Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 beta begins August 3rd; Battle Royale in September

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is looking to be one of the most different Call of Duty games since Advanced Warfare in 2014 and due to that, some fans are a bit nervous. To ease concerns, Activision and Treyarch have announced two betas that will begin in just a few short weeks!

Fans of the acclaimed FPS series can go hands-on with Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 from the comfort of their home starting on August 3rd if they’re playing on PlayStation 4. Xbox One and PC players can expect to get in on the action a week later. You can get the full details on dates and times below.

• PlayStation 4 (Starts: August 3 at 10am/PT – Ends: August 6 at 10am/PT)
• PlayStation 4 and Xbox One (Starts: August 10 at 10am/PT – Ends: August 13 at 10am/PT)
• PC Beta Early Access (Starts: August 10 at 10am/PT) *PC exclusively on Battle.Net
• PC Open Beta (Starts: August 11 at 10am/PT – Ends: August 13 at 10am/PT)

Six maps will be made available in the Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 beta (Frequency, Contraband, Payload, Seaside, Hacienda, and Gridlock) and players will have the chance to play TDM, Domination, Hardpoint, Search and Destroy, and the new mode called Control. Control sees teams attacking and defending static objective points with a limited number of lives, making strategy and skill a key factor in who wins.

When it comes to selecting all the toys you want to play with in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, you’ll get to access to the beloved Pick 10 system and some new additions. Specialists now have special equipment specific to their character beyond their normal power move, you can select an optional piece of ‘Gear’ which grants you bonuses like cheaper scorestreaks, the ability to heal faster, and more. Finally, you’ll have access to new weapon-specific attachments and “a new class of powerful attachments” called Operator Mods.

Treyarch has only announced two playable Specialists for the Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 beta, Nomad and Prophet, but it is unclear if more will be made available when it begins. But the fun doesn’t stop there… In September, fans will get to experience the new Battle Royale mode built for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 known as Blackout.

“This is an exciting opportunity for us at Treyarch because – not only are we putting more content into players’ hands earlier than ever before – we get to break new ground by hosting two separate Beta experiences,” said Co-Studio Head Dan Bunting. “Games are better when they’re a result of a dialogue with our community. Not only does it improve the game’s quality, but it allows us to respond to player feedback and custom-craft the experience to how players engage most with the game. We want launch day to be a celebration that players around the world can enjoy together, and we know it won’t stop there – we will always work tirelessly to improve, grow, and evolve the game beyond launch.”

There’s no specific date or details for the Blackout beta yet but Activision promises to share more details in the near future. The Blackout beta will come first on PS4 just like the MP beta in August.

“Everyone who works on Blackout or plays is always eager to share a story they have,” said Studio Design Director, David Vonderhaar. “That game session might be a triumphant victory or a tragic loss — it might be how land, sea, and air vehicles collided in unexpected ways for a final showdown — or, it just might be a funny fail moment. No matter what, when people get done playing and want to tell the story of what happened to them afterwards, you know you have something special.”

“The team has been having a ridiculous amount of fun playing it internally. We are so excited to be able to share that fun with you in September. The community feedback generated from going hands-on is always incredibly important, and it’s never been more so than with Blackout,” added Treyarch Senior Producer, Yale Miller.

Those who participate in the MP beta will be granted a special calling card in the final release. If you go the extra mile and achieve the max rank in the beta, you’ll also get a free permanent unlock token for any piece of gear in the final game so you can unlock whatever weapon you want right when you start the game regardless of whatever rank you need to be to unlock it.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 will release on October 12th, 2018 for Xbox One, PS4, and PC. Players can pre-order now for access to the beta or if you’re an XFINITY subscriber, you’ll be given complimentary access to the MP beta in August.