Call of Duty is hopping on the battle royale hype train (currently dominated by Fortnite and PUBG) this year with the franchise's next entry, Black Ops 4. Ahead of the game's release, Treyarch and Activision are giving fans an early taste of the game's battle royale action, titled "Blackout," with a beta that kicks off this week. But for PC players, you'll want to make sure your rig is up to snuff before diving in.
Luckily, Treyarch today posted the recommended and minimum required specs to run the beta test. And if you participated in the previous Black Ops 4 beta last month, you'll largely know what to expect. Here's how things break down:
Minimum
- OS: Windows 7 64-Bit or later
- CPU: Intel Core i5 2500k or AMD equivalent
- RAM: 8GB RAM
- HDD: 40GB HD space
- Video: Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 2 GB / GTX 1050 2GB or AMD Radeon HD 7950
- DirectX: Version 11.0 compatible video card or equivalent
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
- Sound Card: DirectX Compatible
Recommended
- OS: Windows 10 64 Bit
- CPU: Intel Core i7 4770k or AMD equivalent
- RAM: 12GB RAM
- HDD: 40GB HD space
- Video: Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 / GTX 1060 6GB or AMD Radeon R9 390 / AMD RX 580
- DirectX: Version 11.0 compatible video card or equivalent
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
- Sound Card: DirectX Compatible
Overall, the specs line up with the previous beta test, albeit with a larger requirement for free hard drive space. Where the prior beta required 25GB of space, the Blackout beta gobbles up 40GB.
According to Activision, the Blackout map brings together several prominent map locales and characters from prior entries in the series. Locations include Nuketown, Firing Range, Raid, and Cargo. You'll also encounter characters like Mason, Reznov, Richtofen, and Crash.
The Blackout beta is already live for PlayStation 4 gamers starting today, but Xbox One and PC players will be able to jump in starting at 10 a.m. PT on September 14 and 15, respectively. While the Xbox beta will be a private one, open to those who have preordered the game, the PC beta is open to everyone through the Battle.net client. PC players who have preordered can also get in a day early, starting on September 14.
Updated September 11, 2018: Following the first day of testing, Treyarch has made a few changes to the beta, including raising the player count to 88.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is currently expected to release on all platforms on October 12, and Xbox One X owners can expect some specific enhancements to come along for the ride. Preorders for the game are currently open, starting at $59.99 for all platforms.
