Publisher Activision and developer Sledgehammer Games have announced the Call of Duty: Vanguard PlayStation alpha test is set to run from August 27 to 29.

The new Call of Duty: Vanguard PlayStation alpha test will run from August 27th at 10 AM / 1 PM Eastern through August 29th at 10 AM Pacific / 1 PM Eastern, and will feature a new multiplayer mode called Champion Hill.

Here’s a rundown on the playable alpha:

What Is the Call of Duty: Vanguard PlayStation® Alpha?

Similar to Alpha sessions in previous Call of Duty® games, Sledgehammer Games is giving players a vital role in Call of Duty: Vanguard’s development by granting them access to a limited pre-release version of the game’s Multiplayer, a small slice of what is to come on November 5^th. While also providing you with a ton of fun this weekend, the Call of Duty: Vanguard PlayStation Alpha will provide our developers feedback on a global scale to help them tune and polish the game’s Multiplayer prior to its upcoming beta and launch.

This Alpha is the first hands-on opportunity the world will have with Call of Duty: Vanguard, introducing just some of the game’s innovations — as broken down today on stream by Greg Reisdorf, Sledgehammer Games’ Multiplayer Creative Director — and putting them into your hands to experience and test.

For example, you can expect — and are encouraged — to explore reactive environments across the four maps within Champion Hill, breaking destructible barriers, doors, and other obstructions to create new sightlines or catch a would-be camper by surprise.

You will also get hands-on time with some of the game’s armaments, including being able to modify some with up to 10 attachments. You can also put yourself in the boots of the four main characters — Lucas Riggs, Polina Petrova, Wade Jackson, and Arthur Kingsley — as Operators, and of course, experience tactical fast-paced Multiplayer gameplay in Champion Hill.

Champion Hill — The Basics

In 2019, Infinity Ward broke ground through Modern Warfare® Multiplayer with Gunfight, a new mode based on quick-action, close-quarter small-squad combat that is easy to learn but hard to master. For the next two years, both IW and Treyarch continued to innovate, introducing the concept of Gunfight Tournaments to reward the best Duos with exclusive rewards and allowing the mode’s frenetic small-scale maps to see action in more traditional modes like Team Deathmatch in playlists like Face-Off.

Now, Sledgehammer Games introduces Champion Hill, a tournament-style, multi-map and multi-life game mode where tactics and strategy go beyond the pull of a trigger.

In Champion Hill, your squad — either a Duo (2v2) or Trio (3v3) during the Alpha — will compete in a round-robin deathmatch tournament against other squads. Your mission is to reduce all other squads’ life count to zero before your whole squad is eliminated.

Everyone starts with the same Loadout, and while it can be lethal, collecting Cash — earned by taking enemy lives and picking up drops scattered around the map — will allow you to upgrade your starting weapons and purchase new armaments, equipment, Perks, and Killstreaks during Buy Rounds that happen between Combat Rounds.

Champion Hill also takes place on one large map split up into five sections. Specifically, there is a central Buy Station Area and four arenas for Combat Rounds: the Airstrip, the Trainyard, the Market, and the Courtyard. Once you are eliminated, you can watch how the tournament ends from the Buy Station Area spectator platform, but ideally, you survive long enough to see victory for yourself.

Want to know more? Like a standard-issue Fragmentation Grenade, the Call of Duty Blog is cooking an exclusive in-depth guide to Champion Hill prior to its debut on August 27.

Preloading and Regional Download Links

Preloading will begin on August 23 at 3 AM PT ahead of the Alpha’s scheduled launch on August 27 at 10 AM PT.

Download the free Alpha at the links below for your respective region:

PlayStation 5:

• Download Free PS5 Alpha: Americas.
• Download Free PS5 Alpha: Europe, Middle East, Australia, or New Zealand.*
• Download Free PS5 Alpha: Japan.
• Download Free PS5 Alpha: Asia.

PlayStation 4:

• Download Free PS4 Alpha: Americas.
• Download Free PS4 Alpha: Europe, Middle East, Australia, or New Zealand.*
• Download Free PS4 Alpha: Japan.
• Download Free PS4 Alpha: Asia.

How to Access the Alpha

Those who have Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare®, Call of Duty®: Warzone™, or Call of Duty®: Black Ops Cold War installed can access the Call of Duty: Vanguard Alpha through the main menu after it is downloaded.

Within any of those released game’s menus, selecting the Alpha menu blade — to the far left of the main menu screen — either brings you to the Alpha to jump in and play if you’ve already downloaded, or redirects you to its download page on the PS Store.

All participants will receive a Calling Card and an Emblem, accessible in Call of Duty: Vanguard upon its release – as well as Warzone following the integration of Vanguard – just for being the “tip of the spear” and participating in the Alpha.

Call of Duty: Vanguard was recently confirmed to launch across Windows PC (via Battle.net), Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.