Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Call of Duty: Black Ops III will have no campaign on PS3 and Xbox 360

By Will Fulton September 25, 2015

black ops 3 campaign ps3 x360 blackops3bow — Image used with permission by copyright holder

In an announcement sure to raise a few eyebrows, Activision and Treyarch have revealed that Call of Duty: Black Ops III for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 will not include the Campaign mode featured as part of the PlayStation 4/Xbox One/PC release. Instead the last-gen versions will just feature the Multiplayer and Zombies gameplay modes.

According to the announcement, the “ambitious scope” of the cooperative campaign, which can be played cooperatively by 1-4 players, “could not be faithfully recreated on old generation hardware.” A number of other features designed to leverage the new hardware, such as the Weapon Paint Shop and new suite of eSports tools, will also be absent from the PS3/X360 versions.

Last-gen players will not be left entirely without a narrative experience, since all versions of the game will still include “Shadows of Evil,” the Lovecraftian 1940s film noir-inspired zombies gameplay mode. The narrative elements of the mode will be supported by its cast of Hollywood notables, including Heather Graham, Jeff Goldblum, Ron Perlman, and others. Call of Duty campaigns have also always been secondary to the competitive multiplayer experience, which will still be accessible by all players: “PS3 and Xbox 360 players can continue to look forward to a new experience of Black Ops 3 multiplayer, including the new momentum-based, chain-movement system, as well as the all-new Specialist class of 9 Black Ops soldiers, which fundamentally change the way players engage in combat.”

The PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of Black Ops III will retail at a recommended price of $50 (as opposed to $60 for the new-gen versions). That will also include a bonus download of the original Call of Duty: Black Ops, which remains among the best-selling video games of all time.

What do you think? Is this fair encouragement for players to upgrade to the new generation of consoles, or is it an insult to series fans? Would you rather play a limited and slightly discounted version on the older consoles, or skip it altogether? Sound off in the comments!

Available from: Amazon | Best Buy | Gamestop

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Will Fulton is a New York-based writer and theater-maker. In 2011 he co-founded mythic theater company AntiMatter Collective…

Gaming

Activision teases Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III’s biggest improvements

Activision has just teased lots of new details about Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, which launches this November. That includes the fact that the game will contain a Zombies mode, more open-ended campaign missions, and introduce a new "Call of Duty HQ" that will serve as a hub for all future Call of Duty games.

These details were all revealed in a new blog post posted on the series' website ahead of the in-game event that will give us our first in-depth look at Modern Warfare II. In it, Activision clears up a lot of rumors about the game to try and show that Modern Warfare III is still an "incredible, premium annual game experience across Campaign, Multiplayer and Co-operative modes" despite reportedly starting development as a Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II expansion.
Some of the features listed we already knew about, like the fact that this year's campaign features Makarov as a villain and that players can carry over their progression and inventory from Modern Warfare II. Others are new, though, like the fact that the campaign will feature new "Open Combat" missions. That seems to imply that Modern Warfare III's campaign levels will offer more freedom than is typical in a Call of Duty level. When it comes to multiplayer, the post states that players can expect new combat vest, perk, tac-stance movement, and after-market parts systems in addition to some Riochet Anti-Cheat Improvements.
More importantly, it's finally officially confirmed that this year's game will feature a Zombies mode. Titled Modern Warfare Zombies, Activision calls it the "largest Zombies offering to date." Finally, Activision made it clear that it plans on keeping all Call of Duty content closely bundled together going forward. After Modern Warfare III launches, Call of Duty HQ will be introduced and serve as "one access point for your future Call of Duty content."
While there aren't many specifics on all of these things, we at least now have a broader picture of what to expect from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III when it launches on November 10.

Gaming

Does Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 have Hardcore mode?

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 guy with a gun

In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, players have access to a wide variety of multiplayer game modes including Team Deathmatch, Search and Destroy, and the new Prisoner Capture. One of the most popular modes in the series is Hardcore, which has been in the series for years. This intense mode removes the HUD and increases damage across the board. But does this mode appear in the new Modern Warfare 2?

Here's what you need to know about the Hardcore mode in Modern Warfare 2.
Does Modern Warfare 2 have a Hardcore mode?
When Modern Warfare 2 first launched, it didn't have a Hardcode mode, much to the disappointment of fans. Instead, the game had a mode called Tier 1, which was basically a rudimentary version of Hardcore mode, with some missing features. For instance, there's no HUD, whatsoever, no hitmarkers, and no killfeed, which made the mode hard to actually play in some cases. Thankfully, Activision finally did add Hardcore more at the start of 2023, replacing the Tier 1 mode from before.
What is Hardcore mode?

Gaming

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III is official and it’s coming this November

call of duty modern warfare iii release date makarov mwiii

Activision has confirmed a November 10 release date for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III with a teaser trailer following a barrage of leaks.
The shooter, which is going to be a direct sequel to 2022's Modern Warfare II, was the subject of lots of reports and leaks prior to this announcement. Reports from Bloomberg revealed that this game was originally going to be a Modern Warfare II expansion, but it later got upgraded to a full game. Then, over the summer, more game details started to leak before some Monster Energy advertisements revealed the game's title prematurely. Activision coyly acknowledged this leak on Twitter at the time, but finally pulled the curtain back on the project today with a video titled "Modern Warfare III is Coming."
Modern Warfare III is Coming
It begins with some green soundwaves on-screen and a lot of radio chatter in the background. Then, the soundwaves turn from green to red before the perspective then pushes into them, creating a trippy red void. In there, we briefly see waveform images of a snake and Captain Price before he says, "Never bury your enemies alive" over the silhouette of a new character. This is believed to be Vladimir Makarov, the villain of the original Modern Warfare trilogy, who was teased in the post-credit scene for last year's campaign. After all of that, the title Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III is confirmed, as is the release date of November 10.

This date falls right in line with the late October to early November window in which Call of Duty games usually come out. It also places its launch after Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition is expected to be complete, so it looks like this may be the first Call of Duty game released under Microsoft. Other than that date, official details on the game are fairly scarce. Thankfully, we shouldn't have to wait too much longer to learn more.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III launches on November 10.