Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4 Not Having A Campaign Is Not A Big Problem, Boss Says

Unlike pretty much all of the previous Call of Duty games, this year's Black Ops 4 from developer Treyarch will not have a single-player campaign, at least not in the traditional sense.

In place of a single-player campaign, the game will offer an assortment of solo missions that focus on Specialist characters. These missions will have a similar style of bombastic set-pieces that Call of Duty games are known for, and there will be story elements divulged in these missions. So in that sense, there will be something in Black Ops 4 for players looking for a campaign-style experience. But it's not the kind of campaign fans are accustomed to.

We spoke to Call of Duty executive VP and GM Robert Kostich about this recently, and he told us that Black Ops 4 lacking a traditional campaign won't be much of a problem. Activision has more work to do in the messaging department to let fans know that Black Ops 4 lacking a campaign doesn't necessarily mean the game won't offer a solo experience and story beats.

"As we go forward [through the year], fans are going to learn a lot about the story that is embedded in this game," Kostich said. "Look, it's not a dedicated campaign like it was in the past. We're telling stories differently this year. We think our community is going to love this game from end to end, because it has so much to offer. The core focus of it, I don't think that's going to be a problem really. I think what our community is going to love at the end of the day comes down to the gameplay and the fun you have with it. And I think that's what this game is going to have in spades. This is a little different from what we've done in the past."

Black Ops 4's solo missions are set between the events of Black Ops 2 and Black Ops 3. A handful of previous Specialists return in this instalment, including Ruin, Firebreak, and Seraph, and Treyarch says they've been reimagined this time around. There are also a number of new Specialists in the game; so far, we've seen ones named Recon, Crash, and Torque.

In other news, Black Ops 4 has a battle royale mode called Blackout, while the Zombies mode looks bigger and better than ever. The package of course also includes head-to-head multiplayer--here's our latest preview. The PC edition will be available on Battle.net for the first time in franchise history. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 launches for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on October 12.