The latest Call of Duty won’t be released until November, but PlayStation players will have a chance to check the game out early during a multiplayer alpha for the game’s new Champion Hill mode. Call of Duty: Vanguard’s alpha will begin on Aug. 27 at 1 p.m. ET and end on Aug. 29 at 1 p.m. ET.
The alpha will focus on Vanguard’s new Champion Hill mode, in which duo (2v2) or trio (3v3) squads compete against each other in a round-robin tournament. Each team has individual lives that carry over from match to match, but when your team’s lives hit zero, you’re out. The last team standing wins.
The mode also features an economy system that’s fairly new to the franchise. Every player in Champion Hill will start with the same loadout, but players can pick up cash in each match — by killing enemies or finding items scattered around the map. Between each match, players can use their cash to buy new weapons, Perks, and Killstreaks.
Another unique feature of the mode is that it takes place in one larger map that’s split up into five different sections. There’s the buy station in the center, as well as four arenas: Airstrip, Trainyard, Market, and Courtyard. Each of these areas is similar in size to a Gunfight map from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare or Black Ops Cold War. Once a squad is eliminated, it can continue to watch the rest of the match from the buy station area.
The alpha test for Call of Duty: Vanguard will only be available for players on PlayStation platforms. but anyone who owns a PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 5 will have access to the test as soon as it goes live. As for players on other platforms, Sledgehammer Games will also host a beta test for the game. The beta for PlayStation players who have pre-ordered the game will run from Sept. 10-13. On Sept. 16 and 17, the beta will be open for all PlayStation players, and available for Xbox and Battle.net players who have pre-ordered the game. Finally on Sept. 18-20, the game will be open to all players on all platforms to try out.
Call of Duty: Vanguard will be released on Nov. 5. Along with the multiplayer, the game will include a full single-player campaign that takes place in the four theaters of combat from World War II, as well as integration with Call of Duty: Warzone, the franchise’s popular battle royale game.
