The good news is that Activision has dropped the official dates for the first Call of Duty: Vanguard Alpha. The bad news is that the Alpha is exclusive to PS4 and PS5 players.

When is the Call of Duty Alpha going to start?

According to an official announcement made during the CDL Champs, Activision is going to launch the first Call of Duty: Vanguard Alpha starting on August 27. The free Alpha period will be available for 48 hours until August 29. Anyone with a PlayStation 4 or 5 can jump in. You don’t even need to pre-order Call of Duty: Vanguard or have a PlayStation Plus membership to join.

What is included in the Call of Duty: Vanguard Alpha?

Aside from the dates, Activision also confirmed that the first Call of Duty: Vanguard Alpha will revolve around Champion Hill, the game’s take on the battle royale genre. In this new game mode, eight teams of either two or three players each will battle it out against each other across four different maps. The gameplay will be a mix of both gunfight and battle royale, which should be interesting, to say the least. The participating teams can earn more cash by winning, which they can use in between each round to upgrade their load-outs or plan out how they will want to tackle the next round. The last team standing will become the kings of Champion Hill.

What’s next for Call of Duty: Vanguard?

📅 Sept 7 ➡️ MP Reveal📅 Sept 10-13 ➡️ Weekend One📅 Sept 16-20 ➡️ Weekend Two pic.twitter.com/nhGxSUhe7M — Call of Duty (@CallofDuty) August 22, 2021 If it feels like Call of Duty: Vanguard has filled the headlines these past few weeks, you’re not exactly wrong. There were plenty of leaks and speculations about Vanguard ahead of the official reveal. Then, once Activision dropped the first trailer of the game, more info about Vanguard has trickled out. This includes a mix of official info such as a continuation of Treyarch’s Zombie mode and the game’s official file size. It also appears that the earlier leaks were partly correct. Here are some dates you should circle on your calendar this September:

Full multiplayer reveal on September 7 PlayStation-exclusive beta on September 10-13 Xbox + Battle.net PC early access and PlayStation open beta on September 16-17 Open beta on all platforms on September 18-20 A guide on how to play Call of Duty  Vanguard Alpha - 37A guide on how to play Call of Duty  Vanguard Alpha - 54A guide on how to play Call of Duty  Vanguard Alpha - 11A guide on how to play Call of Duty  Vanguard Alpha - 82