter. @BKTOOR_ is one of the accounts sharing it, also providing a Google translation of the text on the image.
"Play the demo first on PlayStation," reads the ad being shared around. "Available on PlayStation at least five days before any other platform. Pre-order required to access early beta."
It's also been confirmed that Modern Warfare 3 will be launching on last gen, unlike some 2023 releases. Therefore, the beta will presumably be on PS4 as well as PS5, although that itself hasn't been confirmed.
If you are on Xbox, it's not the biggest loss in the world though. It seems that the gap between beta access will be a matter of days, and all platforms have the same launch date. I also think it's fair to say that we know how Modern Warfare 3 will play, it's no great mystery.
While it's not a guarantee, it's very possible that Modern Warfare 3 will be the last Call of Duty game released before Microsoft acquires Activision Blizzard. The deal still needs approval in the UK, but getting past the FTC in the US has pushed a huge hurdle out of the way. This was helped by Sony finally agreeing to a deal on the future of Call of Duty, guaranteeing that PlayStation fans will be able to play further instalments for at least ten years. Microsoft has reached similar deals with Nintendo and various cloud gaming platforms, so Xbox won't be hogging any more Call of Duty sequels should the acquisition happen anytime soon.