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‘Call of Duty: Black Ops 4’ will make Blackout mode free to play this week

Gabe Gurwin
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Official Call of Duty®: Black Ops 4 — Blackout Free Trial Announcement

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is one of the best games the series has seen in quite some time and its battle royale mode “Blackout” is a big part of its success. If you haven’t played the game yet, you will have a chance to try out Blackout for free this week so you can see how you compare to the most dedicated Black Ops 4 players.

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On PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC beginning January 17, you will be able to play the Blackout mode without having the main Black Ops 4 game installed. The offer will last until January 24, so you have plenty of time to get accustomed to Blackout’s unique features and decide whether you want to purchase the full game.

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Blackout is limited to a single map, unlike competitor PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, but it contains elements from some of the series’ best environments. It also features vehicles, which have rarely appeared in the Call of Duty series, and certain areas of the map are filled with zombies that can quickly kill you or give away your position to enemy players.

Official Call of Duty®: Black Ops 4 – Blackout Battle Royale Trailer

The free trial will begin just after the game’s most recent patch. It features a number of changes across all available modes, include a revised looting interface in Blackout — it’s intended to make grabbing items quicker on consoles, which should ensure you don’t get shot in the back as you try to pick up your 2oth bandage. Concussion grenade stack counts have been reduced to just one, as well, which should stop you from being able to keep players in a permanent state of paralysis.

Unlike the permanently free-to-play Fortnite, cross-platform play is not enabled in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. Only two games currently support play between Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC, with the other being Rocket League. As console manufacturers and publishers revise their approach to online multiplayer, however, we expect to see Call of Duty eventually give players the option to enjoy the game with each other, regardless of system.

If you’re on PC and want to play Blackout for a reduced price, you can purchase Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 – Battle Edition. It includes multiplayer and Blackout mode, but omits Zombies and costs $40.

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Gabe Gurwin
Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
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