Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 officially hit store shelves early this morning, and to celebrate the launch, GameStop stores across the United States held midnight release events. These typically involve hanging around, having snacks, and occasionally trying out the game early, but one manager took things a step further with a perfect cosplay re-creation of the game’s cover art.
Posted on Reddit by user “josiee,” an employee of GameStop, images from one GameStop launch event show the store’s manager with a haircut and beard remarkably similar to the cover star of Black Ops 4. His getup is complete with knee and elbow pads, a tactical vest, multiple holsters, a balaclava, boots, and a brightly colored Nerf Rival blaster.
Since Nerf doesn’t make anything that looks like the AR-15-style rifle from the actual cover art, we’re willing to call this a flawless re-creation. We do have to wonder how long the GameStop manager was able to hold the position seen in the photo.
At this particular location (the Reddit user did not specify where it is), the GameStop’s patrons were able to use the Nerf Rival blaster to shoot targets in the store, with raffle tickets awarded to those with successful shots.
We probably won’t feel as connected to the actual cover star of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, as the game doesn’t feature a campaign mode this year. In its place are smaller missions meant to get you accustomed to playing as the different multiplayer characters.
Alongside competitive multiplayer is the popular Zombies mode, as well as Blackout, which is the Call of Duty take on battle royale. The mode uses the same gigantic island structure of games like Fortnite and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, but it’s largely made up of familiar locations seen in previous Black Ops games. There are also zombies running around on the map, so players and the shrinking circle won’t be the only things capable of killing you.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is now available for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. We’ll see you in Blackout, where you’ll hopefully let us kill you on our journey to victory.
