A Major Shift in the Call of Duty Franchise
Yesterday, sources close to Polygon revealed that Call of Duty: Black Ops IV will not include a single-player campaign. According to the report, the dev team is opting for an expanded multiplayer system. Today, new sources confirm yesterday’s news and add that a Battle Royale mode will be implemented instead.
Originally, anonymous sources from Treyarch suggested that another mode would replace Back Ops IV’s campaign. Something along the lines of a co-op mode seemed plausible. Whatever the case, the developer could not accommodate single-player by the game’s projected launch date. Earlier today Kotaku’s Jason Schrier, connected to numerous inside sources in the industry, confirmed yesterday’s reports.
Instead of a single-player campaign, Call of Duty: Black Ops IV will have Battle Royale incorporated into its multiplayer system.
Still in Paris but I can confirm @plante‘s scoop that Blops IIII won’t have a single-player campaign. It will have a Battle Royale mode, because of course it will https://t.co/rLkYOOxAhb
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) April 18, 2018
Since this isn’t official confirmation, don’t take every word as holy writ. That said, the lack of a single-player campaign would represent a serious departure for the franchise. Originally, the allure of a unique, theatrical storyline provided an allure for many fans of Call of Duty and the FPS genre. But for such a renowned franchise to abandon this portion altogether seems like an abandonment of a portion of its playerbase.
Time will tell how Black Ops IV innovates on the rising Battle Royale genre, if at all. We’ll know more in May after the official reveal. Stay tuned for updates. In the meantime, considering this major change in creative direction, what are your thoughts on the next Call of Duty? Comment down below.