Gaming is undoubtedly in the age of Fortnite, with the game’s massive worldwide success forcing other parts of the industry to react or be left behind. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 exemplified this by ditching any semblance of a single-player campaign in favor of adding its own battle royale mode, Blackout. Despite several unique CoD touches, Blackout’s development very clearly shows a desire to capitalize on the Fortnite audience. It already adopted the battle pass. Now, for one week only, Blackout is experimenting with going free-to-play.
Starting today, you’ll be able to download the trial as its own app in the digital store of your choosing. Assuming you’re playing on PS4, Xbox One, or PC, of course. The free trial will last until the 24th. There’s no word on whether any unlocks will stay with you if you decide to purchase the full game after the trial ends.
This is the first time Activision and Treyarch have held a free trial since the game’s launch. While that doesn’t necessarily indicate any feelings on the mode’s success, gamers have already been speculating. Could Activision be testing the idea of making Blackout totally free-to-play so that it can directly compete with Fortnite? Or is this just a standard free trial aimed at getting people to buy the game?
It is worth noting that Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 has two other paid multiplayer modes, standard multiplayer (like Team Deathmatch) and Zombies. The game just started its 115 Day celebration, introducing a slew of new Zombies content and announcing more to come. With the future of Zombies seemingly set, it would be odd to take it free-to-play now.
So that just leaves Blackout. Again, it’s too soon to tell what exactly is the motive behind this free trial week. Perhaps after it’s over, once we’re able to see how many people took advantage of the trial, a clearer picture will be painted of the mode’s appeal. From there, Activision can decide if they really do have a Fortnite-killer. Or at least if the CoD cash cow still has some milk left in it.
What do you think? Do you plan to join in on the free trial? Or are you already an active player who’s looking forward to the incoming noob buffet?
