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Tag: Call of Duty

  • Microsoft Commits to Keeping ‘Call of Duty’ on the PlayStation Forever

    Microsoft Commits to Keeping ‘Call of Duty’ on the PlayStation Forever

    Microsoft has just made a major commitment, with an executive saying it will keep Call of Duty on the PlayStation forever.

    Sony has been raising objections to Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard, claiming it will give Microsoft too much control over the gaming market. Microsoft already controls one of the leading consoles, and Activision Blizzard will give it one of the leading game publishers with some of the most popular titles. Call of Duty has become the main sticking point, with Sony raising concerns that Microsoft may eventually make it an Xbox-exclusive.

    Microsoft’s Phil Spencer has set the record straight, saying that “as long as there is a PlayStation out there to ship to, our intent is that we continue to ship Call of Duty on PlayStation.”

    It’s unclear if the declaration will do much to assuage Sony’s fears, but Microsoft is pulling out all the stops to make sure it’s acquisition goes through. The company has even taken the unusual step of acknowledging that Sony’s PlayStation sales dwarf that of its Xbox.

  • Microsoft Takes Shot At Apple and Google With ‘Open App Store Principles’

    Microsoft Takes Shot At Apple and Google With ‘Open App Store Principles’

    Microsoft is throwing down the gauntlet in the app store market, releasing a set of “Open App Store Principles” that take aim at Apple and Google.

    Apple and Google have increasingly come under scrutiny for how they run their respective app ecosystems, the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. Epic sued both companies in an effort to force major changes, including the ability to use external payment systems and sideload apps. Although Epic lost, a majority of US states are backing its appeal.

    Meanwhile, Microsoft’s Open App Store Principles are a declaration of how Microsoft will manage its digital ecosystem, and seem to address many of the complaints Apple and Google are facing. Company President Brad Smith also makes it clear the company hopes this action will help ease any regulatory issues surrounding its attempt to acquire Activision Blizzard, a deal that is already being reviewed by the FTC.

    Today we’re announcing a new set of Open App Store Principles that will apply to the Microsoft Store on Windows and to the next-generation marketplaces we will build for games. We have developed these principles in part to address Microsoft’s growing role and responsibility as we start the process of seeking regulatory approval in capitals around the world for our acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

    Whatever the motivation, the company has outlined 11 principles, as well as three commitments. These include not locking developers into Microsoft’s payment systems, treating apps equally, not using private information to compete with third-party apps, holding its own apps to the same standard as everyone else, and respecting people’s privacy, among others.

    Smith also makes it clear that, not only will Microsoft honor existing agreements for Call of Duty on PlayStation, but the company will keep the franchise on Sony’s console into the future, beyond the current agreement. Smith says the company is also make similar arrangements to continue supporting Nintendo’s platform. The news should come as a relief to gamers concerned that Microsoft would hoard Activision’s top titles, making them Xbox-exclusives.

    It remains to be seen if Microsoft’s overtures will influence legislators and regulators but, at this time, it’s certainly more than either Apple or Google have been willing to concede. That alone may keep Microsoft out of the line of fire, when it comes to any future regulatory action.

  • Microsoft Buying Activision Blizzard, CEO Kotick Likely Leaving Soon After

    Microsoft Buying Activision Blizzard, CEO Kotick Likely Leaving Soon After

    Microsoft announced it is buying Activision Blizzard in a deal worth a whopping $68.7 billion.

    Activision Blizzard is responsible for some of the biggest, most successful game franchises in history, including Warcraft, Overwatch, Starcraft, Diablo, Call of Duty, and Candy Crush. Microsoft sees the acquisition as a way for it to continue to cement its position in developing the metaverse, where in-person and virtual reality merge.

    “Gaming is the most dynamic and exciting category in entertainment across all platforms today and will play a key role in the development of metaverse platforms,” said Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO, Microsoft. “We’re investing deeply in world-class content, community and the cloud to usher in a new era of gaming that puts players and creators first and makes gaming safe, inclusive and accessible to all.”

    At the same time, Forbes is reporting that Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick is likely leaving once the deal is completed. Kotick has been under fire for his role in Activision’s culture, and has been accused of knowing about sexual harassment and discrimination accusations, but not taking the necessary steps to address the problem.

    Given that Microsoft is working to establish itself as a safe work environment, it’s unlikely Kotick would have place within the company once the deal is finalized.

