SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 19 — The 2018 iteration of alt-history action franchise Call of Duty, Black Ops 4, is commencing a period of free seven-day access to the online game’s big draw, battle royale mode Blackout.
Until January 24, 2019, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is running a free trial for its 100-player last person standing Blackout mode.
It can be downloaded from the PlayStation Store for PlayStation 4, the Xbox Marketplace for Xbox One, and Blizzard’s Battle.net desktop client for Windows PC.
A Call of Duty take on the Battle Royale format that has propelled PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) and Fortnite to enormous popular and financial success, Blackout also functions as a best-of revue lifting various iconic locations from previous entries to the franchise.
In contrast to previous years, 2018’s edition of the annual franchise dumped a traditional single-player story mode, and its associated spectacle, for Blackout and, on console, a bumper helping of a more co-operative Zombies mode that has likewise become a hallmark of the series.
(On PC, Blackout is available to purchase in a separate package with conventional versus multiplayer, or together with Zombies mode.)
Such a deviation from past practice didn’t harm the risk-taking iteration’s reception in terms of reviews upon October launch, nor its commercial performance, with publisher Activision proclaiming a $500m USD three-day take — on a par with the previous year’s Call of Duty: WWII and not too far short of 2015’s Black Ops III.
Of course, three months out from launch and Activision is contending with the continued dominance of free Battle Royale regent Fortnite, which this week introduced a new mystery element, a floating ball of ice and January 19’s apparent Ice Storm, generating a renewed bout of interest as a result.
Perhaps with that in mind, Black Ops 4 is rolling out not only its first week-long free trial but also its first limited time mode for Blackout, second-chance team game Down But Not Out, with a two-week stint now active on PlayStation 4 and arriving on Xbox One and PC in due course. — AFP-Relaxnews
