Black Ops 4 raises the bar for Multiplayer mode that increases tactical gameplay and player choice, along with the biggest Zombies offering ever with three full experiences at launch, and Blackout, where the Black Ops universe comes to life in a massive battle royale experience featuring iconic characters and locations from all four Black Ops games in a one-of-a-kind offering that is uniquely Black Ops.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 transforms the established universe played by hundreds of millions of fans with the largest gameplay experience ever created in the series.

Celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the original Call of Duty Zombies, Black Ops 4 also debuts an entirely new and unprecedented Zombies experience that’s the biggest Day One offering in franchise history – with three fully-featured Zombies experiences at launch – IX, Voyage of Despair and Blood of the Dead. With immersive new adventures, a brand-new cast of characters and a nefarious new enemy, Black Ops 4 Zombies will feature the deep gameplay and easter eggs that the rabid community of fans devours. It also includes the most customizable action to-date, new systems for creating and completing community challenges, and social systems designed to connect players. Black Ops 4 also reintroduces difficulty levels and an in-game tutorial to onboard new players to the Zombies universe, while giving hardcore players the option of ratcheting up the challenge. Additionally, Zombie Rush is a brand new mode that streamlines the gameplay experience, introducing enticing new challenges to grizzled veterans, while creating a whole new tempo of gameplay for newcomers.

Fans will be able to play Call of Duty: Black Ops 4’s popular Battle Royale mode for free in the Blackout Free Trial, which begins Thursday Jan. 17 for one week on PS4, Xbox One and PC.

The Blackout Free Trial will feature all the intense action from the game mode that brings together characters, locations, weapons and gear from across the series with Black Ops signature gameplay fans know and love.

Additionally, Treyarch released a new update to the game today on consoles (later this week on PC) that features the following:

• Debut of Gauntlets and new Elixirs in Zombies on PS4
• A new week of Featured Playlists and the addition of Elevation and Madagascar to map rotation for Black Ops Pass owners in Multiplayer
• New-and-improved console looting interface in Blackout
• plus much more

Summary

• Multiplayer

  • Chaos Control added as MP Featured Playlist.
  • TDM 100, Team Tactical Moshpit, Mercenary Hardcore Moshpit, and Mercenary Deathmatch Moshpit added to MP Featured category.
  • Elevation and Madagascar added to normal map rotation for Black Ops Pass holders.
  • Updates to various game modes, Specialists, Perks, Scorestreaks, Gear, and Challenges.
  • Fix for Killathon Reactive Camo requirements.
  • Various gameplay and stability improvements.
• Zombies
  • 115 Day Celebration Event: Zombies 2XP, Zombies 2X Weapon XP, and 2X Nebulium Plasma live 10AM PT Jan. 15-18.
  • “Unsinkable” Gauntlet in Voyage of Despair (PS4).
  • Three new Epic Elixirs (PS4).
  • Balance updates for six existing Elixirs.
  • Adjustments to PhD Slider Perk.
  • Reduced Crimson Nosferatu damage and spawn rates in Dead of the Night.
  • Various gameplay and stability improvements.
• Blackout
• • Stash interface updated to grid layout for faster looting on consoles.
  • Reduced Concussion grenade stack count to 1.

The following updates are going live today on PS4, Xbox One, and PC:

• Multiplayer
  • Featured Playlists
    • Chaos Control added as Featured Playlist.
      • Teams have unlimited lives.
      • Capture time increased to 2 minutes per zone.
      • Round time limit increased to 3.5 minutes.
      • TDM 100, Team Tactical Moshpit, Mercenary Hardcore Moshpit, and Mercenary Deathmatch Moshpit added to Featured category.
• Zombies
  • 115 Day Celebration Event
    • Zombies 2XP, Zombies 2X Weapon XP, and 2X Nebulium Plasma live 10AM PT Jan. 15-18.

The following updates are going live today first on PS4:

Zombies

• Gauntlets

  • “Unsinkable” Gauntlet live in Voyage of Despair.

  • 30 rounds of challenges with unique rules for each round.

