Since early development and prototyping, Black Ops 4 has been a game with the grandiose ambition of solely focusing on social gameplay. Treyarch believes that this social gameplay is where its passion lies, whether it’s zombies, multiplayer, or its new battle royale mode Blackout (which has serious post-launch plans). Vonderhaar even weighed in to say that the question of “what happened to the campaign?” doesn’t make sense because there never was a traditional campaign in BO4.
For those who remain upset about the lack of a story, Bunting promised that this game had more ways to play with a friend than anything they’ve pushed before, and because of that, the replayability is higher than what a guided story mode would offer. Of course, this promise of the most social game Treyarch has ever made led to questions of the inclusion of battle royale: “Was it just plugged in?”
Bunting stated the studio wanted to adapt and evolve, delivering an experience that engages its players, so it wasn’t simple to “plug in” its 88-player battle royale. The inclusion of Blackout wasn’t simple, but Treyarch believed it would elevate to the Black Ops 4 to the best it could be. Bunting even stated that he thinks this game will exceed expectations, and Vonderhaar also stated that the shipping of this game would be the beginning, not the end.
Of course, there will be players who remain upset about the lack of a traditional campaign, but the devotion of Treyarch to its player base is still admirable. Vonderhaar also referred to some tweaks they are making to the battle royale genre, which includes perks, zombies, and even potential co-op.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is slated to release on October 12, 2018, for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
Source: Game Informer
