Introducing Call of Duty: Black Ops 4’s Black Market and Contraband systems, providing a battle pass-style system of earning free content out now on PS4.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4‘s customization shop, the Black Market, has gone live on PlayStation 4. The Black Market features a free seasonal battle pass system named Contraband which allows players to unlock sprays, emotes, both Specialist and Blackout skins, as well as weapon skins just by playing. The Black Market will also be home to Black Ops 4‘s cash shop, Blackjack’s Shop, which is planned to go live in November. As with all Black Ops 4 post-launch content, the PS4 will feature a 7-day exclusivity period after which the content will also arrive on PC and Xbox One.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4‘s first season battle pass, dubbed an Operation, is called Operation First Strike. Operation First Strike features 200 tiers of progression, earned simply by putting time into playing any mode within the game. Like other battle passes not every tier in the Operation will unlock new content, but it is permanently unlocked when you do. Each operation will only be available for a limited time, with Operation First Strike tentatively ending in early December. Make sure to earn your favorite customizations before then, as there’s no promise that it will be made available afterward.
As for the content confirmed for Operation First Strike, players are still figuring out all that can be unlocked. Some special rewards have been revealed, however. At tier 199 players will unlock the Blackout skin Hudson, who fans may recognize from the original Black Ops. Then at tier 200 will be the Ultra Signature Weapon named Blinding Glory, a skin for the ICR assault rifle. The Blinding Glory itself has a progression track the can further bling up the gun.
As part of today’s Black Market and Contraband reveal, Activision also confirmed the upcoming release of a second seasonal Operation special event for Halloween. Starting on October 20 for Ps4, or October 27 for PC and Xbox One, the Halloween special event will feature even more content to unlock, all of which will have a spooky theme. The Halloween event will run at the same time as Operation First Strike and will also be free for current Black Ops 4 players.
Finally, Activision touches on the November launch of Black Ops 4’s cash shop, Blackjack’s Shop:
More information on Blackjack’s Shop should be made available at a later date, but the one confirmed detail is that the cash shop will be using a special currency called Call of Duty Points. Call of Duty Points have been previously used in all major Call of Duty games since Black Ops 3, so the premium microtransaction currency’s inclusion in Black Ops 4 won’t be a surprise. Still, it’s a good reminder that despite Black Ops 4 launching without microtransactions, Activision’s just waiting for the right time to start making money off of post-launch content.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