  • Players earn medals and tiered rewards for completing rounds 10, 20, and 30, as well as an additional reward for completing round 30 without failing a round.

  • Players are issued a Strike by failing a round, with the game ending after three Strikes.

  • All matches are timed for competitive speed-run support.

• New Elixirs

  • Perk Up (Epic): Gain 4 additional random Perks that are not in your loadout.

  • Refresh Mint (Epic): Refreshes the cooldowns for Equipment, Perks, and Special Weapons for your entire team.

  • Conflagration Liquidation (Epic): Spawn a Bonfire Sale power-up.

The following updates are going live today on consoles, with PC to follow later this week with additional PC-specific updates:

• Multiplayer

• Maps
  • Elevation and Madagascar added to normal map rotation (Core and Hardcore) for all Black Ops Pass holders.
• Game Modes
  • Heist
    • Added SWAT RFT assault rifle, Daemon 3XB SMG, Combat Axe, and EMP Disruptor to Heist.
    • Resolved an issue where the player would not be granted proper Tier progression in some cases.
    • If the last living player disconnects, all downed friendlies will now bleed out, ending the round.
  • Hardpoint
    • Added an overtime win condition for Hardpoint. In the event of a tie at the end of the time limit, the team to score the next point will win the match.
    • This setting has been enabled for CWL Hardpoint in Custom Games.
  • Search & Destroy
    • Resolved an issue that allowed the defenders to defuse and win the game after the bomb detonated.
  • Free For All
    • Assault Pack can now be interacted with after it was hacked in Free For All.
• Specialists
  • Zero
    • Hacking an enemy no longer prevents Specialist Weapon or Equipment usage.
    • A hacked Assault Pack will now no longer be destroyed if the original owner leaves the match.
    • A hacked Barricade will now no longer be destroyed if the original owner leaves the match.
  • Ruin
    • Resolved an issue that allowed Ruin’s Grav Slam to kill players through walls and floors.
  • Firebreak
    • Resolved an issue that prevented Firebreak’s Purifier from damaging friendly players in game modes with friendly fire enabled.
  • Crash
    • TAK-5 will no longer remove the hacked status from players.
• Perks
  • Improved Cold Blooded’s enemy Scorestreak targeting delay from 5 to 7 seconds.
  • Improved Team Link’s circular vision radius by 9%.
  • Updated Tactical Mask description to include increased resistance against EMP Disruptor.
  • Tracker’s detection icon will now clear correctly if the player switches to a class without the Tracker perk.
• Scorestreaks
  • Care Package should now properly kill a player when landing on top of them.
  • Added a notification for when a player calls in a Thresher.
  • Resolved an issue where a Care Package or Mantis smoke marker’s FX would show for all players.
  • Resolved an issue where the sound of the Care Package hitting the ground was delayed.
  • Resolved an issue where the Dart would not be usable again if it failed to be deployed the first time.
  • Resolved an issue where the player’s view angles would change while controlling a vehicle.
  • Resolved an issue with the hacked vehicle effect remaining on a player’s screen if dying to a hacked vehicle.
• Gear
  • Resolved an issue where the Acoustic Sensor would stop functioning when switching classes during the grace period at the start of a round.
• Challenges
  • Clean Sweep
    • Now correctly tracks Hardcore game modes.
  • Conquest
    • Now correctly tracks Hardcore game modes.
• Weapon Customization
  • Killathon Reactive Camo
    • Killathon Reactive Camo now properly unwraps if it was unwrapped before the requirements changed in a recent update.
    • Updated the unwrap requirement text to correctly reference the new requirements of getting 50 kills, instead of 5 kills without dying.
  • Added support for camo and reticle customization in offline Custom Games.
• Custom Games
  • Resolved an issue where CODCaster spectating would disable a player’s Perks and second Equipment charge.
  • Resolved an issue where the second Equipment charge bar would not show in Custom Games.
  • Bots playing as Zero will now use the Ice Pick in Custom Games with bots.
• Stability – Fixed crashes that could occur:
  • When a player owning a Mesh Mine disconnected from the match.
  • When deploying a Strike Team marker.
  • When hacking a Barricade that expired or was destroyed.
• Black Market
  • “Friendly Fire” reticle owners now have access to green and blue versions of the reticle to match the version displayed in the Black Market.
• Miscellaneous
  • Added a notification in the Death Cam for friendly players when a Tac-Deploy is available.
  • Resolved an issue where player names would no longer show in Multiplayer game modes after playing Heist or Blackout.
  • Resolved an issue that caused on-fire effects to remain on a player’s screen for the duration of the wound.
  • Resolved an issue that prevented some alternative voiceover lines from playing to the player.

