Call of Duty Elite Beta Begins Tomorrow, Here's What You Need to Know

Get your copy of Black Ops ready and check your e-mail inbox tomorrow.

By Chris Pereira, 07/13/2011

The beta test for Call of Duty Elite kicks off tomorrow. At some point during the day, the first batch of invites will be sent out by e-mail to those who registered to participate. The initial group will be "very small," according to Activision's Dan Amrich, and just because no invite shows up by day's end doesn't mean you won't get to participate.

The beta makes use of Call of Duty: Black Ops, and some of what beta testers will get access to is among what will ultimately only be available to those who subscribe to Elite. Activision has already made it abundantly clear what's available for free; regardless of the initial confusion and angst, multiplayer is still free to play, and the new social networking features, custom leaderboards, advanced statistics, video sharing, clans, and more will all be free. The entire list of what you'll be asked to pay for, and how much the fee will be, hasn't been announced. We do know for sure that premium members will be entitled to all "playable game DLC."

There is no end date set for the beta, and the mobile app that will allow players to do things like customize loadouts will not be a part of this, presumably because that functionality is tied to Modern Warfare 3.

There's no exact explanation for what order players will be selected, but the earlier you signed up, the sooner you're likely to get in. More invitations will go out in waves, the size and frequency of which haven't yet been decided. The plan, Amrich says, is to eventually get everyone who registered in. At last count, two million people had signed up.

He also emphasizes that this is a real beta -- don't expect everything to run perfectly. Beachhead is looking for bug reports on things that don't work and is soliciting feedback on what it can do better.

Elite officially launches later this year alongside Modern Warfare 3 on November 8.