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Black Ops 4 Blackout beta - start dates and times, how to get a code for the Call of Duty battle royale

The Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Blackout beta starts today and runs all week, and there's probably a lot you want to find out.

These past few days, Activision and Treyarch have been slowly revealing many details about Call of Duty: Black Ops 4's Blackout map and mode.

This is the first attempt at a battle royale mode in a Call of Duty game, after all, so all eyes are naturally on the teams to deliver something that fans of Call of Duty, and those who can't stop playing battle royale modes in other games, will find enjoyable.

On this page, we'll be going over the hard details of how to get into the beta, the schedule, content, the Blackout map and so on. We also have a section dedicated to some of the more crucial Blackout details like player count, zombies, vehicles and a few other gameplay changes exclusive to Blackout.

Cover image for YouTube video

When does the Black Ops 4 Blackout beta start?

The Black Ops 4 Blackout beta will be available starting Monday, September 10 at 10am PT, 1pm ET, 6pm BST. During this initial launch, the Blackout beta will only be available on PS4, all the way until Friday, September 14.

On Friday at 10am PT, 1pm ET, 6pm BST, the Blackout beta will be expanded to include both PC, and Xbox One. PS4 players will continue to have access until the beta ends.

Just like it was with the regular multiplayer beta, PC players will also get the chance to try out the game completely free. The PC open beta will be available starting Saturday, September 15 at 10am PT, 1pm ET, 6pm BST on Battle.net. But, if you watch one of these Twitch live streams you'll be given a token to access the PC beta on Friday, a day early.

All you need to play is a free Battle.net account. Activision has not announced any plans for open betas on either PS4, or Xbox One.

When does the Black Ops 4 Blackout beta end?

The Black Ops 4 Blackout beta will wrap up on Monday, September 17 at 10am PT, 1pm ET, 6pm BST. This goes for all platforms.

Can you pre-load the Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Blackout beta?

Yes, the beta will be available to pre-load on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Technically, if you didn't delete the first beta's install off your console/PC, you already have a large chunk of game files on your drive.

Those who kept the multiplayer beta installed will just need to download a patch to be able to access Blackout.

How big is the Black Ops 4 Blackout beta?

The Blackout beta download is somewhere between 15 and 17GB, depending on your platform.

How to get into the Black Ops 4 Blackout beta

The Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Blackout beta is not open to all players. The only guaranteed way of getting in is pre-ordering a copy of the game at retail, or digitally through the PlayStation Store, Xbox Store, or Battle.net for PC. Pre-ordering at retail gets you a token you can redeem on the official Call of Duty site, which in turn provides you with a PS4/Xbox One code for the beta.

If your pre-order was made digitally through PSN/Xbox Store/Bnet, you will be able to download the beta through your console's store (or the Bnet app) when it becomes available.

If pre-ordering is not an option, you should still watch out for key giveaways online. Treyarch gave away a bunch of codes during the last beta on Twitter, and the same will likely happen with Blackout, too.

If you've already done this song and dance with the multiplayer beta, you won't need to do anything else. Just re-download the beta from your library, or if it's still installed, just wait for a patch that'll turn your existing client into the Blackout beta.

Activision has not said if the Black Ops 4 Blackout beta on PS4/Xbox One will be opened to all players at some point in the future, though you may not want to hold your breath. PC is the only platform with a confirmed open beta, as we've outlined above.

Blackout map

What PC specs will I need for the Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Blackout PC beta?

Treyarch has confirmed the minimum and recommended PC specs for Blackout. As you may remember, these are the same as the multiplayer beta, with the exception of the hard drive space requirement, which has been increased for this beta.

