Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War PlayStation Partnership Announced, PS4 Getting Open Beta First

Activision’s reveal of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War brought us the first trailer for the game and the date it’ll release as well as information on how players will get their hands on it first. Like Call of Duty games before it, you’ll have the chance to try it early through a beta to be released at an unannounced date. Another trend continuing with this Call of Duty release is that it’ll feature a partnership with PlayStation once again which means those on the PlayStation 4 will have the first shot at that beta and presumably future content.

The trailer for Black Ops Cold War mentioned the pre-order bonuses and special editions players could opt for when they’re buying the game, but it was the PlayStation version of the trailer that showcased the console exclusivity PlayStation 4 (and eventually PlayStation 5) owners can look forward to. The closing moments of the trailer confirmed that pre-ordering the game would grant access to the open beta “First on PS4.”

It’s also worth noting that the information about the beta specified that only the digital versions of the game will grant buyers early access to the beta through pre-orders. It doesn’t look like that applies to the physical versions unless there’s something about the physical versions that isn’t made clear from the PlayStation Store’s listings.

One thing that hasn’t been confirmed about the beta yet is when it’ll actually start. Black Ops Cold War’s reveal comes quite close to the game’s release date since the game itself and its various special editions are launching on November 13th, so there’s not too much time between now and then for the beta to release. If it’s coming to the PlayStation 4 platform first and then to others later, it’ll have to be available for a while, so people will at least have plenty of time to take part and see what’s new this year.

As for the brief footage we see above the comes from the full trailer, that footage was recorded on a PlayStation 5 which gives us another look at some next-gen gameplay. Most of it was comprised of cutscenes and other cinematic moments, but we did get to see a glimpse of multiplayer at the end. A cross-gen bundle will be available for those on the PlayStation 4 who intend on upgrading to the PlayStation 5 and playing that console’s version of the game when it’s released.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War releases on November 13th.