• Zombies

• Gameplay
  • Elixir Updates
    • Join The Party: Now revives downed players in addition to respawning dead party members, but will not restore lost Perks.
    • Sword Flay: Melee attacks now instantly kill Basic and Vermin enemies for the duration, and deal 5X damage to all other enemies.
    • CTRL-Z: Increased the duration of turned zombies from 15 seconds to 30 seconds.
    • Cache Back: Reduced rarity from Epic to Legendary to increase the chance of concocting Cache Back more frequently.
    • Phantom Reload: Doubled the previous percentage chance to get free ammo.
    • Blood Debt: Duration reduced from 3 minutes to 1 minute, and Blood Debt now simply ends when points are reduced to zero, rather than killing the player.
  • Perks
    • PhD Slider now fully prevents self-inflicted explosive damage.
    • PhD Slider damage reduction for enemy explosive attacks has been changed from 80% to 50%.
  • Dead of the Night
    • Reduced the damage dealt by the Crimson Nosferatu bite attack.
    • Reduced the maximum number of Nosferatu and Crimson Nosferatu that spawn during normal round progression.
  • Power-ups
    • Power-ups are now more evenly distributed to appear throughout each round, as opposed to near the start of the round.
• Stability
  • Global – Fixed crashes that could occur:
    • After waiting for a long period of time in the lobby after exiting a match.
    • In certain cases when using Deadshot Dealer.
    • In rare cases when joining a Custom Game in progress.
    • In rare cases when a player spectated a Zombies match.
    • In rare cases when the alternate ammo type from a Pack-a-Punched weapon affected an enemy.
  • Blood of the Dead
    • Fixed a crash that could occur during the ending cinematic.
    • Fixed a rare crash that could occur while using the Hellfire in Eagle Plaza outside of the Warden's House on Round 73.
  • Voyage of Despair
    • Fixed a crash that could occur after finishing the portals for the Catalysts in the Main Quest.
• Challenges
  • Charmed
    • Now properly requires players to use 50 Talismans.
• Miscellaneous
  • Global
    • Best Time now properly displays when selecting maps at the Zombies mode screen.
    • Resolved an issue where players were still damaged by zombies during the Nuke whiteout screen and shortly afterward.
    • Resolved an issue where players could go past Prestige Master rank 1000 through natural play.
    • Resolved an issue where FX may sometimes disappear, including on Wonder Weapons, Perks, Pack-a-Punched weapons, and Silver Bullets.
    • Resolved an issue where a host went missing after 30 seconds while waiting in the lobby with 3 players in a private match.
    • Resolved an issue where the Cartoon mode effect could still persist for the player if a second player in a splitscreen party turned on Cartoon mode, and the first player left the match and went into a solo match afterward.
    • Resolved a visual issue where the level 3 Chakram Whirlwind FX could be seen spinning around the player along with low-resolution dust FX.
    • Resolved an issue where the Maddox with Dual Zoom attachment could carry far more ammo than usual when Pack-a-Punched.
    • Resolved an issue where the After Action Report tabs could overlap each other.
    • Resolved an issue where players with a Minor or Major Virtuoso’s Charm Talisman still had a chance of the Mystery Box moving to another location on their next box opening.
    • Resolved issues where the Welling Clan Tag was misaligned on the Welling and clipping into the player’s hand, and where the Kill Counter did not appear at all.
    • Resolved an issue on Xbox One when a guest profile attempting to access the Laboratory could encounter multiple issues, including a UI error and lost cursor functionality.
    • Closed an exploit where players could enter a live game with custom rules.
  • Dead of the Night
    • Implemented visual improvements for the Pack-a-Punch camo on multiple weapon attachments.
    • Resolved an issue related to Nosferatu Bile pickups slowly accumulating if it was not collected by the player.
    • Resolved a bug that caused the player’s weapon to switch to the Welling for the duration of a Crimson Nosferatu bite attack.
    • Resolved an issue that could cause Nosferatu to spawn under the map when summoned by the Crimson Nosferatu.
    • Resolved an issue that allowed enemies killed by the Wonder Weapon to sometimes spawn power-ups outside of the playable space.
    • Resolved an issue that caused inconsistent visibility during the Wonder Weapon quest while in splitscreen.
    • Resolved a timing-specific issue that could lead to the incorrect player being sacrificed during the Main Quest.
    • Resolved an issue where Silver Bullet weapons canceled the Deadshot Dealer Perk modifier headshot streak.
    • Resolved a collision issue that allowed the Theater camera from leaving the playable space in the Gardens.
    • Resolved an issue that caused poor visualization of the trees in the Gardens area.
    • Resolved an issue that caused a prompt on the clock for the Pack-a-Punch to remain indefinitely after the sequence completed.
    • Resolved a rare progression issue related to enemies spawning in a non-playable location.
  • IX
    • Addressed a rare progression break that occurred when a special round started as players teleported to the Chaos Tower.
    • Addressed a rare case where players could become immune to fire traps.
  • Blood of the Dead
    • Resolved an issue where no fog would appear during Hellhound rounds.
    • Closed an exploitable area that players could reach in the Citadel Tunnels using the Path of Sorrows.
    • Closed an exploitable area on the catwalk that players could reach using the Ragnarok DG-5.
  • Classified
    • Resolved an issue where the blur effect from killing Nova 6 Crawlers persisted for spectating players.
    • Resolved an issue where a player using Nowhere but There would teleport to the War Room instead of the Laboratories when another player was downed in the elevator while it was on the Laboratories floor.

