Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 beta dates confirmed by Xbox, Activision

Another year, another CoD, another beta test.

Black Ops 6 operator with a gas mask and SMG
Image via Activision

The Xbox website has seemingly spilled the beans on when to expect the next Call of Duty beta to take place.

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Black Ops 6, set to launch on Oct. 25, will have its closed beta test take place starting on Aug. 30, according to the Xbox store listing. The open beta will begin the following week on Sept. 6 and be available for all players.

call of duty black ops 6 man on motorcycle with pistol
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“Pre-order any digital edition or subscribe to select Game Pass plans and get Open Beta Early Access starting August 30,” the listing says. “Play the free Open Beta starting September 6. Pre-order the Vault Edition to use the Hunters vs. Hunted Operator Pack and Mastercraft Weapon Collection during the Beta.”

Aug. 30 is a Friday, as is Sept. 6, so it’s likely that the closed beta will last through the beginning of the following week before going offline for updates before coming back online the following Friday to open up for everyone.

Currently, the only way to earn closed beta access is to pre-order the game. But as Microsoft now owns Activision, one change that’s been made for CoD is that there’s no longer any platform exclusivity. Both betas will be available on all platforms at the same time.

If the beta begins on Aug. 30, it will be just two days after the CoD Next event that takes place on Aug. 28. The yearly livestream will showcase multiplayer gameplay with content creators and pro players, along with potential first looks at Zombies mode, Warzone Mobile, and more.

During the event, additional information about BO6 will also be revealed. An early access period for the campaign or potentially even Zombies mode, information about season one, and intel on when BO6 will integrate into Warzone are potential topics to be covered.

Update on July 15 at 12:45pm CT: The beta dates have been confirmed at the end of the first episode of the new Call of Duty Podcast. The early access beta runs from Aug. 30 to Sept. 4, and the open beta runs from Sept. 6 to 9.

COD BO6 beta dates
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Scott Duwe
Senior Staff Writer & Call of Duty lead. Professional writer for over 10 years. Lover of all things Marvel, Destiny 2, Metal Gear, Final Fantasy, Resident Evil, and more. Previous bylines include PC Gamer, Red Bull Esports, Fanbyte, and Esports Nation. DogDad to corgis Yogi and Mickey, sports fan (NY Yankees, NY Jets, NY Rangers, NY Knicks), Paramore fanatic, cardio enthusiast.