Call of Duty fans are spoiled for announcements this week. Call of Duty: Vanguard was obviously the biggest and most exciting announcement of the past few days, but several follow-up announcements have followed since. Confirmation of a Treyarch-developed Zombies mode for Call of Duty: Vanguard was a big reveal. The confirmation of 20 maps for multiplayer at launch was also very well-received. Now, Activision Blizzard is back with another announcement, confirming Call of Duty: Vanguard's alpha details.
Call of Duty: Vanguard will have its first official test within a week, Activision Blizzard has now confirmed. The dates of Call of Duty: Vanguard's alpha will be 10:00 AM PT on August 27 through 10:00 AM PT on August 29. The one major limitation is that the alpha is exclusive to players on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. Other platforms will have to wait for a later test. As a plus, the Call of Duty: Vanguard alpha won't require a PlayStation Plus subscription.
RELATED: Call of Duty: Vanguard Features Zombies Mode Developed By Treyarch
Alpha players will also be rewarded for downloading Call of Duty: Vanguard's upcoming test. It'll be the first opportunity to try out Call of Duty: Vanguard's new game mode, Champion Hill. Champion Hill is a unique competitive multiplayer mode where 8 teams compete in a round-based round-robin, with "buy rounds" in-between combat rounds. In that way, it adds a layer of Counter-Strike-like strategy to standard Call of Duty action. Defeating opposing teams will take from their "lives," with the winning team outlasting all opponents.
Playlists for the Champion Hill game mode that will be available in the Call of Duty: Vanguard alpha include 2v2 and 3v3. As such, the alpha will presumably have matchmaking that forms teams so that everyone can participate in Champion Hill, as not all players have teams for themselves. Activision Blizzard clearly sees potential in this mode to be competitive with other online multiplayer games, perhaps even battle royale titles.
As for preloading, Activision Blizzard isn't ready to confirm how big Call of Duty: Vanguard's download will be yet. Early evidence hints it could be very large. PlayStation alpha players will find out for themselves when preloads unlock on August 23 at 3:00 AM PT.
No further information has been provided regarding future Call of Duty: Vanguard tests, but there is some other evidence to discuss. The most important thing is that this alpha test is not the previously-announced PlayStation-exclusive test. As such, there will still be PlayStation-only open beta period just for pre-orderers. With this in mind, PC and Xbox Call of Duty fans will have to wait through two different tests before the open beta reaches them. Expect more information in the weeks to come.
Call of Duty: Vanguard releases November 5 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
MORE: Comparing Call of Duty: Vanguard's Multiplayer Modes to Battlefield 2042
