The private beta for
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4's battle royale mode, Blackout, has officially gone live on Xbox One and PC, while still being playable on PlayStation 4. The gives those who pre-ordered (or received a code) access to the new battle royale mode, a first for the series.
Initial impressions for the new mode have been generally positive, with many comparing it to a more-polished
PUBG. The core concept of the mode is in line with other battle royale games; you and a squad of other teammates are dropped onto the map and fight to remain the last one standing. Throughout the match, you can scavenge for weapons, mods, armor, and health packs. Of course, Treyarch has tailored tweaked a few features to make it more in line with the
Call of Duty franchise. For instance, there are certain locations on the map where you can find the franchise's iconic zombies and kill them for loot. Weapons and vehicles are also inspired by various games in the
CoD franchise.
In terms of this current beta, the max player count on PS4 will remain at 88. On Xbox One and PC, the player count will start at 80 players per match, though Activision says "we’ll be testing different player counts so that we can optimize to be ready for launch on October 12th."
As a beta, Activision and Treyarch are continually looking for ways to improve the experience based on player feedback.
Over on Reddit, the developer noted the latest round of feedback that they've been tracking while providing notes on the updates made to the beta today. Among the issues being addressed are teamkill looting, audio occlusion, scoreboard/teammate kill counters, killcam details, and more.
As for today's update, below are the patch notes:
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General
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Beta now live on Xbox One and PC, currently with up to 80 maximum players per match
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Miscellaneous:
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Multiple fixes for “Game Session Has Ended” errors. We continue to find and fix these issues on a case-by-case basis.
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Multiple fixes for collision and players getting stuck on the map
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Additional improvements to stats both behind the scenes and for Merits Per Action
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Various Killcam bug fixes
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Fixed a bug that caused multiple players to spawn in the Staging Area in the same spot
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Fixes for players not properly entering the downed state when involved in mid-air helicopter crashes
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Game Tuning:
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Collapse:
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Increased the damage players take inside the collapsed area of the map
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Wingsuit:
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Players can no longer gain altitude at high speed
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Pulling up from a steep dive now takes slightly longer
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Supply Drops:
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Cargo plane now has increased health and cannot be damaged by bullets
The Blackout Beta is scheduled to end on
September 17. An open beta will be made available for PC players starting tomorrow, September 15, at 10:00 a.m. PT.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 will release on October 12.