Black Ops Cold War Beta Dates Announced

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is the game on everyone’s mind following today’s multiplayer reveal. The high octane multiplayer showing has the Call of Duty faithful ready to get their hands on Treyarch’s latest Black Ops installment, which happens to be a direct sequel to the first game. Thankfully, the wait for the beta isn’t terribly far off. Then again, neither is the full release of the game.

Much like Modern Warfare (2019), Black Ops Cold War will release its beta in stages across two weekends. Sony’s current partnership with Activision means their console is up first. PlayStation players who secure a pre-order will once again be given the longest period to play. Here’s a detailed breakdown of the image above.

October 8-9: PlayStation 4 & 5 Pre-Orders

The initial days of the first beta weekend are reserved for those that have reserved a copy of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. Keep in mind that a reservation isn’t the only prerequisite. A current PS Plus subscription is required. Interestingly enough, the PlayStation Blog states that pre-orders for either the PlayStation 4 or the upcoming PlayStation 5 version of the game will trigger this early access period. I’d wager this is referring to the Cross-Gen Bundle available on the PS Store.

October 10-12: All PlayStation 4 Players

The rest of the weekend opens up to the remainder of PlayStation 4 owners regardless of early buy-in. As with the Early Access period for pre-orders, a PS Plus subscription is necessary to partake in the mutliplayer preview.

October 15-16: Xbox One/Xbox Series X/PC Pre-Orders + All PlayStation 4 Players

The second, and final, beta kicks off crossplay by bringing PC and Xbox One into the mix with the PlayStation players from the end of the previous weekend. Xbox Series X pre-orders also qualify for Xbox One Early Access, but again this is likely via the Cross-Gen Bundle on the Microsoft Store. Also note that Xbox Live Gold is required. PC players can secure their spot by reserving the Standard or Ultimate Edition on Blizzard.net. The only additional requirement for PC is having a Battle.net account, which should go without saying.

October 17-19: All Players

The final stretch of Weekend 2 closes things out by allowing all members of each platform to join the crossplay-enabled mayhem. Online subscriptions are still necessary where previously mentioned.

Keep in mind that Early Access seems to be tied solely to pre-orders of digital copies. Physical copy reservations do not provide a beta code for the Early Access period for either weekend. No such offer can be found at the following stores currently offering pre-orders for both generation variants: Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop, and Walmart.

If you want to get an idea of what to expect from Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War before you join up with the CIA or DGI, check out our hands-on impressions.