'Call of Duty: Black Ops 4's Next Beta Has a 'Secret New Mode'

Another Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 beta is happening next week, this one with a new and [...]

Another Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 beta is happening next week, this one with a new and "secret" game mode, Treyarch teased.

The first beta for the new Call of Duty game just ended after welcoming players throughout the weekend to try out Black Ops IIII. Treyarch shared updates through the game's subreddit each day that the beta was live with more info on what was changing, while acknowledging players' concerns and feedback. Now that the first beta is finished, the most recent post from Treyarch that recapped the third day hinted at what's to come in next week's beta. After breaking down specific changes in an upcoming title update, Treyarch teased a new map and the "secret new mode."

"Just because Week 1 is coming to a close doesn't mean we're shutting things down ... we'll be back with a second week of Beta action starting this Friday (PS4/XB1/PC), which will feature a few new items that you'll want to jump in to see," Treyarch said. "We probably shouldn't reference the new map that you saw in the beta trailer, secret new mode that has been kept under tight wraps, new XP events, and/or new level caps that you'll see next week, so we definitely won't do that."

The teaser means that something's definitely coming, though what it is remains to be seen. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 has several features to look forward to — ranging from a battle royale mode to the revamped Nazi Zombies experience — but there's also a chance that this will be some totally new type of multiplayer game mode. At least one player encountered a bug when playing a game of Domination that led them to believe an "Escort" mission might be coming, so perhaps that's the case.

Battle royale in Call of Duty would be a huge change for the series and one that Activision itself says players are "very hungry" for, so it seems less likely that the game mode would be simply slipped into the next beta. Considering what Activision COO Coddy Johnson said about battle royale mode Blackout, you can expect plenty of promotion if it is indeed testable next week.

"We've also seen a tremendous interest in the new Blackout mode," Johnson said. "We teased earlier this week and we saw overwhelmingly positive response to the trailer we put out. I think the fans are really hungry for it. And we see it also on the playtest that we're doing, both with our own teams and the confidential tests that we bring consumers through. There is this moment-to-moment creation that happens now. Many Call of Duty games in the past were scripted, but in this the players are generating the wild helicopter rides, the takedowns from ATVs and truck beds, the powers and abilities that you find as you move through the map … It's putting in the hands of the fans this massive experience."

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