Treyarch revealed at a press event in Los Angeles today new details for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4's multiplayer. It's clear from the new details that the multiplayer-only Black Ops 4 will shake things up in a few ways. Treyarch boss Mark Lamia states "Black Ops 4 doesn't have a traditional campaign, we're weaving narrative into each of the modes." This sounds similar to the "campaign" seen in Titanfall 1. As a result, the three main modes will be Multiplayer, Zombies and now "Blackout", a battle-royal mode. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is out for PC (via Battle.net), Xbox One and PS4 on October 12.
Multiplayer
Treyarch have claimed the throne as kings of Call of Duty multiplayer since the end of the Modern Warfare series. With Black Ops and the Call of Duty formula firmly established, they are looking to innovate the series again. Removing the wall running and double jumping, Black Ops 4 will have a purely "boots on the ground" focus. However, they are pushing the gameplay in the direction of modern Hero shooters. These influences are definitely welcome, as success in Activision-Blizzard's Overwatch and the military themed shooter Rainbow Six: Siege have shown.
Each team will have "Specialists" who come with specific sets of abilities. There are currently eight specialists revealed, being Battery, Crash, Ajax, Recon, Torque, Ruin, Firebreak, Seraph. Forbes is reporting that teams will be limited to one specialist type per team. As Black Ops is adopting this new Hero shooter style, there are changes to the core gameplay. Health doesn't regenerate and instead must be healed through Specialist abilities. Grenades and other items are recharge based, similar to Destiny. The Pick 10 system is returning with a new Gear section to change things up. Lastly, a change that will either be inconsequential or huge is the change from 6v6 to 5v5.
Zombies
The Zombies mode has remain one of the main drawing points for the Black Ops series. Treyarch look to double down on it even more in Black Ops 3. They have released three trailers detailing three massive campaigns for Zombies. These campaigns will take players to Ancient Rome in "IX", the Titanic in "Voyage of Despair" and a mysterious location in "Blood of the Dead". Alongside the new campaigns, Treyarch announced Mutations, a system that allows for customisation of Zombie health, speed and other factors. They also announced that players can fill empty team spaces with bots. Zombies will include limited time events and challenges to keep long term players rewarded.
Blackout
The newest addition to Black Ops is Treyarch's new Blackout mode. In the trailer, Treyarch make it clear that the Battle Royal gamemode is an inevitability for new games. However, they are setting out to give it a distinct Call of Duty feel. The massive map will allow for the same large scale action of PuBG or Fortnite, but with the tight Call of Duty gunplay. The trailer also reveals that Treyarch are introducing vehicles to help players navigate the large map. From the looks of things, this will give Blackout a very Battlefield tone. With the increase of Battle Royal modes, it will be interesting to see a major developers take on it.