    According to NPR, Nadella alluded to the challenges involved in reining in Activision’s culture in a call with investors.

    “After the close, we will have significant work to do in order to continue to build a culture where everyone can do their best work,” Nadella said. 

    In the meantime, here’s to hoping Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard will lead to a Starcraft 3…

  • Facebook Issue Took Down High-Profile iOS Apps

    Facebook Issue Took Down High-Profile iOS Apps

    An issue with Facebook had far-reaching consequences, taking down some of the biggest names in iOS apps.

    Spotify, Pinterest, TikTok, Tinder and Call of Duty Mobile, along with many others, were all offline beginning Friday morning. The issue was tracked down to the Facebook iOS SDK that all of these apps rely on. The Facebook SDK helps integrate Facebook into an iOS app, and provides access to Facebook Analytics, Facebook Login, App Events, Graph API and sharing options.

    Facebook’s developers acknowledged the SDK was the source of the problem, and worked to quickly fix it.

    “We are aware and investigating an increase in errors on the iOS SDK which is causing some apps to crash.”

    Later that morning, Facebook’s developers had identified and fixed the issue.

    “Earlier today, a code change triggered crashes for some iOS apps using the Facebook SDK. We identified the issue quickly and resolved it. We apologize for any inconvenience.”

  • Cara Delevingne Makes Badass Cameo in ‘Call of Duty: Black Ops 3’ Trailer

    Cara Delevingne has made a badass cameo in the new Call of Duty: Black Ops III trailer.

    The trailer, released on Sunday, takes viewers through the latest version of the popular video game with “Kevin.” Playing on the video game’s slogan, “There’s a soldier in all of us,” the trailer shows Kevin appearing to be “unstoppable” until he meets up with Cara Delevingne, which would surely stop any soldier in his tracks for sure.

    Narrated by The Wire and Friday Night Lights actor Michael B. Jordan, the trailer also features an appearance by Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch.

    According to UPI, Call of Duty: Black Ops III takes place in 2065, some 40 years after Black Ops II. Staring Christopher Meloni as Commander John Taylor, Katee Sackoff as Sarah Hall, Sean Douglas as Jacob Hendricks, Rachel Kimsey as Rachel Kane and Tony Amendola as Dr. Youself Salim, the new game should keep every Call of Duty fan busy for months to come.

    Debuted in 2003, the original Call of Duty game was so popular is inspired two other World War II sequels. Three Modern Warfare installments followed, in addition to two Black Ops games and a prequel, and other installments, including Call of Duty: Ghosts.

    Cara Delevingne, 23, models for Chanel and Burberry, and has pursued acting in recent years, including a role in Pan with Hugh Jackman. She is slated to star in London Fields with Margot Robbie and Suicide Squad with Robbie and Jared Leto.

  • ‘Call of Duty: Ghosts” Gets Snoop Dogg’s Voice

    On the surface, the Call of Duty franchise is a very serious military shooter series that focuses on intense multiplayer competition. Fans of the series, however, will know just how silly the franchise has become in recent years. The Zombies mode in Black Ops games has become progressively sillier since its debut and even Call of Duty: Ghosts now has some rather out-of-place cameos. The first Ghosts DLC pack included a Halloween-inspired Michael Myers skin for players and the latest DLC includes a similar Predator-themed skin.

    Today Activision announced that Call of Duty: Ghosts will be taking the series to a new level of silliness. The publisher has revealed that Snoop Dogg himself will be lending his voice to Ghosts.

    As part of Call of Duty: Ghost‘s new “Voice Packs” DLC add-on content players will soon be able to put Snoop Dogg’s voice into their game. The voice pack will bring Snoop Dogg’s voice to narrate ongoing multiplayer action, call in killstreaks, and announce other in-game events.

    The voice pack was previewed in a video released today on the Call of Duty YouTube channel. Snoop Dogg’s quips include phrases such as “Squad member active, a brother from another mother,” and “Don’t stop, cap ’em and shank ’em.”

    The Snoop Dogg voice pack is part of a larger list of “Personalization Packs” add-on that will be released via Xbox Live on April 22. The add-ons will also come to PlayStation consoles and PC at a later date. The Snoop Dogg voice pack will cost $3.

    In addition to Snoop Dogg’s voice another add-on will be a drill instructor voice pack voiced by R. Lee Ermey.