• Blackout

• Looting Interface
  • Looting interface on consoles is now a grid layout with multiple pages for all Stash types.
  • Identical items will now stack inside a Stash instead of being displayed individually.
  • Remaining Armor is now displayed on Armor items in a Stash.
• Gameplay
  • Reduced Concussion grenade stack count to 1.

In addition to unveiling Multiplayer and Zombies, the team also introduced Blackout – the new battle royale-style experience that combines Black Ops’ signature fast, fluid, guns-up combat, with fierce new levels of survival competition across iconic Black Ops settings re-imagined at a colossal scale. Blackout is an experience unlike any other game or mode in Call of Duty history, where players will have to scavenge, strategize, compete and survive to win. Featuring the largest map ever built in Call of Duty – 1,500 times bigger than Nuketown – Blackout thrusts players into a collision course as they play as classic characters spanning the history of the Black Ops series including the original Call of Duty Zombies Origins cast. Battling solo or in teams, players will engage in diverse combat complete with ground, air and sea vehicles across a gamespace unlike anything ever in Call of Duty. Players will encounter fan-favorite Black Ops map locations and call upon a massive arsenal of Black Ops weaponry and equipment as the winner-takes-all action creates a new way to play Call of Duty.

For the PC, Treyarch is co-developing with Beenox, who together are working closely with Blizzard to optimize Black Ops 4 for Battle.net. Black Ops 4 represents the largest development team assembled for a PC title in the series. Black Ops 4 on PC will have uncapped framerate, 4K resolution and HDR, support for ultra-wide monitors and the ability for players to extensively customize the performance and visual quality for their specific hardware. In addition, players will be able to select from pre-set control options, including options for left-handed players, or fully customize the keyboard and mouse controls to their preference. In addition, Treyarch and Beenox worked closely with the team at Blizzard to incorporate Battle.net’s social systems, security, and server stability into Black Ops 4, to prepare for the release on Battle.net on October 12.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 has three distinct modes of play:

