Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4's Blackout Beta Update Increases Player Count

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4's private Blackout beta is underway on PS4. Now that the first day of the beta has concluded, developer Treyarch has revealed a list of changes it is making to the mode, and they include a higher player count, quicker item pickups, and other refinements. [Update: Treyarch has rolled out more Blackout tweaks, including the mode's first special event, Fast Collapse.]

In a post on Reddit, Treyarch announced that it has bumped up the Blackout beta's player count to 88. When the beta first began, it supported 80 players per match--20 fewer than PUBG and Fortnite. However, Treyarch said that Blackout's player count was subject to change based on the feedback it received from players, so the number may fluctuate yet again over the course of the next few days as the beta opens up to more platforms.

On top of that, Treyarch has made picking up items off the ground quicker. "We've seen several comments suggesting that the item pickup time is slower than expected," the developer wrote in its Day One recap. "We'll be updating the game to make pickup speeds as fast as possible without interfering with reloading, and make it easier to pick up items without looking directly at them."

Additionally, the developer has reduced the duration of the Sensor Dart, an item that can be fired at an area to reveal nearby players. The Dart will now last for two minutes. Beyond that, Treyarch has made it so that the quick equip menu will automatically close if it hasn't been used for five seconds, while the featured playlist has now been changed to Duos.

Treyarch says that it will continue rolling out updates for Blackout "daily," so more changes are likely in store for the mode before the beta ends. As previously mentioned, the beta is currently only available on PS4, but it will open up to Xbox One and PC players who've pre-ordered the title on September 14. All PC players with a Battle.net account will also have a chance to jump in starting September 15. The Blackout beta is scheduled to run until 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET on September 17.