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Activision and Treyarch have lifted the lid on Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War's multiplayer, showing off new maps and more during a dedicated live stream event that took place last night.
The core of the multiplayer is based around "Deniable Operations" which will be a series of engagements taking place on maps that are "rooted in the game’s realistic and historical setting" and will take you to locations such as Uzbekistan, Moscow, Angola, Miami and even the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Each map is said to be "meticulously designed and based on authentic, real-world sources" with Treyarch's visual research teams photo-scanning thousands of objects and materials.
Team Deathmatch, Search & Destroy, Domination, Kill Confirmed and Control modes all make a return, alongside new modes VIP Escort, Combined Arms, and Fireteam. VIP Escort is a 6v6 gametype where one player on each team is randomly selected to be the VIP and must be protected by their teammates. Combined Arms is a larger 12v12 gamemode taking place on larger maps with vehicles and will itself include a bunch of submodes within, such as Domination.
Finally, Fireteam is bigger still with 40 players split into upto ten teams of four; with one gamemode in that configuration named so far: Dirty Bomb. We're told there'll be more information on that and other Fireteam modes closer to launch.
Improvements to scorestreaks are promised and the series Create a Class system is now slot-based. New this time around too are the addition of Field Upgrades; items that can either give your team a boost or the opposing team a setback, to be earned in-game "with a cooldown that lasts after death." Finally Wildcards can be applied to loadouts, which can provide one of set of four benefits including more attachments, carry more perks or carry more tactical equipment.
Naturally, there's going to be a beta for the multiplayer too, with the first weekend being a PlayStation exclusive. Those who've pre-ordered Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War on PlayStation 4 will get to play the first weekend, on October 8 through October 9. Then the beta will be opened to everyone else on PlayStation 4 for October 10 until October 12.
Following that weekend, a crossplay beta will take place for all formats —Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC— from October 15 until October 16 for those that have pre-ordered the game, followed by an Open Beta from October 17 until the beta concludes on October 19.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War's release will also see changes to Call of Duty: Warzone, with the free-to-play game "interweaving some of Black Ops Cold War’s themes, weapons, and operators" upon Cold War's launch. Of course, your Call of Duty: Modern Warfare themed content earned before then will still carry over too, and still be usable by those who choose not to get Black Ops Cold War.
There's plenty more information to be read over on the Activision blog, but for now check out the recording of the multiplayer reveal livestream as well as the multiplayer trailer for yourself below – stick around to the end of the trailer too for a tiny Zombies related tease.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is set for release on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC on November 13 with Xbox Series S/X and PlayStation 5 versions to come soon after.
