Towards the end of last month, we got the first taste of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War via its alpha, and we won’t have to wait much longer to try out the game’s beta, which is currently scheduled to launch for PlayStation 4 users on October 8, or October 10 if you haven’t pre-ordered it. As previously reported, PS4 users will get the first crack at the game’s beta, while users on other platforms will have to wait until October 15.
According to one of Treyarch‘s lead developers, Tony Flame, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s beta will be a big upgrade over the alpha, saying that he doesn’t think people realize what the dev team is capable of doing in such a short amount of time. He added that the game’s beta will have new core features and new lobby music and that nearly everything in it has taken a leap forward.
“The Black Ops Cold War Beta is quite an upgrade over the Alpha,” said the Treyarch developer on Twitter. “I don’t think anyone quite realizes what this team can do in a short amount of time. From new features to the core feel, nearly everything has taken leaps forward. My favorite part tho: the new lobby music kicks it.”
Earlier this week, we got our first look at Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s zombies mode, which, unsurprisingly, is returning for the upcoming game. Shortly thereafter, Activision‘s James Mattone detailed what’s new in the mode, one of which is the upgradeable weapon rarities.
“All weapons will now have a rarity associated with them,” Mattone explains. “The higher the rarity, the greater the damage output and attachments for the weapon. For the first time, this will allow any weapon in the game to be sustainable in later rounds. This also adds more variety and fun to finding new weapons through Wall Buys and the Mystery Box.”
Also, both Activision and Treyarch have made it clear that they’re not abandoning Call of Duty: Warzone after the launch of Black Ops Cold War, as they’re going to add assets from their newest COD title to the already existing free to play application. So, it looks like Warzone won’t be going away anytime soon.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is scheduled to launch for current-gen consoles — PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC — on November 13, with the next-gen versions coming sometime during the holiday season.