With the introduction of crossplay in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, players who wish to play online are now required to log in to an Activision account. Accounts make cross-platform play possible, allowing you to play online game modes with your friends on all platforms.
Activision accounts also enable cross-progression on all accounts you have linked to your Activision account. Because game progression in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is stored on your Activision account, you can play on any platform you have linked to your account, and your progression carries over.
Before you can play for the first time, you will be prompted to sign up for or log in to an Activision account.
If you create an Activision account to participate in the Beta for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, that account can be used again. If you choose to use a different account, you will not be eligible to receive bonus content for participating in the Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Beta on that account.
Please note: If you choose to link your platform account to another Activision account, your progress will not carry over.