Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War scheduled for November 13, next-gen upgrade path detailed
Activision has fully unveiled Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and it is scheduled to release for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on November 13, with next-gen versions to follow later this year.
After an initial announcement that confirmed the title of the game, a full trailer has also been revealed which shows gameplay footage taken directly from the PlayStation 5, giving us yet another taste of the next-gen experience.
According to its Battle.Net entry, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is set to include a Single player campaign, Multiplayer, and a fan-favorite in Zombies.
Starting today, fans who pre-order or pre-purchase select digital versions of Call of Duty: Black
Ops Cold War will instantly unlock digital rewards, including Black Ops Operator Frank Woods
for play in Call of Duty: Warzone and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare now, and receive early access to
the Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Multiplayer Open Beta.
Among other details, Activision has come up with an ENORMOUS FAQ that answers almost all questions about the Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War upgrade path to the next-generation. In a nutshell:
Standard Editions (Physical and Digital)
- Purchasing the current-gen (PS4 / Xbox One) standard digital versions will allow you to play the game on the next-gen consoles BUT will not have any next-gen upgrades like higher frame rate, shorter load times, and more. It will also offer a next-gen upgrade option through the respective console storefronts.
- Purchasing the current-gen (PS4 / Xbox One) standard physical versions will mostly work the same way and will not offer next-gen upgrades BUT the PS4 version will offer an upgrade option, the Xbox version will not. You will also need the current-gen disc inserted to your next-gen console for it to work. A current-gen physical version can be upgraded to a next-gen digital version is possible, but the disc still needs to be inserted.
- Purchasing the next-gen (PS5 / Xbox Series X) will have the performance upgrades out of the box, with the difference being that the PS5 disc will not work on a PS4 while the Series X disc will work on an Xbox One.
Cross-Gen Edition (Digital)
- Purchasing the Cross-gen edition will give players digital versions of both current and next-gen versions of the game of the same console family (PS4 and PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X), with the next-gen version including the mentioned performance upgrades.
Ultimate Edition (Digital)
- Purchasing the Ultimate edition will give players the cross-gen edition bundle along with a host of other in-game content.
Whew.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is also confirmed to have cross-play, cross-progression, and cross-generation enabled, with your current-gen progression being carried over to the next-generation when applicable.