Early access starts August.
Image credit: Activision
With Call of Duty: Black Ops 6’s October launch on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC inching ever-closer, Activision Blizzard has announced a fresh set of dates for players’ diaries, confirming it’ll be hosting a multiplayer open beta this September, with those eligible for early access (which includes Game Pass subcribers) able to hop in one week prior.
Black Ops 6’s multiplayer open beta – that is, the actually open beta, accessible to all players on all platforms – starts 6pm BST/10am PT, 6th September to 9th September. It’ll let participants check out the game’s Omnimovement system (which basically lets you run in any direction, not just forward), a variety of brand-new Treyarch-built maps across a number of squad-enabled modes, a non-specific selection of weapons, equipment, and Perks, plus loadout building.
As for the not-quite-so-open “early access” beta, that kicks off a week earlier, running from 6pm BST/10am PT on 30th August and concluding on 4th September. This initial session is only open to players who’ve pre-ordered the game on their respective platforms (there’s no platform-exclusivity this time around) and to Game Pass subscribers.
Activision notes players who’ve pre-ordered the Vault Edition of Black Ops 6 can also use its items during the beta. So that’s all four Operators from the Hunter vs. Hunted pack (Park, Adler, Brutus, and Klaus), plus its five Mastercraft weapons – the LR 7.62, Marine SP, Ames 85, Jackal PDW, and combat knife.
The publisher adds it’ll be sharing more on Call of Duty: Black Ops 6’s campaign, multiplayer, and zombies content in the “coming days and weeks”. But if you want a bit more background on this year’s Call of Duty instalment right now, Eurogamer’s Chris Tapsell spoke to Treyarch earlier this year.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 launches for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC on 24th October. It’ll also be available day one as part of a Game Pass subscription, but Microsoft’s recent Game Pass service changes mean new members will now need to pay more if they want to access it on launch day.
