Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 to Have 'Multiplayer Innovations': Activision

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 release date is October 12 with a full reveal expected on May 17. It has been widely speculated that the latest entry in the franchise will drop a single-player campaign in favour of a multiplayer-only experience including a possible battle royale mode. Activision's latest comments during its quarterly earnings call seem to hint at this as well. The company teased Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 to have "multiplayer innovations". In addition to this Action stated Call of Duty purchases grew year on year with Call of Duty: World War 2's first quarter second to Call of Duty: Black Ops 3. As a whole, the Black Ops has brought in 200 million players to the Call of Duty series and is the most popular sub-franchise in the series with over 15 billion hours played.

Furthermore, Activision told investors that it "plans to be number one again" with the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. It didn't say much else related to the game other than reaffirming its confidence in Treyarch and that players can expect "a number of great developments on the core game itself beyond innovations."

If Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Doesn’t Have a Single-Player Campaign It Shouldn't Cost $60, But It Probably Will Anyway

The firm stated 51 million Monthly Active Users (MAUs) for the quarter, with Call of Duty user engagement seeing year-over-year growth in player engagement. It said it has more in-game content and seasonal events planned for the upcoming months.

It will be interesting to see if the rumours of a lack of a single-player campaign are true. If so, Activision has no business charging $60 for a multiplayer-only experience. Particularly for a game in a franchise that has yearly entries.

Previously it was reported that Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 would have a battle royale mode similar to Fortnite to make up for it. What's more is that it would be developed by Raven Software known for cult classic Singularity as well as downloadable content (DLC) across the Call of Duty series. It appears that Call of Duty: Black Ops 4's single-player campaign was deemed "too out there" by Activision and cancelled.

"Raven Software has reportedly been tasked with adding a Battle Royale mode to Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 to fill the content gap of no campaign," claims Call of Duty fan site Charlie Intel. In another post, it states that "Activision believed that Call of Duty: Black Ops 4’s campaign was 'too out there' and 'outlandish' and cancelled it to let Treyarch focus on MP [multiplayer] and zombies."

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