    The list of upcoming add-ons also includes the “Soap Legend Pack” (includes Captain John “Soap” MacTavish personalizations), the “Classic Ghost Pack” (includes the Ghost mask), the “Squad Pack for Extinction mode (includes heads and uniforms for characters), and six new weapon customization packs.

  • ‘Call of Duty: Ghosts’ Extinction Episode 2 Previewed

    Earlier this week Infinity Ward and Activision released a new gameplay preview for the next upcoming Call of Duty: Ghosts DLC pack. The content includes four new multiplayer maps, a new weapon, and a new episode for the game’s “Extinction” game mode.

    Though the Call of Duty brand has become synonymous with first-person competitive console multiplayer, the franchise has come to embrace various co-op modes as well. Led by the Black Ops series’ zombie mode, players have been teaming up for years to survive and eliminate waves of computer-controlled enemies.

    The co-op modes have become progressively more story-driven with each year’s new Call of Duty installment. Call of Duty: Ghosts‘ Extinction mode revolves around a mysterious and violent alien race dubbed the cryptids. The story of the aliens is set to be told over four different episodes released with Ghosts‘ DLC packs.

    Today a new video preview was released for the second episode of Extinction, coming this week in the “Devestation” DLC add-on for Ghosts. Titled “Mayday,” the episode follows-up from the first episode released with the “Onslaught” DLC release for Ghosts in January. That episode saw players investigate the “Nightfall Program” research station in Alaska while battling off waves of cryptids.

    The new episode will group players onto derelict research ship afloat in the South Pacific. There players will have to cooperate to take discover the secrets behind the cryptids and face-off against new cryptid types such as the 100-foot tall “Kraken.”

    The “Extinction” DLC add-on on for Call of Duty: Ghosts is scheduled to launch for Xbox One and Xbox 360 consoles this week, on April 3. The content will roll out to PlayStation consoles at a later date.

  • ‘Call of Duty: Ghosts’ Devastation DLC Gameplay Previewed

    Back at the beginning of March Activision and Infinity Ward previewed the second big DLC pack for Call of Duty: Ghosts. Titled “Devastation,” the add-on will be bringing new maps, new weapons, and new story content to the latest Call of Duty game.

    At the time of its announcement, “Devastation” was previewed in a lengthy developer video describing the game’s new content and teasing a few of the ideas behind the update. Today a new video preview has been released for “Devastation” that showcases all of the action players can expect to see when it is released.

    Like all new Call of Duty map pack DLC, “Devastation” will include four new competitive multiplayer maps. Named “Ruins,” “Collision,” “Behemoth,” and “Unearthed,” the maps provide varied settings for players to compete in, including a mountaintop Mayan temple, a container ship wrecked beneath a New York bridge, and an alien artifact dig site. Unearthed in particular is a remake of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 map “Dome.”

    “Devastation” also includes the second episode in the ongoing story seen in Ghosts‘ Extinction mode. Titled “Mayday,” the new story will take players to a Chinese research vessel stranded on the Tasman sea. There players will have to work cooperatively to uncover the ship’s secrets while battling waves of Cryptid monsters, including a few new Cryptid enemy types.

    “Devastation” will also bring the new “Ripper” weapon to Ghosts multiplayer. The weapon is a combination SMG/assault rifle that can switch between its two firing modes on-the-fly, enabling players to use one weapon for both close-up combat and ranged firefights.

    The new trailer shows off stylized gameplay on each of the new maps and previews how the Ripper might be used during combat. The second episode of Extinction mode is also shown, including a glimpse of the 100-foot tall “Kraken” Cryptid. The ending of the video even includes a special surprise involving a certain 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger movie:

    “Devastation” is scheduled to hit Xbox 360 and Xbox One consoles first on April 3.

  • ‘Call of Duty: Ghosts’ Devastation DLC Previewed

    Activision and Infinity Ward today revealed the content coming in the next Call of Duty: Ghosts DLC. As with previous Ghosts map packs, the new “Devastation” DLC will contain four new multiplayer maps, another chapter for the “Extinction” co-op mode, and a new powerful weapon.

    The four maps will be titled “Ruins,” “Collision,” “Behemoth,” and “Unearthed.” All of them are small or medium sized. Ruins will put players into a Mayan temple on top of a mountain, Collision takes place on a wrecked container ship lodged underneath a New York bridge, Behemoth features gameplay on a South American excavation platform, and Unearthed is a “reimagined” version of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3‘s “Dome” map set in an alien artifact dig site that contains a secret alien weapon.

