Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Multiplayer Revealed, Here’s Gameplay and Details

 

Yesterday, Activision and Treyarch revealed the multiplayer for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and similar to what we’ve seen in previous instalments in the series, not only will gameplay be going back to basics (i.e. no double jumps and jetpacks), the multiplayer of Black Ops Cold War will now be ditching the Operators.

The Operators have been a recent focal point in the series, especially with Black Ops 4 and Modern Warfare, offering characters with special weapons and abilities.  Personally, I’ve never been a fan of the Operators, as I just like to pick my basic character, and just concentre on my loadouts and perks, the way it used to be.  But I know there are a lot of fans that enjoy the Operators, so it’s been a feature that has split the community on personal preference.  With the multiplayer reveal, we also got a glimpse at some of the maps and modes that will be available at launch, as well as learning a little bit more on the multiplayer beta details, which grants early access to those that pre-order the game.

One of the best aspects of Black Ops Cold War, is that it will not only be a cross-platform title, but it will also be a cross-generation title.  Meaning that PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X players can all compete as a team, and against each other.  However, it’s not just being able to play together that will be cross-platform/generation, because so too will your profile, progression and stats, as long as you link your gamer profiles to an Activision account.  You’ll be able to switch between platforms, without losing any data, which is fantastic.

With all your progression being accessible across platforms, this also means that your Battle Pass progression and unlocks will also carry over.  But that’s not all, because you’re levelling-up progression, unlocks and Store purchases will connect between Modern Warfare/Warzone and Black Ops Cold War.

In terms of multiplayer maps, we got a glimpse of five maps that will feature in the full game, but of course there will be more than five multiplayer maps come release.  From what I can tell, the maps look quite varied and have various layers, and platforms to explore.  The five maps revealed so far are Armanda, a map based on Operation Azorian, U.S in the North Atlantic Ocean, a location housing a prototype nuclear submarine and allows you to zip-line between ships.

Crossroads takes place in Afghanistan, home of a large Soviet Military Convoy in an open frozen wilderness, a perfect playground for large vehicles such as tanks.  Miami takes the fight to the neon-lit streets and famous beaches, with clubs, cars, enclosed and open spaces to plan an ambush against your opposing team.  Moscow will take the battle to a CIA Safehouse with combat spilling on to the streets.  Finally Satellite takes place in the deep deserts of Angola, in Central Africa, filled with close-quarter caves, tunnels as well as open spaces, ideal for a sniper vantage point.

Multiplayer modes will include the faithful returns of Team Deathmatch, Search & Destroy, Domination and Kill Confirmed, among many others.  We’ll also be getting new and improved modes such as VIP Escort, Combined Arms and Fireteam, as well as Control making a triumphant return.

VIP Escort is pretty much what it says on the tin.  This is a 6v6 objective based mode that will see one team defending and escorting a VIP, while it’s the job of the opposing team to ensure that the VIP doesn’t make it to the extraction point.  Rather than the VIP being controlled by AI, it will be player controlled.  However, the VIP will also be armed with a basic pistol, as well as a smoke grenade and a UAV.

Combined Arms is a 12v12 mode that not only combines combat on foot, but also encourages the players to utilise the vehicles available in the mode.  Vehicles will include tanks, helicopters, FAV Buggies, Dirt Bikes, Wakerunners and Gunboats.  Depending on the mode, vehicles will be available in other multiplayer modes too.  Combined Arms will also combine a variety of maps and modes.

Finally, Fireteam is a 40-player mode, which will have 10 teams of four competing against each other.  The maps in this mode look to be open-sandbox, where players will not only have to eradicate the opposing teams, but they must also compete to complete objectives how they see fit.  One mode/objective that will feature in Fireteam is Dirty Bomb, which Activision and Treyarch promise to release further details at a later date.

We also learned more about the multiplayer beta which will begin in October, over two weekends, which actually last five days, beginning on a Thursday.  Firstly, players who pre-ordered Black Ops Cold War on PlayStation will be able to play the beta from Thursday, October 8^th until Monday, October 12^th for the first beta weekend.  Then on the same opening weekend, from Saturday, October 10^th to Monday, October 12^th, all PS4 players with an active PS+ subscription can take part.

For the second beta weekend, those that pre-order Black Ops Cold War for PC and Xbox, can take part from Thursday, October 15^th until Monday, October 19^th.  Then from Saturday, October 17^th until Monday, October 19^th, all PC and Xbox One players can join in.  Additionally, PS4 players can continue their beta progression from weekend 1 into weekend 2.

The beta for weekend 2 will also include cross-platform across PC, PS4 and Xbox One.  To clarify for those that pre-order Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, whether you pre-order the game on current-gen or next-gen systems, you’ll get access to both beta weekends.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War will release for PC, PS4, Xbox One and Xbox Series X(S) on November 13^th, as well as for PS5 when the console launch date is announced.  Black Ops Cold War will offer a next-gen upgrade, but you’ll have to buy a Cross Gen Bundle version, which is about £5/$10 more expensive than the standard edition.

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