What did we learn from the Black Ops Cold War multiplayer Alpha?

The Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War multiplayer Alpha has concluded after a short weekend of playtime. While the test was short, this was only supposed to be an appetizer for what’s to come. We still have the Open Beta releasing on October 8 and then the full release on November 13. However, a PC Alpha could also arrive before the beta but we’re not sure of those details. Regardless, the Alpha has come and gone and there are certainly some various aspects to talk about.

Recapping the Black Ops Cold War multiplayer Alpha

First and foremost, this was at the core a true Alpha build of the newest Call of Duty title. This means that aspects of the game are expected to be unfinished or unpolished. Treyarch stated multiple times that certain issues within the Alpha were already fixed in a more current build of the game.

However, there were some aspects of the weekend’s test that Treyarch certainly needs some fine-tuning. Issues like the time it takes to throw a lethal grenade and the Skill-Based Matchmaking controversy are things that should be fixed before release.

Of course, we have no way of knowing what the beta build will look like. It’s possible that these types of issues could already be fixed. Although, if they’re not, we did learn that Treyarch is more than willing to take constructive criticism. That was perhaps the biggest takeaway from the Alpha weekend.

Various developers all chimed in about Black Ops Cold War issues on social media. This was terrific to see and a complete 180 degree turn from what we’ve seen this past year with Infinity Ward. Communication is everything in Call of Duty and it seems Treyarch is on top of this area.

Other than that though, we learned that Black Ops Cold War has a ton of potential. The gameplay felt smooth, the graphics should be improved come November, and a return to classic Call of Duty was evident. However, Treyarch needs to make sure it fixes the issues that need fixing and offer features at launch that Modern Warfare didn’t.