Call of Duty: Black Ops - Cold War beta confirmed for October
The multiplayer beta will come to PC and Xbox after a PS4-exclusive weekend.
Call of Duty: Black Ops – Cold War is coming in November, and in what is now a well-established tradition a beta test will take place about a month before it comes out. Activision announced the beta dates today, and in what is rapidly becoming another Call of Duty tradition, PlayStation 4 players will get to go first.
The PS4-exclusive period will begin on October 8 for anyone who's preordered the game, and then roll into a PS4 open beta from October 10-12. The next weekend, beginning on October 15, the beta will open up to players who have preordered on PC and Xbox, and of course PS4 players will continue to have access. From October 17-19, the beta will be thrown open to everyone.
The modes that will be playable during the beta tests weren't revealed, but a message of the day posted on Charlie Intel indicates that there will be more than what was available during the PS4 alpha test that ran over the past weekend. And if you happened to play in that session and found the sniper rifles to be a little out of hand, Treyarch designer Tony Flame said on Twitter that they were buffed specifically for the alpha test, and will be dialed back for the beta.
Ok let's talk Sniping in Cold War.Crossplay is coming, but we knew it wouldn't be in Alpha. We buffed Snipers to evaluate their performance in this Alpha specifically. Sniper Rifles WILL have balance changes for the upcoming Beta based on our analytics data this weekend.September 18, 2020
Call of Duty: Black Ops – Cold War is set to go into full release on November 13.
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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.