While Activision usually announces the newCall of Dutygame by May of every year, it took its sweet time withCall of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. The highly-anticipated gamejustgot its first proper reveal trailer, mainly giving fans a look at the campaign while offering a brief glimpse of multiplayer. However, an avalanche information came alongside theBlack Ops Cold Warreveal trailer, and it may be difficult for fans to keep it all straight.
Activision confirmed many details aboutBlack Ops Cold War, including more specific gameplay features in the campaign, pre-order bonuses, and more. And even more information is expected to come later today, asBlack Ops Cold Warwill be at Gamescom Opening Night Live.
RELATED:Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Will Share Its Battle Pass With Warzone
Here is everything that has been confirmed aboutCall of Duty: Black Ops Cold Warsince the reveal trailer.
Bundles
As is typical of most triple-A video game releases,Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold Warwill have multiple editions for players to buy come it launch on November 13. The Standard Edition current-gen version of the game will cost $59.99, and it includes the game as well as the Confrontation Weapons pack for multiplayer. TheCross-Gen bundleis a little more expensive at $69.99, but includes an upgrade to the next-gen version of the game once it’s available. And finally, the Ultimate Edition ofBlack Ops Cold Waris $89.99, and it includes everything available in the Cross-Gen bundle plus the Land, Air, and Sea Pack that includes a new multiplayer operator, vehicle skins, and three weapon blueprints, along with the Season 1 Battle Pass and 20 tier skips.
Now, there’s some other important things to note about the differentBlack Ops Cold Warbundles that will be sold on November 13. Those that get the standard edition and want to upgrade to the next-gen version will have to spend an additional $10 to do so. It’s also worth pointing out that thephysical Xbox One version ofBlack Ops Cold Warcan’t be upgraded to the next-gen version at all, but the physical PS4 version can be upgraded to the PS5 version.
It’s been confirmed thatBlack Ops Cold Warwill be a launch title for both the PS5 and Xbox Series X, so it may be best to just wait for that version to be available to make things simpler, if one is planning to get either next-gen console at launch.
Campaign
TheBlack Ops Cold Warreveal trailerwas primarily focused on the campaign, and so many details about what the campaign will entail were released. TheBlack Ops Cold Warcampaign will take place in the early 1980s, and as its name suggests, it will center around Cold War conflicts. Familiar faces from theBlack Opsseries will appear in the new game, including Frank Woods and Jason Hudson. Players will also have the chance to interact with a variety of historical figures, including President Ronald Reagan.
While Alex Mason was the main character in the originalBlack Ops,Black Ops Cold Waris changing things up by letting players make their own character. They will be able to customize a variety of details about their character’s background and appearance, which should lead to a much more personalizedCall of Dutycampaign experience.
Besides character creation, theBlack Ops Cold Warcampaign is changing things up in other ways as well. For example, like pastBlack Opsgames,Black Ops Cold Warwill have multiple endingsfor players to unlock, not to mention side quests to complete. Players will also be able to select their own dialogue choices at certain points, as well as make decisions that will in turn influence what ending they get.
And finally, it’s been confirmed that while Treyarch is working on the multiplayer, Raven Software is handling theBlack Ops Cold Warcampaign. This is notable because Raven Software hasn’t developed a single player FPS experience since 2010’sSingularity, so it will definitely be exciting to see what it can deliver.
Cross-Play and Progression
A big feature inCall of Duty: Modern Warfareand theWarzonebattle royale iscross-play and cross-progressionacross multiple platforms. It’s been confirmed thatBlack Ops Cold Warwill be retaining these features, which should ensure that the game has a healthy community despite it coming out on so many platforms.
Development Studios
Black Ops Cold Waris going to be available on virtually every modern gaming platform, minus Stadia and Switch, and it also has plenty of different development studios as well.Treyarch is working on multiplayerand Raven Software is working on campaign, but the studios are being assisted by a variety of other companies that fall under the Activision publishing umbrella. It’s been confirmed that additional work onBlack Ops Cold Waris being done by Activision Shanghai, Beenox, High Noon Studios, and Sledgehammer Games.
Free DLC
WithCall of Duty: Modern Warfare, Activision changed gears significantly from its previous post-release strategy. Instead of selling DLC packs that split up the community, it decided to give away all ofModern Warfare’s post-launch maps and modes for free, while still selling cosmetic bundles and Battle Passes. The result is thatModern Warfarehas been a massive financial success for the company, and so it’s no surprise to see this strategy continue withBlack Ops Cold War.
TheBlack Ops Cold Warfree DLCwill include all major multiplayer content, just like inModern Warfare, as well as Zombies maps. As long as the post-launch support forBlack Ops Cold Waris comparable to what Infinity Ward has done withModern Warfare, it’s safe to say that fans will have a virtually endless stream of new content for the upcoming game.
Future Announcements
While theBlack Ops Cold Warreveal answered a lot of lingering questions about the new game, it also set the stage for future announcements as well. It was confirmed thatBlack Ops Cold Warwill have its multiplayer reveal on September 9, with a Zombies reveal coming at a later date. More information on the open beta will be revealed at a later date as well, though it’s been confirmed that it will be available early to those that pre-order, and earliest to those that pre-order on PS4.
RELATED:Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Uses Different Engine Than Modern Warfare
Multiplayer
Very little was revealed about theBlack Ops Cold Warmultiplayer experience, but fans were given a brief glimpse of it at the end of the reveal trailer. It seems as though theBlack Ops Cold Warmultiplayer will include vehicular combat, as well as a large desert map, but more information will come to light on September 9.
Next-Gen Exclusive Features
Thenext-gen version ofCall of Duty: Black Ops Cold Warcosts $10 more at $70, but it will have some exclusive features that won’t be available in the older versions of the game. Activision hasn’t revealed all of the PS5 and Xbox Series X exclusive features forBlack Ops Cold War, but it has confirmed that the next-gen version of the game will have a higher framerate, ray-tracing, and shorter load times. Just how significant these upgrades are remains to be seen, but fans will get a better idea closer to launch.
Pre-Order Bonuses
So far, a couple of differentBlack Ops Cold Warpre-order bonuses have been confirmed by Activision. Anyone that pre-orders the digital version of the game will get early access to the open beta, and those on PS4 will get evenearlieraccess. Unfortunately, specific dates and times for theBlack Ops Cold Waropen beta aren’t available at this time, but more information is expected to come during the September 9 multiplayer reveal.
Meanwhile, those that pre-order now will get instant access to the Frank Woods operator bundle for use inModern WarfareandWarzone. This bundle includes fan favoriteBlack Opssub-series characterFrank Woods, along with a special weapon blueprint.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold Warhas been confirmed for release on Friday, November 13 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One. The game will also be available for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X when those consoles launch.
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