Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War snipers will be nerfed in time for Beta

If you've wandered into the Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War alpha on PS4 this weekend, chances are you've been killed by a sniper.

Sniping is always a hard balance to get right in FPS titles. Developers need to tread a fine line between making them feel powerful, but not more viable than any other weapon type.

The alpha for the next Call of Duty title has so far demonstrated that the balance isn't quite right in Cold War at the moment – but Treyarch plans to change that.

Currently, snipers are not only incredibly powerful, but they also have a remarkably fast aim down sights speed. This means that the weapons are both deadly and fast – a combination many players are finding a bit too over-powered.

In the tweet above, Treyarch developer Tony Flame explains that the studio intentionally buffed the snipers for the alpha, and that revisions are coming in time for the beta to make the weapons more balanced.

If you're a fan of quick-scoping then, make the most of the alpha – things are going to feel very different in the beta.

PS4 players will get access to next month's beta first. Anyone that pre-orders the game on PS4 can jump into the action on October 8, with an open beta kicking off on October 10.

The week after, players that pre-order the game on Xbox One and PC can join the fun from October 15, with an open beta kicking off on those platforms on October 17.

Black Ops Cold War releases November 13 on PC, PS4 and Xbox One. The game is also coming to PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, where it will be available as a $10 upgrade, or $70 for new players.