Yesterday, news broke that the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 would be the first mainline Call of Duty game without a traditional campaign mode. While this may have disappointed some fans, others may be excited to learn that the campaign appears to have been swapped for a battle royale mode.
This is according to both Kotaku and Polygon, who have sources that have confirmed the existence of a battle royale mode in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. Details on this battle royale mode are non-existent at this point, but fans of the genre should be excited to see what a game with a budget like Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 can do in the genre.
While multiple sources have confirmed this information to Kotaku and Polygon, Activision itself has yet to make an official announcement. At the time of this writing, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is still mostly shrouded in mystery, with fans knowing next to nothing about the game beyond its logo and its tagline that fans should "forget what [they] know]" about the franchise.
Luckily, a full reveal for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 isn't far off, so fans may be able to catch a glimpse of its battle royale mode sooner rather than later. Activision is hosting a livestream of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 on May 17 where it is expected to unveil the first gameplay footage of the much-anticipated game, and it's probable that it will show off its battle royale mode at that time.
If May 17 comes and goes without Activision or Treyarch at least mentioning the battle royale mode for Black Ops 4, the next opportunity for fans to see it would likely be E3 2018 in June. Assuming the Call of Duty series maintains its DLC timed-exclusivity with PS4, fans should expect to see more of the game during Sony's E3 press conference.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 should have a consistent presence at game events leading up to its launch in October, so fans should have plenty of opportunities to see the battle royale mode in action. It will be interesting to see what Black Ops 4 is able to do for the genre, and how a major publisher is able to improve upon the battle royale formula.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 will launch on October 12 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.