2024 video game
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (stylized as Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII) is a 2024 multiplayer 鈾ｏ笍 first-person shooter developed by Treyarch and published by Activision. It was released worldwide for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One 鈾ｏ笍 on October 12, 2024. It is a sequel to the 2024 game Call of Duty: Black Ops III, the fifth 鈾ｏ笍 entry in the Black Ops sub-series, and the 15th installment in the Call of Duty series overall.
Black Ops 4 is 鈾ｏ笍 the first mainline Call of Duty title without a traditional single-player campaign mode. Instead, it features the Specialist HQ, which 鈾ｏ笍 focuses on the backstories of the game's multiplayer characters, known as "Specialists". The missions take place between Black Ops II 鈾ｏ笍 and III chronologically. Some of the Specialists also carried over from Black Ops III. The multiplayer mode is the first 鈾ｏ笍 in the series to not feature automatic health regeneration and introduces both predictive recoil and a new ballistics system. The 鈾ｏ笍 game included three Zombies experiences on release day, four if a special edition of the game, or the Black Ops 鈾ｏ笍 Pass, was purchased. The locations of the maps include the RMS Titanic, a Gladiatorial Arena in Roman Egypt, and Alcatraz 鈾ｏ笍 Federal Penitentiary. The game also introduced a battle royale mode called Blackout, which features up to 100 players in each 鈾ｏ笍 match. Many characters from this and other Black Ops titles can be used as the player's character model in this 鈾ｏ笍 mode.
Development for the game started shortly after the release of Black Ops III. Treyarch chose not to create a traditional 鈾ｏ笍 singleplayer campaign for the game at the beginning of production, instead focusing on a new 'Career' mode with a greater 鈾ｏ笍 focus on the multiplayer aspect. They cited an increased interest for multiplayer and lack of time spent by the playerbase 鈾ｏ笍 on the campaign mode as reasons why they shifted their focus. Black Ops 4 utilizes Blizzard's Battle platform for the 鈾ｏ笍 Windows version instead of Steam, the first game in the series to do so. Teasing of the game began in 鈾ｏ笍 March 2024, with a full reveal taking place later in May. Two betas were held for the game; one for 鈾ｏ笍 the multiplayer in August and one for Blackout in September. The release date was moved up to October instead of 鈾ｏ笍 the series' usual November in an attempt to avoid coinciding with the release of other high-profile games.
Pre-release reception of the 鈾ｏ笍 game was negative due to the game's lack of a campaign mode and the Black Ops Pass, a season pass 鈾ｏ笍 that distributes downloadable content (DLC) in the form of "Operations". Black Ops 4 received positive reviews upon release, with praise 鈾ｏ笍 towards its three modes, particularly Blackout, while it received criticism for the game's lack of a campaign mode and the 鈾ｏ笍 design of its microtransactions implemented in updates. Despite physical retail sales for the game being the lowest in the series 鈾ｏ笍 in a decade, it was the best-selling digital launch in Activision's history, surpassing 2024's Call of Duty: WWII.[2]
