You are cordially invited to click on faces until they burst in a shower of blood this weekend in the open beta test for Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4, which officially starts tomorrow (or today for narcs who pre-order) and has already started pre-loading. The beta packs six modes and six maps. The cooperative Zombies mode isn’t in this beta and nor’s the new battle royale mode, Blackout, but it still sounds like it’s packing enough Cod for several suppers.

The beta will begin at 6pm (10am Pacific) on Saturday the 11th of August then run until 6pm (same) on Monday the 13th. It’s all running through Blizzard’s Battle.net client. Fire that up and in the left-hand menu you should see Black Ops 4 and have the option to install it.

While Cod has been Steamy for years, Activision aren’t delivering this year’s catch there because they’re trying to expand Blizzard’s wee store into one for all Actiblizzard games. Presumably they’re sick of giving Valve a cut and think they can do better.

The download slammed 21GB down my cyberpipe, so those with slower connections might want to get started well in advance. Do check out the beta system requirements–which the devs stress are not the final game’s requirements–on the beta blog post.

“We have been waiting anxiously to get the game in to so many hands and are eager to hear the feedback,” the devs say. “In fact, at the conclusion of the multiplayer PC Beta a survey will be emailed to a group of participants. We encourage you to respond honestly with your experiences. But if you just want to play, that’s cool too!”



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If you wish to further prepare, the Cod blog has wee guides introducing some of the beta’s maps, unlocks, and tactical class pairings.

Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4 is due to launch on October 12th via the Battle.net store and client. It’s made by Treyarch, with Beenox chipping in on the PC version. Blops 4 will cost £50/$60, plus optionally £30 extra for the season pass. While many of Cod’s rivals are moving away from paid DLC towards free expansions and content updates, Activision are doubling down and making Cod’s DLC only available in the season pass – none of it sold separately.