Black Ops Cold War developer explains the Alpha sniping conundrum

Players have had over a day with the Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War multiplayer Alpha. So far, there appears to be a mixed bag of feelings relating to different aspects of the game. However, players need to keep in mind that this is an extremely early version of the new title. Things can and will change before the open beta and the full release, so hang tight. Included in these changes will be a massive overhaul to the sniping currently in Black Ops Cold War. A Treyarch developer even went on record to explain why the snipers are so overpowered in the Alpha.

Sniping in Black Ops Cold War to change by release

If it feels like the sniping in the multiplayer Alpha is out-of-this-world overpowered, it’s supposed to feel that way. Treyarch purposefully made the snipers better to gather data on how they perform. Since this is an Alpha, the developers are using this test to make some adjustments to gameplay mechanics. This way, they’ll be more fine-tuned for the worldwide launch on November 13.

However, in regards to the snipers, Treyarch isn’t planning to wait until release to fix them. Producer Tony Flame recently explained how the developers are planning to tune the snipers before the open beta even occurs.

Ok let's talk Sniping in Cold War.

Crossplay is coming, but we knew it wouldn't be in Alpha. We buffed Snipers to evaluate their performance in this Alpha specifically. Sniper Rifles WILL have balance changes for the upcoming Beta based on our analytics data this weekend.

— Tony Flame (@Tony_Flame) September 18, 2020

According to Flame, the snipers are only unbalanced this way because there’s currently no crossplay. Once that feature goes live during the open beta though, the snipers will be more balanced across the board. However, the Alpha was the devs’ best chance to evaluate the weapon class since the game is only on one platform.

So if you’re having a blast with the Pelington or Tundra during the Alpha, enjoy it while it lasts. Come the open beta, those sniper rifles will perform a little differently.

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