I’m sure you’ve already scoped out the trailer promoting next week’s beta test for Call of Duty: Black Ops III. But late last night, developer Treyarch dropped some additional details about the test on their Community Blog.
Initially, the Call of Duty: Black Ops III beta will feature three maps: “Hunted,” “Combine,” and “Evac.” Others will be available during the course of the test, but here’s what we can expect from the first three:
- Hunted: This big game hunting lodge is situated beneath a waterfall in the lush mountains of Ethiopia, where rugged terrain opens up to long sightlines and a stealthy underwater pathway.
- Combine: Set in the remote Egyptian Sahara, this vertical farming and sustainability research facility plays fast and frenetic with tight interiors, an open middle and a dangerous flank path.
- Evac: An abandoned emergency evacuation zone atop an overgrown rooftop in the middle of Singapore’s flooded quarantine zone.
Treyarch also confirmed the test will include “a range of fan favorite game modes,” such as Team Deathmatch, Domination, Demolition, Kill Confirmed, Hardpoint, Capture the Flag, and Search & Destroy.
Finally, the developer talked a bit about the eight Specialists, characters with their own “look, personality, voice, and battle-hardened weapons and abilities,” who will be available in the beta. Each Specialist will have a unique backstory and they might even add a kind of narrative to Call of Duty’s often chaotic multiplayer mode.
The Call of Duty: Black Ops III beta test will begin on August 19 for players who’ve pre-ordered the game on the PS4. PC and Xbox One owners will be able to join the fun beginning on August 26.