• MULTIPLAYER:  Call of Duty:  Black Ops 4’s multiplayer experience delivers the most tactical depth to-date. Featuring a gritty, grounded combat experience, Black Ops 4 Multiplayer is set between Black Ops 2 and Black Ops 3 and serves as a prequel to the game’s Specialists and their backstories. Multiplayer has been revamped to a whole new level, designed to offer more choice, reward more styles of play and create an even more intensely competitive experience.
  • SPECIALISTS: Specialists return in a big way: their weapons and equipment are unique to each, so combining Specialists based on style of play and game mode adds a new level of strategy and team creativity – it’s all about synergy.
    • Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 features a combination of new and re-imagined Specialists, all of whom have distinct combat profiles and abilities.
  • TEAMWORK: Multiplayer in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 places an emphasis on tactical teamplay that rewards all play styles that contribute to a team’s success, not just individual performance or K/D ratio. Players can combine their talents with other players to become force multipliers, making the team more superior than any one player could be on their own.
    • Players are strong on their own, but unstoppable as a team, especially when they combine Specialists in strategic ways to work together.
  • PLAYER MOVEMENT AND GAMEPLAY PACE: The pace of Black Ops 4 has evolved, without slowing down the speed of the player. Combat is more tactical, yet more fluid than ever.
  • Black Ops 4 multiplayer is a grounded experience, with no thrust-jumps or wall-running.
    • It also introduces a new manual health system that you must strategically employ: choose when to regenerate your health as it recharges on a cooldown.
• ZOMBIES: This year marks the 10-year anniversary of Call of Duty Zombies, as Black Ops 4 delivers the biggest Zombies offering at launch ever with three full Zombies experiences.
  • NEW STORY/CHARACTERS: Black Ops 4 Zombies marks the beginning of a brand-new storyline with new characters.
    • Voyage of Despair is set aboard the RMS Titanic, an iconic and monumental setting where our four protagonists discover the truth that befell the doomed passengers on that fateful night.
    • Set in ancient Rome, IX thrusts our four protagonists into a coliseum where ritual sacrifices may be required.  
    • Expanding on the fan-favorite Mob of the Dead, the third map Blood of the Dead features the Origins characters from the previous Zombies storyline visiting the purgatory dimension of Alcatraz.
  • MORE CUSTOMIZATION : In Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Zombies will be the most customizable experience to-date, giving players access to customizable options that allow players to change the fundamental rules and systems of the Zombies gameplay experience.
    • Black Ops 4 Zombies will include Custom Games and new Game Modes, which will deliver a more personalized Zombies experience – allowing players to tailor the challenge and difficulty to their play style, and experience the game in a new way.
• BLACKOUT: Blackout is a celebration of the Black Ops community, introducing a brand-new Battle Royale style mode steeped in the Black Ops universe. Blackout pits the most players ever in franchise history against each other, in the biggest map in Call of Duty history, all with the signature Black Ops combat players know and love.
  • BLACK OPS PLAYABLE CHARACTERS AND FAN-FAVORITE LOCALES: Blackout will feature classic playable characters from previous Black Ops games with a colossal map that features locations inspired by fan-favorite Black Ops multiplayer maps, including iconic areas from Nuketown and Firing Range.
  • CLASSIC WEAPONS AND VEHICLES: The mode will feature classic Black Ops weapons with different ammo types and equipment that players will loot and scavenge in the map. Players will also find and drive land, sea and air vehicles.

With the biggest dedicated PC development team ever in the series, Black Ops delivers a fully-optimized PC experience. Everything from the visuals to the controls has been built and optimized for PC gamers in every way possible.

• DEDICATED PC DEVELOPMENT: Treyarch is working closely with Beenox to develop Black Ops 4 for PC, featuring an uncapped frame-rate, 4k resolution and HDR, and support for ultra-wide monitors.
• FIRST CALL OF DUTY GAME ON BLIZZARDS’ BATTLE.NET: Through its partnership with Blizzard, Black Ops 4 will be available on the Battle.net online platform.  The game will include all the social features of the Battle.net platform, which includes staying connected to friends playing other games on Battle.net or staying connected to the Battle.net mobile app.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is scheduled for release on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC on October 12th. Fans can pre-order now and get access to the Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Private Beta.