The wildly popular Call of Duty series is set to return with Black Ops 4, running and gunning its way onto our screens. Here’s everything we know, from the release date to the latest gameplay details.
After a long period of speculation, Call of Duty Black Ops 4 has been officially revealed by Activision. The game is set for release later this year, and it won’t be like any other Call of Duty title we’ve seen. In fact, it even includes a Battle Royale mode in place of a single-player campaign, cashing in on the current interest in the genre.
Here’s everything we know about Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, from the release date to the latest details about the Blackout beta.
Following an official May 2018 reveal, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 will be released on 12 October 2018 on the PC, PS4 and Xbox One.
This year’s Call of Duty title will be developed by Treyarch, one of the three studios that share responsibility for the production of the series.
Treyarch’s pedigree for Call of Duty games has been well tested, starting out with Call of Duty 2: Big Red One to Call of Duty 3, and the wildly popular Call of Duty: World at War. Since then, they’ve taken the helm of the Black Ops series which has helped push the brand to new heights.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 will be arriving on Xbox One, PS4 and PC. Sadly, Treyarch has confirmed that Black Ops 4 won’t make an appearance on the Nintendo Switch – a real shame in our opinion.
While we’re excited for the new CoD, we’d probably suggest avoiding it on PC – as the performance for the last few games on the platform has been less than impressive.
Following successful beta tests in August, Activision recently confirmed details of the upcoming Black Ops 4 Blackout private beta. The good news is that everybody that took part in the previous beta will automatically gain access, along with anybody else that has pre-ordered the game since then.
Like previous betas, the Battle Royale beta will be available for all supported platforms (PS4, Xbox One and PC) although PS4 players will get a period of exclusivity before being joined by everyone else.
The launch dates are as follows:
Activision has confirmed that the beta will end for players on all platforms on 17 September at 6pm BST, giving players a few days to go hands-on.
The gameplay in the next Call of Duty game probably won’t come as much of a shock. While there have been attempts at innovation over the years with wall running and jetpacks to help spice up the action, it still centres around the good old run and gun FPS gameplay that CoD is known for.
Black Ops has always been a little more story intensive than the regular COD games, focusing more on the events and developments of characters themselves, rather than their place in a much wider conflict., though that isn’t the case this year. Why? Treyarch has taken the decision to not include a single-player campaign, and has instead replaced it with a Battle Royale Mode to compliment the online multiplayer and zombies mode.
With the runaway success of Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), which was taken and refined upon by Epic Games with their Fortnite Battle Royale, it’s not a surprise to find out that Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 will also feature a Battle Royale mode. Though rumours were swirling from March 2018, the game mode wasn’t officially confirmed until the Call of Duty Black Ops 4 reveal event in May 2018.
Activision has confirmed that the mode will be called Blackout, and promised that it’ll take place on the largest map in Call of Duty history. And long-time fans of the series will be able to play as characters from a plethora of previous Call of Duty titles.
“In Blackout, Black Ops comes to life in one massive battle royale experience, combining Black Ops signature combat and the biggest map in Call of Duty history.” Activision explains. “It’s a collision course bringing together the worlds of Black Ops in an all-out survival and elimination experience featuring weapons; equipment; land, sea, and air vehicles; RC-XDs; traps; and even Zombies in an experience that is uniquely Black Ops.”
You can find out more in the Blackout introduction trailer below:
A more recent trailer provides our best look at gameplay yet, including brand new mechanics and, wait, are they zombies?
Though the inclusion of a zombies mode in the upcoming CoD title was assumed by many gamers, it wasn’t confirmed by Treyarch Studios until the reveal event in May 2018.
It’s largely zombies-as-usual when it comes to what to expect from the zombies mode; you and up to three other players will fight off waves of increasingly-dangerous zombies. The biggest change comes from the locations; you’ll be fighting zombies in three different locations, including on board the Titanic. What?
It certainly has a spookier vibe to it than in previous years, as is shown in the below cinematic trailer.
Of course, along with the dedicated Battle Royale and Zombie modes, you’ll find the traditional Call of Duty online multiplayer. Like previous titles, the online multiplayer will feature heavily customisable weaponry with superfast action, though Activision has noted that it’s a “boots on the ground” game, meaning that crazy jump boosts, wall running and other sci-fi abilities have been removed.
Take a look at a full match on one of the new maps, Arsenal, which made its debut at Gamescom 2018.
You can find out more about the online multiplayer in Black Ops 4 by watching the multiplayer reveal trailer at the top of this page.
