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Astro Gaming has launched a Call of Duty: Black Ops — Cold War version of its A10 gaming headset for console and PC players.
A division of Logitech, Astro Gaming makes audio headsets for audiophiles and pro gamers. The new headset has artwork licensed from Activision’s Call of Duty brand and is part of a wave of products you’ll see as peripheral makers try to cash in on the next-generation console buying frenzy.
The new Astro Gaming Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War A10 Headset joins the ASTRO A40 TR, Speakers tags, and A40 TR Mod Kits already on the market today. The headset aims to give wearers an advantage when playing games in which they discern the 3D location of enemies based on footsteps — a feature that will be a hallmark of the next-generation consoles coming in mid-November.
“We have always been part of the Call of Duty scene,” said Astro launch marketing head Thaddeus Cooper in an interview with GamesBeat. “About 3.5 years ago, we started making licensed products with them, including with their Call of Duty League. Now we’ve got a Cold War headset.”
The next Call of Duty title debuts on November 13 on both current generation and next-generation Xbox and PlayStation consoles. As players make that transition to the new machines, they will be able to take their headsets with them, Cooper said. The Xbox team in particular gave Astro Gaming good feedback to ensure the audio headsets would work across generations of consoles, Cooper said.
Compatibility
“If you’re buying a $500 console, it’s a lot to ask people to also replace all of their peripherals,” Cooper said. “Our headsets moving forward are compatible. We’ve said that in support of our fans so they can keep the investment they’ve already made.”
With older products like Astro’s mixamps, free firmware upgrades may be necessary to make them compatible with the latest Xbox consoles, Cooper said. But generally speaking, all of Astro’s current-generation peripherals will work compatibly with next-generation consoles, he said. But they won’t be feature complete in some cases without special adapters for things like Dolby Surround Sound. Astro has created a $40 adapter, an HDMI optical splitter, to fix that problem. That’s better than having to get brand new peripherals, Cooper said.
Above: The Astro A10 sells for $70 and debuts in mid-October.
Image Credit: Astro Gaming
Buyers of the Call of Duty headset will also get an exclusive weapon charm via some downloadable content (DLC) through Astro Gaming. The limited-edition A10 headset has a removable microphone pop filter and steel headbands with a damage-resistant rubberized cover. You can get it in mid-October on AstroGaming.com and at Gamestop. It has a 3.5-millimeter jack for both console and PC compatibility and will work with 3.5 mm audio ports on mobile devices. The headset costs $70.
The A20
Earlier this month, Astro Gaming also revealed its second-generation A20 Wireless Gaming Headset and a USB transmitter designed for the consoles and PC gaming. The A20 works with the older generation of consoles — the Xbox One or the Sony PlayStation 4. But they also work with the new Xbox Series X and the PlayStation 5. (You have to buy either a PlayStation headset or an Xbox headset).
San Francisco-based Astro Gaming is a division of Logitech, and it targets audiophile gamers with its A20 line of headsets, which cost $120. The headsets have a range of 50 feet and 15 hours of battery life.
The A20 Wireless Gen 2 USB Transmitter comes with an A20 headset, but you can also buy it separately. The $20 transmitter lets you pair a single headset with multiple consoles.