PS4 Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 Beta Breaks Records

Activision on Friday announced that "millions" of people played the Call of Duty: Black Ops III beta on PlayStation 4, making it the "biggest" ever beta on the platform. The pre-release play period ran August 19-24 on PS4, and is currently ongoing for Xbox One and PC.

The beta provided developer Treyarch Studios with "critical feedback and technical data" on a level, obviously, that the developer could not perform through its own testing practices. While a specific player number was not provided, it saw more downloads, gameplay sessions, and total hours of gameplay than any other PS4 beta before it, according to Activision and PlayStation estimates.

Other PS4 betas have included those for Destiny and Battlefield Hardline.

There was a lot of chest-beating in Activision's press release today describing the Black Ops III beta. Included was a quote from Sony executive Adam Boyes, who talked about the Black Ops III beta being just the first step in Sony's new exclusivity arrangement with Activision for the game.

"Played by millions of PlayStation fans around the world, the response to the beta was massive and shows the strength when bringing together the best-selling console franchise with the best-selling game console," he said. "Signaling an impressive start of a new era for PlayStation and this famed franchise, there was no better way to welcome Call of Duty to its new home on PlayStation 4."

Black Ops III launches on November 6 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC, as well as last-generation consoles.