February 4 marks the big mid-season update for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, but more updates to the game are planned throughout the month of February. Treyarch has recently pulled the curtain back on some of its plans for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, revealing a major new addition to the game that fans have been asking for since it launched last year.
As confirmed by Treyarch, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is finally adding League Play. This ranked, competitive game mode is coming to Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War on February 8. Treyarch has said that the mode is "built on the foundations" of League Play from Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, but it will give players the chance to earn even more Ranks and participate in League Play Events.
Further details on what exactly Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War's League Play will entail have not been revealed at the time of this writing. However, Treyarch has said that more details will come soon, and so fans should expect an info dump sooner rather than later.
Part of the reason why Treyarch is adding League Play to Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War now is due to the impending start of the Call of Duty League 2021 season. This year's Call of Duty League will kick off on February 11 with the Atlanta FaZe home series, and so Treyarch wanted League Play in the game prior to that. It should be great news for Call of Duty fans who have been asking for League Play in Black Ops Cold War, though it's unclear how this will impact the core game.
One of the most controversial aspects of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is its use of SBMM, or skill-based matchmaking. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War SBMM hurts the gameplay experience for many, and so fans have asked for League Play to replace it, hoping for a matchmaking system more in-line with older Call of Duty games. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear as though the introduction of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War League Play means that SBMM is being removed from the regular multiplayer experience.
At the time of this writing, SBMM is one of the top trends on Twitter, so it's clear that many Call of Duty fans are still hoping that Treyarch will remove SBMM from Black Ops Cold War. That's not the case for now, though at least players can get some rewards for participating in "ranked" matches now.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.