The launch of Activision's Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War was led by one of the best in-game events of 2020, as fans could play out the first-person shooter's trailer in the battle royale Call of Duty: Warzone. After Black Ops Cold War launched it was integrated with Warzone similar to the series' previous title, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, and that integration is being celebrated with a special promotion for New Year's.
Winter-themed events are common in evolving video games, particularly based on holidays such as Christmas. However, games like Animal Crossing: New Horizons have also been gearing up for New Year's Eve by releasing new items for players. Based on a Twitter post today, Treyarch is planning to help fans ring in 2021 with more of a casual present.
There will be a double XP weekend taking place in both Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Warzone starting December 31 at 10:00 a.m. PT. Unlike previous events, such as a Double Battle Pass XP period between December 22 and 28, it appears the New Year's event will only affect basic level experience. That being said, it is set to last until January 4, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. PT, which should make it the perfect opportunity for players to catch up if they just got the game over the holidays.
Some fans likely wish Treyarch's offer extended to other in-game mechanics such as weapon XP, but it is nice for the developer to provide something extra to do during a long holiday weekend. The fact that this bonus is permanent for every player during the event period also puts it a cut above Black Ops Cold War's Double XP tokens, which have been criticized for being active while players are not in a match.
Treyarch and Raven Software's latest Black Ops title has been criticized for a number of things, including a host of bugs that are seemingly expected with a new Call of Duty release and lackluster split-screen support. However, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War has still performed well, setting a digital sales record for the franchise at launch, according to VentureBeat.
There are sure to be plenty of Call of Duty fans active in Black Ops Cold War and Warzone over New Year's weekend to take advantage of the Double XP event. However, there are numerous other events to potentially tune into, such as a special International Space Station stream featuring Pokemon.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
Source: VentureBeat