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Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War beta dates confirmed

Sherif Saed avatar
News by Sherif Saed Contributor
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The Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War beta will kick off early in October.

On today's Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War multiplayer reveal stream, Treyarch confirmed that the game's upcoming multiplayer beta will go live October 8, first on PS4.

If that date sounds familiar, it's because - like many other details - it was leaked just last week.

The Black Ops Cold War beta setup should be familiar to Call of Duty fans. The first sessions are open only to players who pre-ordered the full game before they later let everyone in. PS4 goes first, followed by PC and Xbox One October 15.

There are two weekends of Black Ops Cold War Beta content with each weekend lasting a total of around five days, scheduled to begin each Thursday morning at 10am, with exact timing to be decided.
Here's the schedule:

  • Weekend 1: PlayStation 4 Exclusive Beta
    • The first Beta Weekend is exclusively for PlayStation 4 owners, running from Thursday, October 8 to Monday, October 12.
  • Weekend 1: Early Access
    • Thursday, October 8, and Friday, October 9 are available for early access on PlayStation 4 to players who have pre-ordered Black Ops Cold War on PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 5.
  • Weekend 1: Open
    • Saturday, October 10, to Monday, October 12 is free to all PlayStation 4 owners. PlayStation Plus may be a requirement in some territories.
  • Weekend 2: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, & PC Beta (Crossplay)
    • The second Beta Weekend is for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC owners, starting from Thursday, October 15, and running to Monday, October 19.
    • If you’re a PlayStation 4 owner, regardless of whether or not you pre-ordered the game, you can resume and continue to play the Open Beta free for the entire Weekend 2 period.
  • Weekend 2: Early Access
    • The first two days of the weekend – Thursday, October 15, and Friday, October 16, – are available for early access to anyone who has pre-ordered or pre-purchased the game on Xbox One/ Xbox Series X, or on PC via Blizzard Battle.net respectively.
    • If you’re an Xbox One or PC owner and want to play Weekend 2 of the Beta for the longest possible time, be sure to pre-order. This period will be open for PS4 players.
  • Weekend 2: Open
    • The rest of the Open Beta period, running from Saturday, October 17, to Monday, October 19, is accessible to all players on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or PC. If you’ve got an Xbox One, Xbox Live Gold is required to play. If you have a PC, a Battle.net account is required to play.
    • Other than these prerequisites and an internet connection, you should have everything you need to play. And as a reminder, the Weekend 2 of the Beta Test will include crossplay.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is out November 13 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series S/X. You'll be able to upgrade your current-gen copy for $10.

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