Gaming Twitter erupted in shock Tuesday afternoon after news that Activision could be removing its single-player game type in its newest Call of Duty title.
The CoD franchise distinguished its campaign mode in early games with stunning visualizations, cinematic storylines and unique missions that sent players on excursions of the past, present and future.
Call of Duty on Twitter
Forget what you know. Call of Duty #BlackOps4 Community Reveal Event: May 17, 2018 Global Launch: October 12, 2018 https://t.co/C4lMdo0A7c
Anonymous sources told Polygonthat Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 will not include the traditional single-player mode. This would make Black Ops 4 the first game in the main series without a campaign due to it not being ready for the titles October 12 release date.
The focus would be to develop an expanded multiplayer and zombies game mode, which are the two other primary aspects of the first-person shooter. This decision could have come from data analysis from the games publisher showing that the hours spent playing multiplayer significantly outweigh the hours played in campaign mode.
According to Statista.com,three of the top five highest-selling CoD titles hailed from the Black Ops story arc with the first edition ranked at second overall behind Modern Warfare 3 and sold over 30 million copies.
The two most recent titles 2017s WWII and 2016s Infinite Warfare sold a little over 25 million copies combined, as of January 2018 a staggering disappointment compared to the 2009 Black Ops release.
Each games numbers have declined even with every game mode included. The idea that more sales could come from removing a key mode that defined the franchise for over a decade is questionable.
In spite of slow momentum in recent sales, the CoD esports scene has steadily thrived, selling out venues and large arenas to showcase the best teams in the world. Call of Duty World League players compete for prizes that are worth $4.2 million this season and travel across the globe in stick-to-stick combat.
The idea for a battle royale mode in an Activision Blizzard game was floated by the publishers investment firm after noticing the success of other titles within the genre, like Fortnite and PUBG. Charlie Intel reported Tuesday night that sources close to the developers say battle royale will be available in the game.
Black Ops 4 on Twitter
ICYMI: Activision are ‘Keenly Aware’ of Battle Royale Games Success! What could this mean for Call of Duty Black Ops 4? #BlackOps4 #BlackOpsIIII
After a largely successful Twitch stream from popular streamer Ninja that included Grammy award-winning artist Drake, Fortnite catapulted the success of the battle royale genre seeing esports teams beginning to form for this title and similar games, like Daybreakers H1Z1. However, Activision has not confirmed a Battle Royale for Black Ops 4.
Forget what you know seems to fit the theme for this title; everything you may know and love could be drastically different, including a CoD game with no campaign.
