If Call of Duty: Black Ops still hasn't unlocked on Steam for you, here's what's going on

Call of Duty Black Ops release time

Call of Duty: Black Ops was released last night, with midnight launches across both the US and UK. But anyone who bought on Steam or Direct2Drive might be feeling a little left out - the game still hasn't unlocked. Those who bought the game in a shop are able to play, and you can see them merrily doing so on Steam's stats. But those who bought digitally are locked out until 7am. The tricky part is, 7am where?

Last night, UK customers were given a countdown to 7am UK time. When that came and went without the game actually unlocking, the Steam store page gave up showing a countdown in the UK at all. In the US, it's ticking down to 7am Pacific Standard Time - 3pm here in the UK. Elsewhere in the world, customers are reporting being able to play from 7am in their local time zone. So it's local for some, US-time for others. But by 7am PST/3pm GMT, the game should be unlocked everywhere. Direct2Drive say that's when they'll be sending out keys to those who bought through them.

While PC Gamer does secretly rule the world, we can't be everywhere at once. So if you've bought the game, let us know in the comments where you are, whether it's unlocked for you, and how you bought it.

While you wait, check out the game's extraordinary menu sequence , and the bizarre top-down arcade shooter you can unlock.

PCGamer

Hey folks, beloved mascot Coconut Monkey here representing the collective PC Gamer editorial team, who worked together to write this article! PC Gamer is the global authority on PC games—starting in 1993 with the magazine, and then in 2010 with this website you're currently reading. We have writers across the US, UK and Australia, who you can read about here.