Skip to main content

Ready to answer the ‘Call’? ‘Infinite Warfare’ beta kicks off in a few weeks

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare‘s multiplayer beta test will kick off on October 14 for PlayStation 4 users, publisher Activision has announced.

The beta will be available through the weekend exclusively to those who pre-ordered the game on PlayStation 4. Users must like their PlayStation Network usernames to a Call of Duty account to participate in the beta. Activision says that beta access will “vary by territory” but has not clarified which regions will be restricted from participating.

Recommended Videos

The following weekend, beginning on October 21, the beta will be made available to anyone who pre-ordered the game on either PlayStation 4 or Xbox One. The PC will not be receiving a beta test, though last year’s Call of Duty: Black Ops III featured a beta on the platform.

The Call of Duty franchise has certainly thrown its hat into the PlayStation 4 camp in recent years. Early beta test and map pack access was given to Sony’s players for Black Ops III, and in addition to those perks, both Black Ops III and Infinite Warfare will also support improved visuals on the PlayStation 4 Pro console. The improved horsepower will allow for 4K visuals and “richer textures” along with the series’ expected 60-frames-per-second gameplay.

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare‘s multiplayer component looks to build on the elements that have made the series so popular, with improved customization and specialized “rigs” that make different characters feel like something out of Blizzard’s Overwatch. The campaign, meanwhile, takes the series away from planet Earth for the first time, with a futuristic plot centered on a villain played by Game of Thrones‘ Kit Harington.

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare launches for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on November 4. It will be the first game since the launch of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 that will not appear on their predecessors at all.

Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
The best Call of Duty games, ranked
Soldier holding weapon in Modern Warfare II.

Few video game series are as influential and popular as Call of Duty. The annualized franchise throws players into fast-paced battles across various historical time periods -- along with fictional eras as well. Call of Duty has taken us to World War II, the Cold War, a modern setting, and even to the future.

Although it's one of the most successful video game franchises out there, Call of Duty's quality varies significantly from game to game, with some fantastic entries in the series, but many mediocre ones as well. But which Call of Duty games are worth your time and which ones should you skip? To answer that question, we've ranked all the mainline entries in the series, with details about why you should or shouldn't play a particular game.

Read more
You might want to wait a bit to play Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 on Steam
A player runs in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 multiplayer.

It's Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 launch day, which means potentially millions of players are hopping into the new single-player campaign, the updated multiplayer mode, and Zombies. While posts online about the performance of the game seem to be minimal, there have been reported issues on PC, specifically via Steam.

It's been a common story lately about players being mad at third-party launchers on Steam, and that remains the case for Black Ops 6. Call of Duty's is called Call of Duty HQ (COD HQ), and it's a hub for players to manage their game installs, whether they want to only download certain game modes or launch a specific game. It seems as if players can only switch between modes through the launcher and have to go through multiple menus to boot the game up. In the worst cases, they can't launch the game at all.

Read more
3 new Xbox Game Pass games to play this weekend (October 25-27)
A player holds a dead player as a body shield in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.

It's Call of Duty week on Xbox Game Pass. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 launched today, and from day one, it's a part of Game Pass Ultimate's game catalog. It's one of the big payoffs of Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Depending on how it performs, it may be one of the most important games to ever come to the subscription service. On top of that, other Call of Duty games finally got Xbox Cloud Gaming support, which required collaboration with Ubisoft because of certain concessions made during the Activision Blizzard acquisition process. If you're an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscriber wondering what you should play this weekend, the obvious answer is Call of Duty.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 - Global Launch Gameplay Trailer

After four years, the Call of Duty: Black Ops series has made its grand return. It brings the series' story to the 1990s with a spy-movie-like campaign that sees players investigate a secret, nefarious organization that has infiltrated the American government. While the campaign alone is reason enough to check out the new Call of Duty on Xbox Game Pass, Black Ops 6 also features meaty multiplayer and Zombies modes. Multiplayer is as exhilarating as ever, with an emphasis being placed on an "omnimovement" system that allows players to dive, roll, and dodge enemies with a lot more freedom than they could before. Meanwhile, Zombies mode finds a solid balance between old and new mechanics. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is available via PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox Cloud Gaming with a Game Pass Ultimate subscription. It's also on PS4 and PS5.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III technically came to the subscription service in July but was restricted to PC and console play. Now, alongside Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Modern Warfare III is playable via Xbox Cloud Gaming for Game Pass Ultimate subscribers. This was a lesser entry in the series with a disappointing campaign, but if you're looking for another premium Call of Duty game to try after playing lots of Black Ops 6, Modern Warfare III is the only other one on the service. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III is available to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers across PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox Cloud Gaming. It's also on PS4 and PS5.
Call of Duty: Warzone
Finally, Call of Duty: Warzone also comes to Xbox Cloud Gaming today. This free-to-play battle royale title doesn't require any sort of subscription to play normally, but Game Pass subscribers now have the benefit of not needing to be tethered down by specific hardware. So far, there aren't any other additional in-game perks for Game Pass subscribers, but hopefully Warzone will follow Overwatch 2's lead and add some soon enough. If you aren't using Xbox Cloud Gaming, Call of Duty: Warzone is playable on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

Read more