Play Call of Duty: Ghosts for free on Xbox 360 and Xbox One this weekend

By Ryan Fleming Published March 3, 2014

Call of Duty Ghosts — Image used with permission by copyright holder

If you are among the handful of Xbox 360 or Xbox One users that has been dying to try out a Call of Duty game, but for whatever reason have managed to avoid the last seven years worth of much-hyped, billion dollar releases, then this is your lucky day! Activision and Microsoft have teamed up to release a multiplayer demo of Call of Duty: Ghosts for the Xbox 360 and Xbox One, which will be free to play this coming weekend.

The demo will feature three multiplayer maps taken from the original, non-DLC set (Prison Break, Strikezone, and Warhawk), three multiplayer modes (Domination, Search & Rescue, and Team Deatmatch), and it will also include the first map of the co-op mode Extinction. The demo launches on March 7 at 10am PST, and concludes on March 10, although a specific time for when it ends was not listed. We reached out to reps for the game for clarification, and will update the post as needed.

Recommended Videos

It’s a little odd for a company to offer a demo to a game that has been on store shelves for nearly four months now, especially one that has sold millions of copies globally across multiple platforms (Activision has not released an exact number, but it did ship $1 billion worth of product on Ghosts‘ launch day), but why not? It could have something to do with the fact that a major, Xbox-exclusive, multiplayer-only release is set to launch just one day after the first demo period ends. Especially since said exclusive is the product of a studio founded by the creators of the Call of Duty series.

Call of Duty: Ghosts hasn’t been quite the success that its predecessor Call of Duty: Black Ops II was in terms of sales, but it is still one of the most successful games released in 2013. It won’t come close to matching Grand theft Auto V’s record-setting performance, but it’s still the best-selling title on both next-gen systems, and three more DLC packs are scheduled in the coming months which should further bolster sales (and profits).

So if you want to try out this newfangled “Call of Duty” franchise, you can do so this weekend by downloading the demo after logging in to your Xbox Live account.

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Ryan Fleming is the Gaming and Cinema Editor for Digital Trends. He joined the DT staff in 2009 after spending time covering…

Gaming

How to become Aetherella in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Zombies

A horde of zombies about to get slammed in Black Ops 6.

There are a lot of tips and tricks to learn just on the multiplayer side of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 but nothing can compare to how many secrets are tucked away in the Zombies mode. While there are only two maps at launch, they are both packed with Easter eggs to discover. If you've explored Liberty Falls then you've no doubt come across the statue of the supervillain known as Aetherella in the comic book shop, but did you know you can actually play as her? It's just as fun as it sounds, and will earn you a Trophy, but is not easy to do without some help.

Gaming

How to craft the Jet Gun in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Zombies

A soldier holding a giant jet engine gun in Black Ops 6.

In the world of Call of Duty Zombies, one type of weapon has always been the most powerful, but hard to get. Wonder Weapons are back in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and that includes the old favorite known as the Jet Gun. This jet-engine-looking weapon is part of a long string of steps you can only do on the Liberty Falls map but is well worth the effort. Make sure you have your crew around to watch your back while reading through our guide on how to craft the Jet Gun, aka the Thrustodyne M23.

Gaming

The best Perk-A-Colas in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

A screenshot from Call of Duty: Black Ops 6's zombies mode.

There's nothing more refreshing than taking a nice big swig of a Perk-A-Cola during an intense Zombies match with your pals in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. Besides tasting great (we assume), these colas empower you with buffs that will keep you alive until the later rounds. These bonuses are just as important as the Pack-A-Punch, but come in a wider range of flavors. It is possible to stack them all, but that gets expensive very fast so you need to be thrifty about choosing which ones are most valuable early on. These colas come in eight different types that may or may not be worth your Essence to chug. If you want to know which ones are the best in Black Ops 6, check out our ranking.
Best Perk-A-Colas in Black Ops 6

We're ranking these Perk-A-Colas based on their base bonuses, not any additional effects you can get if you Augment them, from best to worst.
Jugger-Nog
You can never go wrong with the classic Jugger-Nog. Increasing your health by 100 is useful for the entire duration of a Zombies mode, but especially in the early rounds. Going down is at best a major setback and at worst a cascade into defeat. This extra health allows you to get out of a bad situation that would otherwise end your run.
Quick Revive
This Perk has two components, with the less useful one being the ability to revive teammates 50% faster. Ideally, that shouldn't be needed but is nice. However, what makes it rank so high is the 50% shorter delay on health regen. Your health will come back over time in Zombies but at a dreadful pace. Starting to heal faster means less time running and kiting zombies around and more time in the action helping the team.
Speed Cola
The best early guns for Zombies mode have a large magazine, fast reload, or both. Running out of ammo at the wrong time and not being able to get more rounds in the chamber fast enough has ended many a run, but Speed Cola is the solution. It will speed up your reloads and armor plating by 30%. That's not a massive number, but fast enough to make the difference.
Stamin-Up
These zombies aren't the shambling types. They will chase you down like sprinters, and some of the monstrous ones can outpace you even at full tilt. Stamin-Up sounds like it would let you run for longer, but actually just lets you run faster since you have no limit on sprint in Black Ops 6. Positioning is everything in Zombies so being able to get where you need to be faster is never a bad thing, especially if it's a downed teammate bleeding out.
Deadshot Daiquiri
Every zombie has a weak spot, which is most often the head. Deadshot Daiquiri makes a critical hit hurt even more than normal, plus increases your auto-aim on those weak points when you aim down sights (ADS). That second part shouldn't factor much if you've got good aim, which is why this is only a decent Perk-A-Cola.
PhD Flopper
Not being able to hurt yourself is situationally useful, and the ability to cause an explosion by diving is a risky move. Yes, it's cool, but you don't want to be lying prone surrounded by zombies. This is a cool gimmick, but save yourself the Essence and skip it.
Elemental Pop
When Elemental Pop works, it's great. The problem with it is that you can't rely on it. It gives a small chance on every shot you take to add a random ammo mod effect, which is cool but impractical. If you have spare Essence on you, sure, it won't hurt you to have, but it isn't something that will turn the tide for you or your team.
Melee Macchiato
Finally, Melee Macchiato bottoms out the list. It is fine in the early game when the hordes are small and you're better off meleeing enemies since it will smack enemies away with each hit, but quickly drops off in usefulness. When the zombies get too strong and too numerous, you will need a lot more than a strong punch to deal with them and end up forgetting you even have it.