A new year means a new Call of Duty. This time around we've got Black Ops 4 — otherwise known as the Call of Duty without a single-player campaign. Lucky for us, that means more multiplayer content and a bigger beta. Here's how you can enter it. (Image credit: Activision) How do I get into the Black Ops 4 beta? You can get a beta key by pre-ordering the game from certain retailers. How long does the Black Ops 4 beta run? Activision prefers to keep things complicated, so there's three different betas and four different start times. Per Activision's beta calendar: 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) *The first day of the PC beta is exclusive to those who pre-order the PC version through Battle.Net. There will also be a beta in September for BLOPS 4's "Blackout" battle royale component, though no further details about that are available at this time. What can I do in the Black Ops 4 beta? The beta will feature a whopping six multiplayer maps and five modes, including the all-new Control mode, wherein teams have a limited number of lives and must capture and defend objectives while bleeding the enemy's respawn reserves. It sounds neat. The other modes are Team Deathmatch, Hardpoint, Domination, and Search & Destroy. As for zombie and battle royale content, stay posted — neither will be in this beta, but with the battle royale mode getting its playable debut in September, anything is possible. The full game releases October 12th, 2018. Credit: Activision<doc-sep>Activision and Treyarch today announced details for the Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 multiplayer beta and the battle royale Blackout beta. Two betas will be held for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, and the first is the multiplayer beta. The private multiplayer beta kicks off August 3 on PlayStation 4, followed shortly by PC and Xbox One. The PC beta will be exclusive to Battle.net. To gain access to the console beta, players will need a a Private Beta key provided when pre-ordering the game from select retailers. Players that pre-order digitally through the PlayStation or Xbox stores are automatically registered. PC players only need a Battle.net account to access the multiplayer beta, but those who pre-purchase through Battle.net will also get a full extra day. The schedule for all platforms is below. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 private multiplayer beta schedule PlayStation 4 (Starts: August 3 at 10am/PT – Ends: August 6 at 10am/PT) (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) and (Starts: August 10 at 10am/PT – Ends: August 13 at 10am/PT) PC Beta Early Access (Starts: August 10 at 10am/PT) (Starts: August 10 at 10am/PT) PC Open Beta (Starts: August 11 at 10am/PT – Ends: August 13 at 10am/PT) All participants in the beta will receive a calling card to display, and every player who achieves max rank earns a Permanent Unlock Token. This can be applied to Create-a-Class content when the game comes out. For the private multiplayer beta, players will fight through six maps. New Specialists will be playable along with returning Specialists Nomad and Prophet. Team Deathmatch, Domination, Hardpoint, Search & Destroy, and the brand-new objective-based game mode Control are playable. In Control, teams alternate rounds between attacking and defending two static objectives. Each team has a limited number of lives in this first-to-three wins match-up. The Pick 10 system was brought back to Create-a-Class and comes with some changes. Load out with Special Issue Equipment that’s designed exclusively for each Specialist without costing a point against Pick 10. Gear is an all new slot designed to up the ante on your style of gameplay. Only one piece of Gear can be used per loadout, so choose wisely. Weapons now have unique sets of attachments, including a new class of powerful attachments called Operator Mods, to really focus each gun on its individual role in combat. In September as second beta will be held for the Black Ops 4 battle royale experience, Blackout. It will be held first on PS4, with more details to come close to the end of summer. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 releases on October 12.<doc-sep>
Activision and Treyarch will give Call of Duty fans two opportunities to play Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 before the game launches. A multiplayer beta for the game’s traditional competitive modes will kick off in August, while a second beta, for the game’s battle royale-style Blackout mode, will start in September. PlayStation 4 owners will get first crack at Black Ops 4’s multiplayer beta on Aug. 3 through Aug. 6. The following week, on Aug. 10, the Black Ops 4 beta will be available on PS4, Xbox One and Windows PC through Battle.net. Here’s the full schedule for the game’s first beta, via Treyarch: 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) The multiplayer beta will include access to six maps and multiple Specialists, the game’s hero archetypes. Five game modes — Team Deathmatch, Domination, Hardpoint, Control and Search & Destroy — will be available. Details on when and how players will get access to the Blackout beta are still forthcoming, Activision and Treyarch said. Activision and Treyarch call the multiplayer beta “private” and players who pre-order Black Ops 4 will unlock access to it. The PC open beta will be open to everyone on Battle.net. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 will be released Oct. 12.