Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 beta dates have been confirmed — here's when you can play it

What you need to know

• The dates for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6's closed and open beta periods appear to have leaked via the official Xbox website. 
• Per Xbox and the Call of Duty Blog, the closed beta (referred to as Open Beta Early Access) for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 begins on August 30, 2024, while the open beta is kicking off on September 6.
• The closed beta is available to anyone who has preordered the game, or is currently subscribed to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass.
• The betas have the same times across all platforms, meaning Xbox, Windows PC, and PlayStation players are all getting the same experience at the same time. 

Players won't be waiting too many more weeks before getting to check out Treyarch and Raven Software's latest combat multiplayer experience.

The closed beta and open beta dates for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 have appeared on the official Xbox website, with details that were briefly pulled before being confirmed on the Call of Duty Blog indicating that the closed beta (rereferred to as Open Beta Early Access) will kick off on Aug. 30, 2024 and run through September 4. Meanwhile, the open beta is slated to begin on Sep. 6, 2024, and will be available through September 9. 

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6's betas are open to all platforms at the same time

In years prior, the betas for a Call of Duty game could get pretty complicated, with PlayStation players getting earlier access (alongside numerous other perks) thanks to aggressive marketing deals. With Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, that's no longer the case, meaning players will be able to check out the betas for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 at the same time, no matter if they are choosing to play on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows PC, PlayStation 5, or PlayStation 4.

The closed beta is available for anyone who preorders the Cross-Gen bundle or Vault Edition of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, as well as being accessible to anyone currently subscribed to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass. The open beta is just that, open, with no preorders required in order to access it.

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Analysis: Exciting and equal opportunity

I'm looking forward to Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, and I'll definitely be trying to get some of my friends together to check out the beta. It's such a relief that it's now the same time across all platforms, as it was previously a headache to schedule or even keep dates tracked with the different periods of time and PlayStation early access. 

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is going to be a massive test case for Xbox and Activision, as it's the first Call of Duty game to ever launch day one into the highest tiers of the Xbox Game Pass subscription service. Other Call of Duty games from the back catalogue appear to be on the way as well though, and players can reportedly look forward to seeing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 in the service soon.