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‘Call Of Duty’ Beta: Infinite Warfare Release Date Nears As Game Enters Final Phase Of Testing

By Cal Jeffrey
Published on: 08:52 PST, Sep 25, 2016

The Call of Duty beta is only a few weeks away. Beta testing is the first sign that a game is almost ready for release. While some beta testing is done either in-house or with a select group of testers (closed beta), beta versions of a game are sometimes released to the public (open or public beta). Open betas are a nice way to get a sneak peek at the game before it releases and to get to try it before you buy it.

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare will release two public betas, one for the PlayStation 4 and one for the Xbox One. PlayStation 4 players are getting to test the game on October 14, one week earlier than Xbox One users. While public beta tests are less rigorous than closed testing, they do usually require a player/tester to supply feedback and report any bugs encountered to the developers. This feedback is used to make tweaks and put finishing touches on the game before it is released for sale.

Companies use various ways to select participants from the public for a beta test. Sometimes it requires being a member of the game company’s website, other times you can gain access to a beta by just requesting to be a tester, and still other times developers will make the beta completely open by offering it for download to everyone. The beta version of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare will be released only to those who have pre-ordered the game. So in this instance, you can forget about trying before buying, unless you can score one of Greg’s beta code (see tweet above).

The Call of Duty beta will focus on the multiplayer aspect of the title. No story elements will be revealed, which means no spoilers. However, multiplayer maps are usually based on single-player environments. So beta testers will get a taste of the different types of areas within the game.

According to VentureBeat, “This multiplayer will give players new ways to customize their characters and weapons to a personalized style of play.”

This customization is nice since most of the time beta tests for multiplayer games are looking more at testing the server capabilities and other LAN/WAN issues. Such being the case, often multiplayer betas are bare-bones and offer little in the way of anything other than gameplay. By including the customization aspect, Activision is going to give Call of Duty beta testers an even greater feel for the actual gameplay.

Speaking of gameplay, one of the trailers released by Activision during E3 gave a nice six-minute look at the title in action. The trailer shows a short mission of an attack on a battleship orbiting the moon. The video is a good demonstration of some of the new gameplay dynamics that players will be encountering with the Infinite Warfare release such as zero-gravity combat.

Movement in zero gravity is handled two ways. Players have small thrusters built into their armor. The thrusters allow the player to move in three dimensions, but evasive maneuvering seems limited. Battle gear is also fitted with a grappling hook that can shoot out and quickly retract to pull the player to the surface of a ship or object. The grapple can also be used to pull other players within range for melee combat.

Once on the surface, players can walk and maneuver presumably by the use of boot magnets or something similar. Evasion is easier and more effective when moving on foot. Judging from the trailer zero-gravity movement and combat appear intuitive.

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare‘s release date is set for November 4, 2016. According to VentureBeat, PlayStation’s Call of Duty beta will start on October 14 at 10 a.m., while Xbox One’s beta starts exactly a week later on October 21. They also state that the testing ends on October 24, which means that PlayStation users get a full extra week of playtime on the game. If you want to get in on the beta, head to your console’s store and pre-order the game.

Preorders of any version of the game are eligible, but the Legacy and Deluxe versions of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare also score a free copy of the Modern Warfare Remastered Edition. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare Legacy is $79.99, and the Deluxe Edition is $99.99. The standard version of the game goes for $59.99 and is still eligible for the beta.

[Featured Image by Activision]

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