Around the world, players are slowly gaining access to Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. As more information is released, the game's community is slowly learning what to expect from the next year of gameplay. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War gave its community an early look during the Beta, and now fans are hoping to see even more content than was available back then.
Early pre-order copies and regional launch times are already in motion allowing the game's community their first look into a new title. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is held to high expectations in the minds of fans, and for some players, the title has a very disappointing secret.
The screenshot was posted to Reddit by a fan who received their copy of the game. As fans booted up the title, they noticed that Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War only has eight maps at launch. While this may seem like a wide variety, many fans remember when Call of Duty titles started with at least 16 maps and would build up that number further through additional DLC. Activision has stated that throughout Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War's lifespan the developers will be giving out free maps, but for many fans, those maps should have already been included. While many fans enjoyed the beta, praised the gameplay, they are now feeling a sense of being cheated as Call of Duty gives out less and less content with every release.
Fans note that this is a shift in the industry itself. By providing fans with the bare minimum in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War content, the developers can slowly drip feed in new maps after launch. This increases the lifespan of the game by only giving players a part of the total experience.
Fans have been pointing out the gaming industry's slow reduction of content for many years. With developers putting out Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War DLC that many feel should have already been in the core game, it becomes evident to at least a portion of the game's community that money is the end goal. Battle Pass and seasonal changes offer a new chance to repurchase in-game transactions as new maps are slowly fed into the cycle.
Still, some fans point out the level of work and detail that go into making modern maps. Game development for Call of Duty takes time and by stretching out that timeline, the developers can spend more energy perfecting maps rather than just releasing half-finished products.
There is an argument for both sides, but the general feeling for many early fans is disappointment and dissatisfaction. Hopefully, the game's first season on content will add in a much-needed stimulus of bonus content.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is set to release on November 13th for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X fans.