Call of Duty exclusivity deals have been going on for well over a decade now, and they never cease to drum up controversy. During the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 era, Call of Duty exclusivity deals saw Xbox get first dibs on multiplayer DLC, usually for month-long intervals. Nowadays the exclusivity deals are a bit more extreme, with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare players on PS4 getting exclusive access to Spec Ops Survival for an entire year. And now Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War has confirmed its PlayStation exclusive content, which it labels as the "Sony Advantage."
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War players on PS4 and PS5 will get exclusive access to two extra loadout slots, which they will unlock when they earn the Create-A-Class ability at level 4. Not only that, but Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War players on PS4 and PS5 will also get five extra tier skips when they buy the Season 1 Battle Pass, monthly double XP events, and an additional 25% bonus weapon XP when playing in a party.
These newly announced Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War PlayStation exclusive bonuses join the previously-revealed Zombies Onslaught mode. Zombies Onslaught is a 2-player co-op mode that sees players fight off waves of the undead on the game's various multiplayer maps. PC and Xbox players that want to try Zombies Onslaught will have to wait until November 1, 2021 at the earliest.
While Call of Duty exclusivity deals are nothing new, the length of these latest deals has seen them criticized even more than usual. Not only that, but painting these exclusivity deals as giving Sony and PlayStation fans an "advantage" will likely not sit well with some members of the Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War community. However, it should be noted that there isn't a real competitive advantage here; it seems like PlayStation fans will just get to level things up faster.
Some PC and Xbox gamers may still be upset about the Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War PlayStation exclusive content, but there will still be plenty for them to experience at launch. As far as Call of Duty games go, Black Ops Cold War is launching with even more content than usual, as it has a campaign, the standard multiplayer experience, Zombies, presumably Dead Ops Arcade 3, and of course, the Warzone battle royale.
Looking ahead, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War players on all platforms can look forward to the game getting new content for free. The free Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War content updates will kick off with Nuketown '84 on November 24, followed by a big content drop as part of Black Ops Cold War Season 1 on December 10.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War launches November 13 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.