Black Ops 4 PC beta minimum specs

  • OS: Windows 7 64-Bit or later
  • CPU: Intel Core i5 2500k or AMD equivalent
  • RAM: 8GB RAM
  • HDD: 40GB HD space
  • Video: Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 2GB / GTX 1050 2GB or AMD Radeon HD 7850
  • DirectX: Version 11.0 compatible video card or equivalent
  • Network: Broadband Internet connection
  • Sound Card: DirectX Compatible

Black Ops 4 PC beta recommended specs

  • OS: Windows 10 64 Bit
  • CPU: Intel Core i7 4770k or AMD equivalent
  • RAM: 12GB RAM
  • HDD: 40GB HD space
  • Video: Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 / GTX 1060 6GB or AMD Radeon R9 390 / AMD RX 580
  • DirectX: Version 11.0 compatible video card or equivalent
  • Network: Broadband Internet connection
  • Sound Card: DirectX Compatible

What kind of content is in the Black Ops 4 Blackout beta?

Being a battle royale mode, the Black Ops 4 Blackout beta will only have one map. It's Call of Duty's biggest map ever, though, full of locations modelled after fan favourite maps from Treyarch's history like Nuketown, Turbine etc.

Treyarch promised that several characters will be playable in the beta. These are just cosmetic models, obviously, but you could end up looking like Mason or one of the many Zombies heroes. The Blackout beta also has its own, Blackout-only characters.

Outside of that, you can expect a whole host of weapons and tools for you to loot and make use of. Blackout has four vehicles, including a helicopter. They can all be used for transportation or scouting, but the truck lets you store loot in the back for use later.

Blackout supports 88 players in the beta, though this number could change for launch. You can play it solo, with a friend in duos, or three other friends in quads.

You'll be able to carry two primary weapons and hunt for various healing items. All players spawn with a knife, just in case you can't get to a weapon fast enough.

The latest update means that you can now pick up items faster and the quick equip menu, which you bring up by clicking up on the Dpad, will now automatically disappear when you don’t use it for five seconds.

The sensor dart has also been altered. Some players were using its unlimited availability as a way of permanently scanning a certain area for enemies. The sensor dart will now stop detecting enemies after two minutes.

Perks are set to make a return in Blackout, but they can only be used for a limited time. Some of these are modified versions of existing multiplayer perks, while others are new to the game.

Zombies can spawn in Blackout, but only at specific locations. There is a chance that upon killing they'll drop rare items, and some come straight from the Zombies mode like monkey grenades.

Headshots for the Koshka and Paladin will no longer one-shot players with 200HP, players will be relieved to hear.

Level 3 armour, one of the most controversial items in the game, now doesn’t ignore explosive damage. On the subject of armour balance, Treyarch said it’s testing a couple of other balance changes for armour and some of these changes may appear tomorrow.

One of the changes that could be happening is that Level 3 armour may transfer some of the damage received to player health in the future, rather than absorb most of it. The rate of level 3 armour spawn is also being altered, but this is means level 2 armour will require a tweak to balance this change.

The bizarre ladder climbing glitch could hopefully be fixed in time for PC and Xbox players joining the beta. Climbing down seems to be a massive problem with many players falling and taking damage unnecessarily.

Finally, Zombies are getting their attack range nerfed, with a fix for this on the way.

Experimental Modes

Experimental modes are going to feature heavily in the beta and the first of these is the special Fast Collapse event. This playlist was made available yesterday to all players, and the main difference here is that the circle encroaches at “almost double” the rate of the regular mode.

There will be more events on the horizon and we'll update you once they're announced.

Is PlayStation Plus/Xbox Live Gold required to play the Black Ops 4 Blackout beta?

You will not need a PlayStation Plus subscription to play the PS4 beta. On Xbox One, however, an active Xbox Live Gold membership is required to play.

Black Ops 4

Does progress in the Black Ops 4 Blackout beta carry over to the full game?

No, all your Blackout beta progress will not carry over to the full game at launch. All stats will be wiped at the end of the test. Check out our early impressions of Blackout here.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 launches October 12 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

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Sherif Saed

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Sherif (he/him) is VG247’s go-to shooter and Souls-likes person. Whether it’s news, reviews, or op-eds – Sherif is always eager to tell you about video games. He's one of VG247's most veteran writers, with 10+ years experience on the site.

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