Ahead of next week's beta for
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4's battle royale mode, Blackout, Treyarch has unleashed an explosive trailer for the highly anticipated new mode. Blackout features a premise that's very much similar to other battle royale games - drop into the map and fight until your the last one standing - but the trailer highlights a few elements that set it apart from the competition. Back when it was first revealed, Treyarch promised the mode would offer its own
Call of Duty flair on the battle royale genre, which is quickly becoming oversaturated with clones. The trailer highlights some of those features, most notably
Call of Duty's quick gunplay and the addition of AI-controlled zombies roaming the map.
Unlike
Fortnite, and even
Battlefield 5's Firestorm, Blackout doesn't appear to have any sort of building or fortification system. Instead, the focus appears to be strictly on the combat, which includes an assortment of familiar weapons and explosives. There also seems to be a emphasis on vehicular combat, as players can take command of land, sea, and air vehicles.
Finally, the trailer offers us a glimpse of the various points of interest scattered around the map. We see quite a few familiar locales, including the fan-favorite Nuketown. As revealed by Treyarch earlier this week, Blackout's map - which is said to be the largest in franchise history (1,500 times the size of the classic Nuketown) - will feature 13 named locations. Also confirmed this week, Blackout currently supports 80 players at max, though Treyarch admits that could change post-beta or even post-launch.
A private beta for Blackout will go live for PlayStation 4 on September 10, while Xbox One and PC will have to wait until September 14. The beta is slated to run through September 17 on all platforms.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 releases October 12 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.