Activision and Treyarch have finally given us our first look at Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s multiplayer mode. This first footage and new details came during a live stream event entirely focused on the game’s multiplayer offerings. Today’s stream also revealed that the game’s beta comes first to PlayStation 4 players on Oct. 8. As with most things Call of Duty, the trailer below is fast-paced, loud, and filled with new features coming to this year’s entry.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s Treyarch-developed multiplayer mode is filled with lots of new maps, new modes, and new ways to experience Activision’s best-selling video game franchise. One of the bigger additions is Fireteam, a large-scale multiplayer mode with a bit of variety. It will feature 10 teams of four. Today, we saw Fireteam Dirty Bomb, which sees teams racing to acquire uranium, detonate a bomb, and affect the terrain around them. Dirty Bomb sounds to be one of the many iterations of Fireteam, but Treyarch says it won’t be willing to share more until closer to launch.
Five new maps were touched on during the stream as well: Satellite, Armada, Moscow, Miami, and Crossroads. Satellite, for example, drops players into an open desert with nothing but scattered rocks and the walls of a canyon to use for cover. Maps like Armada are a little different, however, and pit players against each other on open waters as they fight to gain control of giant battleships. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War will reintroduce vehicles into the multiplayer mix yet again, though it seems that not every map will feature them.
If you’re a longtime fan of the series, fear not, as Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War will include classic game modes such as Domination, Team Deathmatch, and Search & Destroy alongside new maps and modes.
As usual with these annual releases, Treyarch is making some changes to the Call of Duty fans know and love. Some changes are small, such as how players will view weapon stat changes when switching out attachments. One of the bigger shifts the studio is implementing is with movement in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War; many of the differences in movement speed and momentum are minor, but they will no doubt become more noticeable in action.
Call of Duty: Warzone player experience and earned items will carry over in some way when the next chapter of the mode eventually launches. As part of Activision’s plan to keep players connected, cross-platform and cross-generation play will also be supported. More post-launch content for Warzone and this year’s entry is promised as well, though details are scarce.
It wouldn’t be a Treyarch Call of Duty game without some sort of zombies mode, and though the zombies tease in the stream was extremely brief, it looks like Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s zombies mode may feature classic maps Nacht der Untoten and Tranzit.
Next-gen versions of the game will feature 4K support, photogrammetric techniques to enhance visuals, ray tracing, and 3D audio, among other features. The PlayStation 5 version in particular will feature haptic feedback and HRTF (head-related transfer function) 3D audio.
Today’s live stream follows a leak from earlier this week that offered an early look at the game’s multiplayer mode.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War launches Nov. 13 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X versions will launch at some point in the future.
You can watch today’s entire stream below.
