Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Beta: When Does It Start and How to Get a Code

The big Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 reveals planned for the Call of Duty NEXT event are almost here, and almost immediately after players get a new look at everything included in the next Call of Duty game, they’ll be able to play the multiplayer component for the first time. That’s because the Black Ops 6 multiplayer beta is scheduled to take place just a few days after Call of Duty NEXT with two weekends planned for players to take part, so long as they’ve got early access codes in order to play in both weekends. 

Like pretty much every other Call of Duty beta before this one, there are stages to the Black Ops 6 beta and ways to make sure you’re able to play as soon as possible alongside everyone else. If you’re an annual Call of Duty player who wants to see what Omnimovement and other features are all about, here’s what you need to know about the upcoming Black Ops 6 beta: 

When Is the Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Beta?

There are two answers to the question of when the Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 beta takes place, and those answers depend on whether you’re going to be playing in the early access version of the beta or the open one that’s available to everyone. As Activision and Treyarch announced previously, the Black Ops 6 beta will start on August 30th at 10 a.m. PT, but only for those who are able to play in early access. It’ll last from then until September 4th and will only be available to early access adopters during that timeframe.

A few days later, another beta will take place. This one will be the open Black Ops 6 beta that’s available to everyone starting on September 6th. It’ll run from then until September 9th at 10 a.m. PT with multiplayer access granted to all players at that time, though it’s unclear now if the content in the first week of the beta will differ from what’s in the second barring any changes or bugfixes Treyarch has to make.

How to Get Into the Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Beta

For the second weekend of the beta, you don’t really have to do anything at all other than download the Black Ops 6 beta on whatever your preferred platform is and then get going. Unlike past Call of Duty betas and other opportunities that were exclusive to PlayStation as they have been for many years, this Black Ops 6 beta launches on all platforms simultaneously, so no platform exclusions here.

Thankfully, you don’t have to opt into a pricier version of the game to play the beta early. By simply preordering Black Ops 6, you can get a code. If you preorder the Call of Duty game via the Microsoft Store, PlayStation Store, Battle.net, or Steam, you won’t need a code and can just download the beta during the first weekend. If you get the game from a different retailer or through a physical edition, you’ll be able to find your code either sent to you by whatever retailer you went with or on a receipt if you preordered the physical edition.

Again, the codes aren’t needed for Week 2, so you’ll only need them in time for the first Black Ops 6 beta. For those who don’t preorder, there’s a chance that more codes will be distributed through giveaways or through Activision itself, but there’s no guarantee that’ll happen, so preordering is the safest option.