Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War beta release times, dates and beta access explained

Publish date: 2023-07-02

The Black Ops Cold War beta gives players a taste of what to expect from multiplayer ahead of the game's November release.

It follows on from the PS4-exclusive Black Ops Cold War alpha from last month, and though PlayStation owners will still get early access again here, the beta will be available on all platforms for free in the final few days.

This page explains Black Ops Cold War beta times and beta access for the weekends ahead.

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Black Ops Cold War beta release dates on PS4, Xbox One and PC

The Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War beta is available across two weekends - first exclusively for PS4, the second across PS4, Xbox One and PC, on the following dates:

First Modern Warfare beta weekend dates (PS4 only):

Thursday October 8th to Friday, October 9th: Early Access on PS4 (beta access required)
Saturday October 10th to Monday, October 12th: Open Beta on PS4 (free for all players)

Second Modern Warfare beta weekend dates (PS4, Xbox One and PC):

Thursday October 15th to Friday, October 16th: Open Beta on PS4 (free for PS4 players), Early Access on Xbox One and PC (beta access required)
Saturday October 17th to Monday, October 20th*: Open Beta on PS4, Xbox One, PC (free for all players)

* This was originally the 19th, until the beta was extended an extra day in the final weekend.

Black Ops Cold War beta release times in BST, CEST, EDT and PDT: When does the Black Ops Cold War beta start and end?

The Black Ops Cold War beta start times for both Early Access and Open Beta phases across all platforms on both weekends are as follows:

UK: 6pm (BST)
Europe: 7pm (CEST)
East Coast US: 1pm (EDT)
West Coast US: 10am (PDT)

The good news is there's a pre-load available ahead of time, allowing you to get playing right away...

Black Ops Cold War beta pre-load times

As well as the above start times, you can also start downloading the Early Access Beta early so you're ready to play as soon as it launches.

The Black Ops Cold War beta pre-load begins on Tuesday, October 6th for PS4 owners and Tuesday, October 13th for Xbox One and PC at the following start times:

UK: 4pm (BST)
Europe: 5pm (CEST)
East Coast US: 11am (EDT)
West Coast US: 8am (PDT)

The download is around 32GB on PS4 - giving you an idea of how much to clear ahead of time.

Black Ops Cold War beta access explained

By pre-ordering any edition either digitally or through select retailers, you'll get early Black Ops Cold War beta access on the Thursday and Friday before the open beta kicks off over at the weekend - with PS4 early access available on the first weekend, and Xbox One and PC on the second.

If you don't pre-order, however, you can still play the Black Ops Cold War beta - you just have to wait for the open beta dates that follow.

What's featured in the Black Ops Cold War beta?

The Black Ops Cold War beta is focused on multiplayer, with confirmation of the following ahead of the pre-load arriving:

"Traditional" 6v6 modes (the alpha featured Team Deathmatch, Domination, Kill Confirmed, which are likely to return)
VIP Escort mode
12v12 mode Combined Arms - a "vehicle-inclusive twist on traditional Domination, set in larger maps compared to the game's traditional 6v6 play spaces"
New mode Fireteam: Dirty Bomb
Beta-only ranking and progression, with the ability to try out Create-a-Class and Scorestreaks

More content is teased to roll out across both weekends.

Additionally, there are two rewards for playing the beta. The 'Adler' character will be unlocked in Call of Duty Mobile for simply playing, while reaching progression level 10 will unlock an Epic SMG weapon blueprint on Black Ops Cold War's full launch.

Once the two weekends are over and done with, the next stop is the Black Ops Cold War release in November.

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