You may have completely forgotten that Activision is now part of Microsoft, but here's a (not entirely surprising or anything) reminder: the multiplayer beta for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will begin in August, and for the first time in a long time We're all going to participate.

This has been a long-standing and authentic tradition, going back at least as far as 2015's “Black Ops 3”: for any “Call of Duty” game, some sort of multiplayer beta test is announced in rotation, and the first weekend the “PlayStation only can participate. I've never been a fan of Call of Duty, so I've never bothered.

Still, the changes in this year's “Black Ops 6” beta are not to be missed. The weekend sessions will be divided into two, but there will be no division by platform. Instead, it's a simpler proposition: those who pre-ordered the game on PC or console, as well as Game Pass subscribers, will have access to the first weekend beta from 10 a.m. PT on August 30 through 1 p.m. ET on September 4. The second weekend will begin at 10 a.m. PT on September 6 September 9 at 1 p.m. (ET) and is open to all.

More details on what the Black Ops 6 beta will entail will no doubt be announced at the Call of Duty: Next showcase on August 28, two days before the early access beta begins. For now, courtesy of the Call of Duty blog, we have the following information:

Experience first-hand the game-changing Omnimovement and other gameplay innovations on a variety of new maps built by Treyarch, and build your own loadout, access a variety of weapons, equipment, and perks, and join squads in a variety of modes.

If you pre-order the Vault Edition of Black Ops 6, you will also receive four operators (Park, Adler, Brutus, and Klaus) from the Hunters vs. Hunted operator pack in the beta and five weapons from the Masterclass Collection weapons from the Masterclass Collection.

There is one odd note in the blog post on the beta dates. The asterisk next to the open beta weekend dates reads, “Active subscription to Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass PC, or Game Pass Console required. If you have a Game Pass Console subscription, you may need a Game Pass Core to access the MP Beta.” Since Game Pass is not available on Sony consoles, PlayStation owners would effectively be locked out of the beta if a subscription to the service is required, but we contacted Activision for clarification, just in case.

Call of Duty was a major obstacle in Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Sony was fiercely opposed to the acquisition due to concerns that Microsoft would make the series an Xbox console exclusive (although it later came to light that they were not too worried about that possibility), and to prove that Microsoft was not aiming for an exclusive, most companies 10-year contracts. Finally, perhaps because of Microsoft's successful opposition to the FTC's takeover injunction, and seeing the writing on the wall, Sony caved and signed its own 10-year contract.