Author: John Scalzo

Activision and Treyarch hosted their “Community Reveal” for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 earlier today, and they delivered a massive amount of information during the livestream.

The big brains at Treyarch have announced they’ll bring three Zombies experiences to Black Ops 4 at launch. And because they’re always mixing things up, this time around, fans will be able to fight zombies on the Titanic (“Voyage of Despair”) and in a gladiator arena (“IX”). A third map (“Blood of the Dead”) will be familiar to fans as a remake of the Alcatraz-set “Mob of the Dead” scenario. Multiple difficulty levels and a streamlined “Zombie Rush” mode will also be available:

Celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the original Call of Duty Zombies, Black Ops 4 also debuts an entirely new and unprecedented Zombies experience that’s the biggest Day One offering in franchise history… with three fully-featured Zombies experiences at launch… IX, Voyage of Despair, and Blood of the Dead.

With immersive new adventures, a brand new cast of characters and a nefarious new enemy, Black Ops 4 Zombies will feature the deep gameplay and easter eggs that the rabid community of fans devours. It also includes the most customizable action to date, new systems for creating and completing community challenges, and social systems designed to connect players. Black Ops 4 also reintroduces difficulty levels and an in-game tutorial to onboard new players to the Zombies universe, while giving hardcore players the option of ratcheting up the challenge.

Additionally, Zombie Rush is a brand new mode that streamlines the gameplay experience, introducing enticing new challenges to grizzled veterans, while creating a whole new tempo of gameplay for newcomers.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on October 12. You can view a trio of new trailers for the game’s Zombies offerings after the break. (more…)

Activision and Treyarch hosted their “Community Reveal” for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 earlier today, and they delivered a massive amount of information during the livestream.

As expected, Call of Duty is diving headfirst into the “Battle Royale” genre with Call of Duty: Black Ops 4’s Blackout Mode. We don’t know how many players will be able to compete in Blackout Mode, but we do know it’ll feature “the largest map ever built in Call of Duty,” as well as the ability to play as classic characters from the entire Black Ops series:

[In] today’s world premiere, the team also introduced Blackout… the new battle royale-style experience that combines Black Ops’ signature fast, fluid, guns-up combat, with fierce new levels of survival competition across iconic Black Ops settings re-imagined at a colossal scale. Blackout is an experience unlike any other game or mode in Call of Duty history, where players will have to scavenge, strategize, compete and survive to win.

Featuring the largest map ever built in Call of Duty… 1,500 times bigger than Nuketown… Blackout thrusts players into a collision course as they play as classic characters spanning the history of the Black Ops series including the original Call of Duty Zombies Origins cast.

Battling solo or in teams, players will engage in diverse combat complete with ground, air, and sea vehicles across a gamespace unlike anything ever in Call of Duty. Players will encounter fan-favorite Black Ops map locations and call upon a massive arsenal of Black Ops weaponry and equipment as the winner-takes-all action creates a new way to play Call of Duty.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on October 12. And the first trailer for Blackout Mode has been embedded above.

Activision and Treyarch hosted their “Community Reveal” for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 earlier today, and they delivered a massive amount of information during the livestream.

First things first, the two companies confirmed the rumors that have been dogging Black Ops 4 for a few months now… the game won’t ship with a Campaign Mode. But Treyarch also said that this newfound focus on multiplayer will give them a chance to “[go] deeper than ever before into the fiction of multiplayer” with the game’s Specialists:

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 features gritty, grounded combat, along with new levels of customization and tactical gameplay, and a variety of new weaponry, maps and modes for the ultimate Black Ops multiplayer experience. The game features the return of the iconic Pick 10 system, along with a series of innovations in weapon controls, combat flow, health regeneration, and player movement.

Black Ops 4 goes deeper than ever before into the fiction of multiplayer, where players will explore the world of Specialists… who they are, why they exist, and what battles they fight together… while mastering their gameplay through solo and multiplayer combat experiences. Black Ops 4 features a combination of new and returning Specialists, each with their own unique weapons, equipment, and playstyles. Players will be powerful alone, but devastating as a team working together.

A quick glimpse at some of the Specialists that’ll take part in Black Ops 4 can be found in the “Power In Numbers” Cinematic Trailer, which has been embedded above.

“Black Ops 4 is by far the most ambitious title our team has ever created,” said Dan Bunting, the Co-Studio Head, Treyarch. “At its core Black Ops has always been about challenging convention and boldly taking our gameplay in new directions. With Black Ops 4, we’ve designed an experience for all play styles and skill levels from casual to competitive. It brings a layer of tactical depth that rewards players for mastery, and just feels so good to play.”

Players who prefer to experience Call of Duty on the PC will be in for even more surprises. Treyarch has recruited Beenox and Blizzard to assist with development, which means Black Ops 4’s multiplayer will be playable on the PC through Battle.net (a first for the franchise). The game will also feature a wealth of control options, as well as support for an uncapped framerate, 4K resolution and HDR, ultra-wide monitors, and performance and visual quality customization.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on October 12. In the meantime, the first Gameplay Trailer can be found after the break. (more…)