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Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War multiplayer is free to play for a week

Nuketown is home for the holidays

One of the big new multiplayer games of the year is out, but inevitably some of your pals won't have dropped the cash for it just yet. Well not to worry, you can show them the ropes from now until next Thursday for free in Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War's multiplayer. You can download Cold War to play holiday playlists, standard Deathmatch, Prop Hunt, and other modes for free this week.

The free to play week comes in two phases starting with a handful of game modes and playlists over this weekend and expanding with a few more options next week. Right now you can drop in and play Team Deathmatch, Domination, 2v2 Gunfight, the Nuketown Holiday 24/7 playlist, and the Raid the Mall playlist. Starting on Monday, December 21st, you'll also get access to Prop Hunt, Combined Arms: Hardpoint, and Fireteam: Dirty Bomb. The free to play status ends on Thursday, December 24th.

If you're the one of your pals who's yet to jump into Cold War, you can read up on what to expect in our Cold War multiplayer review.

"Where Cold War strikes out on its own is in its emphasis on gunfights," says Ed. "By ditching Modern Warfare’s super sprint, I’ve found matches move at a less disorienting pace. They aren’t filled with athletes blistering around corners and vaulting over crates, but average folks who simply want a fair scrap. This opens up more opportunities for duels, where I’ll trade shots with an enemy until one of us clatters onto the concrete. It’s a much cleaner affair, basically, and one I’m far more inclined to jump back into it time and time again."

He wasn't nearly as keen on the giant 40-person team-based Dirty Bomb mode, saying that "every second I spent in this game mode was pain, partly because it never seemed to end, but mainly because it felt like a phoned-in take on Warzone." Maybe have a few good rounds of prop hunt instead when Monday rolls around then, hm?

Whether you've downloaded Cold War for free or already owned it, Activision say you'll also benefit from a double xp, weapon xp, and battle pass progression from today through Monday the 21st. It'll pick back up on Tuesday the 22nd, with double bonuses coming to Call Of Duty: Warzone on the 25th. You can catch all the nitty gritty dates and times for that in Activision's post.

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Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War

PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC

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Lauren Morton

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