In a bold departure from a longstanding formula, Black Ops 4 is the first Call of Duty without a dedicated single-player campaign. In its place are three multiplayer modes that go deeper, more action-packed and full of customisation and rewards than ever before. And, of course, front and centre in that array of modes is ol’ faithful: Call of Duty® multiplayer.

Modes

A total of six modes are available in multiplayer - that’s aside from the Zombies and Blackout modes, which are still technically multiplayer but exist as self-contained entities. Within multiplayer itself are Control, Team Deathmatch, Hardpoint, Domination, Kill Confirmed, and Search & Destroy.

They’re returning favourites from previous Call of Duty®s, bringing new tactical options via the game mechanics and Operator customisation options but keeping the fundamentals in place: Control is an objective-based mode similar to that seen in 2017’s Call of Duty® WWII in which context-specific objectives arise during the course of a mini-campaign, and team deathmatch offers the simplest kill-or-be-killed action. Hardpoint is a variant on the classic control point theme in which the titular Hardpoint moves periodically around the map during each round.

Domination is a more traditional control point mode in which all modes must be held to score points, Kill Confirmed puts a spin on classic deathmatch by only awarding points when the player picks up their opponent’s dog tag after killing them. Search and Destroy, the remaining mode, will be familiar to Counter-Strike players: team deathmatch where death means sitting out the round, and victory’s achieved by either eliminating the opposing team or detonating an explosive on their target.

Maps

Here’s a full rundown of all 14 maps included in the game at launch:

• 1. Frequency: A covert listening station deep in the mountainous region of Hunan Province is being used to track strategic targets across the globe.
• 2. Contraband: Surveillance of an international arms smuggling operation has uncovered this shipping hub on a remote, uncharted island off the coast of Colombia.
• 3. Seaside: An anti-government protest in this quaint coastal Spanish town grew out of control and forced a military shutdown.
• 4. Payload: A defensive ICBM launch facility deep in an Icelandic mountain range has been infiltrated by hostile forces attempting to steal a nuclear warhead.
• 5. Hacienda: A lavish vineyard estate situated on a quiet lake in the Spanish countryside, home to a high-ranking crime
• syndicate boss.
• 6. Gridlock: A Japanese metropolis whose city center has been jammed up by a bank heist gone wrong.
• 7. Arsenal: Hostile covert ops on a manufacturing facility of a powerful North American military defense contractor means someone may have stolen the keys to the castle.
• 8. Icebreaker: A long lost Nuclear submarine in the Arctic houses a uranium supply which a Russian unit has come to salvage.
• 9. Morocco: Rebels in a small Moroccan village are using government military supply planes as target practice as they fly over the surrounding Sahara Desert.
• 10. Militia: Anti-government extremists backed covertly by a Russian cell are stockpiling weaponry in a remote region of Alaskan wilderness near the Bearing Strait.
• 11. Jungle: Black Ops Flashback – The heat is on as Cold War forces collide in the sweltering depths of the Vietnam jungle.
• 12. Slums: Black Ops Flashback – Street battles rage in head to head heat through the center of a run down Panama neighborhood.
• 13. Firing Range: Black Ops Flashback – US Forces gear up for red team/blue team combat exercises in this Guantanamo Bay military base.
• 14. Summit: Black Ops Flashback – Cold War surveillance is at its peak above the clouds in the mountaintop listening post in the Ural Mountains.

In November, a short period after launch, a revamped version of the Call of Duty® classic Nuketown will join these existing 14 on the roster.