The last time Call of Duty wasn’t a November game was way back with Call of Duty 2. It hit PC on October 25, 2005 followed by the Xbox 360 version on November 15. Since then, 12 Call of Duty games have come out, and every single one of them released in November.
Today, Activision made Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (or IIII) official and slapped an October 12 global release date on it. On May 17, Treyarch will hold a special event giving us our first look in-depth look at the title. Expect a big dose of multiplayer and Zombies then.
Forget what you know.
Call of Duty® #BlackOps4
Community Reveal Event: May 17, 2018
Global Launch: October 12, 2018 pic.twitter.com/C4lMdo0A7c— Call of Duty (@CallofDuty) March 8, 2018
The Nintendo Switch not being included on the platform list is a curious omission given the rumor mill surrounding it. There is a Nintendo Direct coming later this afternoon. Maybe Activision is holding off an official announcement until then.
Call of Duty announcements are never a surprise, but coming out 3-4 weeks earlier than usual – that is. Why the change? Rockstar’s behemoth Red Dead Redemption 2 might have something to do with it. Red Dead Redemption 2 is set for an October 26 release date.
We’re looking at Call of Duty, Battlefield, and Red Dead Redemption 2 all coming out in the same month. Not to mention all the other big titles that often litter October. I’m just waiting for publishers to start tripping over themselves as they shift to September release dates.
We’ll probably never hear Activision say Red Dead Redemption 2 was the reason for an October release date, but it’s hard not to put two and two together and get four. No one wants to follow-up what is almost assuredly the lock for best selling game of 2018.
I already know what my October 12 is going to look like. An absurd amount of Zombies with my nephew.
What do you want most from Black Ops IIII? Me? I want a Vietnam-era or more modern setting. I just prefer modern weapons more than WWII. And shake up the gameplay formula with more expansive game modes. It doesn’t have to be Battle Royale, just do something more than the traditional 6v6.