Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. News

Call of Duty will reportedly continue in 2018 with ‘Black Ops 4’

By

Call of Duty: Black Ops III
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Call of Duty’s long-running series Black Ops looks as if it will return for a fourth entry later this year. According to Eurogamer, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 will launch this fall.

This comes on the heels of “industry insider” Marcus Sellars tweet about Black Ops 4.

Recommended Videos

COD 2018 is Black Ops 4 and is coming to PS4/Xbox/PC/Switch. It is set in the modern times and is boots on the ground. The Switch version will support DLC, HD Rumble and motion controls. The Switch version is also being ported by a company which is familar with COD games.

— Marcus Sellars (@Marcus_Sellars) February 4, 2018

Related

Reportedly, Treyarch is developing Black Ops 4, which will launch on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Unlike Sellars, Eurogamer couldn’t confirm the existence of a Nintendo Switch version. It is Treyarch’s “turn” for the annual series. Call of Duty games have rotated between multiple development studios since 2006. While development previously went back and forth between Infinity Ward and Treyarch, Sledgehammer Games joined the cycle with Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare in 2014 and hit its stride with Call of Duty: WWII in 2017.

And it is perhaps Call of Duty: WWII‘s lingering presence that makes Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 a bit of surprise. WWII brought the series back to its historical roots after a string of futuristic entries that started to blend together. In a sense, it felt as if the bestselling shooter franchise had been rebooted. And, by almost all accounts, the return to World War II was a smashing success. It recharged a series that fans had soured on after the disappointing Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare.

While we know nothing about Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 — including official confirmation from Activision that it is real — one has to wonder what direction Treyarch would choose to take with Black Ops 4. 2015’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 transported players to the year 2065 and featured futuristic warfare. If Black Ops 4 carries on as a sequel, as each entry has so far, then science fiction tropes and advanced tech will come back into play just a year after they were ditched.

Of course, Treyarch could take a different approach. After all, Black Ops titles haven’t all featured futuristic elements. Call of Duty: Black Ops dropped players in the thick of the Cold War 1960s. And Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 mixed alternative history with the series’ first jump to the future in branching storylines in 2012. If Activision wants to remain free of the near or distant future, perhaps Black Ops 4 will return to the past or even pre-date the original game.

It may be a couple months before we know for sure the direction Treyarch will take in the yet-to-be-confirmed Black Ops 4. Activision typically reveals annual Call of Duty entries in April. If the yearly trend continues, the next Call of Duty game will likely launch in the first week of November.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Steven Petite
Steven Petite
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Steven is a writer from Northeast Ohio currently based in Louisiana. He writes about video games and books, and consumes…
How to play as Nicki Minaj in Call of Duty
Nicki Minaj shooting an assault rifle in Call of Duty.

After Fortnite unleashed a flood of crossovers into the gaming world, there's almost nothing that's off the table anymore. Call of Duty getting a Nicki Minaj operator, for example, would likely never have happened 10 years ago, and yet here we are. The rapper/singer is often called the Queen of Rap, but she's expanded her talents to dolphin-diving and no-scoping noobs on the battlefield. If you want to strut your stuff as Minaj in your next match, complete with her own set of pink weapons and vehicle skin, there are a few bits of information you need to know before loading up your next game.
Can you play as Nicki Minaj in Call of Duty?
Nicki Minaj was introduced in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone on August 24, 2023, as part of Season 5 alongside Snoop Dogg and 21 Savage. They were all purchasable in the in-game store for 2,400 CoD Points. Minaj's bundle was titled the Tracer Pack and included her skin, blueprints for her battle rifle and shotgun, a finishing move, vehicle skin, weapon charm, loading screen, emblem, and sticker.

Unfortunately, the Tracer Pack bundle was completely removed from the store as of around six months ago. There's no firm reason as to why her skin was removed or if the developers intend to bring her back. While it is possible her skin will be put back into the shop, it is too hard to say if or when that will ever happen due to the unclear nature of why it was removed in the first place.

Read more
Is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 cross-platform?
Soldiers battle in an abandoned airport.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is the latest addition to the award-winning franchise that most of us have been playing for well over a decade. Beyond the enhanced graphics, refined mechanics, and new gameplay features, one of the biggest draws to the COD world has always been online multiplayer. Not only does multiplayer return for MW3, but there’s more to love about the competitive space than ever before. 

But not everyone owns the same version of Call of Duty. Some of us are playing on our next-gen consoles, while others are rocking gaming PCs. So what does this mean when it comes time to join others online? Does MW3 support cross-platform gameplay? The answer is a bit more complex, but here’s all the facts.
Does Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 have cross-platform support?

Read more
Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile is out to eliminate mobile gaming’s stigma
Gameplay from Call of Duty: Warzone mobile

Activision may be under new ownership at Xbox, but that’s not slowing down its flagship series. After a few years in development, Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile is finally launching worldwide under the Microsoft banner. It’s a major moment for the shooter series that’s endured multiple industry changes over its long lineage. The new mobile game is the latest evolution for Call of Duty, bringing a high-quality battle royale experience to phones.

The importance of that evolution isn’t lost on Chris Plummer, the co-head of mobile at Activision. In an interview with Digital Trends ahead of Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile’s launch, Plummer painted a picture of how much has changed in the game industry since Call of Duty Mobile launched in 2019. An industry-shifting war between Epic Games and Apple, an enormous acquisition that’s turned Xbox into a mobile king, and a gradual shift in the general attitude towards mobile games -- all of that has led to this moment. Plummer believes that the old days of players bemoaning cash-grab mobile games are coming to an end. The industry just needed its killer app; he believes Warzone Mobile could be that game.

Read more