    The second episode of Ghosts‘ Extinction mode is titled “Mayday.” Players will band together to investigate a “Chinese research vessel” left adrift on the Tasman Sea. Cryptids and plot twists will be waiting inside, including the new “Seeder” Cryptid type and a massive (100-foot tall) Cryptid known as the “Kraken.”

    The new weapon coming with Devastation is called the “Ripper.” The gun is an SMG/Assault Rifle that can be switched between those modes on the fly.

    All of these features are previewed in the new Devastation trailer released today:

  • ‘Call of Duty: Ghosts’ Extinction DLC Previewed

    The launch of the first DLC expansion for Call of Duty: Ghosts is less than a week away and Activision is now revealing just how it has spent the marketing budget for the game.

    Today’s latest trailer delves into the new Extinction mode content coming in the Ghosts “Onslaught” DLC next week. The content will be the first in a planned four-episode story arc meant to reveal the origins of the alien menace that players fight in the new mode.

    Players will fight larger creatures than ever at a mysterious “Nightfall Program” research station in the snowy middle of nowhere (Alaska). Waves of alien enemies will have to be mowed down by players, including one that Activision claims is three stories tall. Two new characters will be introduced as part of the content and a new weapon will help players blast their way through the hordes.

    Presumably, all of these new features can be discovered by players at their leisure during their next “CODnapping” session.

  • New ‘Call of Duty’ DLC Trailer Makes “CODnapping” a Thing

    Activision is well-known for creating live-action trailers for its Call of Duty series, and Call of Duty: Ghosts has been no exception. Megan Fox and other celebrities have starred in ad for the latest Call of Duty game, and today the first live-action trailer for Ghosts‘ “Onslaught” DLC has been released.

    Like the “Replacers” ads seen for Black Ops II DLC, the theme of the new Ghosts live-action trailer is just how much time Call of Duty players could play Call of Duty multiplayer if they could ditch all of those mundane responsibilities such as work and family time. Instead of getting someone to fill in, however, this year’s catch is that a group of elite soldiers can be hired to stage a high-profile kidnapping for Call of Duty players. The players can then enjoy their Call of Duty in peace before later being returned to their grateful families.

    The long ad stars Stephen Graham of Snatch and Boardwalk Empire fame as the leader of this “CODnapping” enterprise. The kidnapping scenarios seen in the video are quite creative and demonstrate just how much money Activision is willing to throw behind the marketing for Call of Duty.

  • First ‘Call of Duty: Ghosts’ DLC Pack Announced

    Activision and Infinity Ward today officially announced the first DLC pack for Call of Duty: Ghosts. Titled “Onslaught,” the content is the first of four DLC packs that will be coming for the latest Call of Duty title this year.

    Microsoft has maintained its timed exclusivity agreement with Activision for Ghosts, and Onslaught will be coming first to Xbox One and Xbox 360 starting January 28.

    The highlight of the Onslaught DLC is the four new competitive multiplayer maps that it introduces: Fog, BayView, Containment, and Ignition.

    Fog is a smaller map styled to evoke horror movies. Players who complete a “field order” can even step into the shoes of classic horror villain Michael Myers, complete with Halloween movie music.

    BayView is another smaller map set on a Californian boardwalk. Players will have to dodge artillery strikes from the Destroyer ships waiting out in the water.

    Containment puts players into a small Mexican village and features multi-level gameplay and a map split by a dried-up riverbed.

    Ignition is the map that has been teased since early videos of Ghosts multiplayer. Players will fight in a missile launch facility in which multiple test engines that can be activated. The map is a re-make of the multiplayer map “Scrapyard” from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

    In addition to the new competitive multiplayer maps, Onslaught will come with the first of four planned narrative-driven episodes for Ghosts‘ Extinction co-op mode. The add-on will introduce two new characters, two new alien species, and a new weapon. The content is set in a remote research station somewhere in Alaska, where players will have to battle aliens while on a mission to uncover the truth behind the invasion.

  • Call Of Duty Championship To Take Place On March 28

    Call of Duty is an incredibly competitive game, but it hasn’t really made much progress in the eSports scene. Activision tried to change that last year by hosting the very first Call of Duty Championship, and it must have gone over well as the publisher is doing it again.

    Activision announced this morning that the Call of Duty Championship will be back for 2014 on March 28. The best 32 Call of Duty teams from around the world will meet in Los Angeles to compete in the latest game in the franchise – Call of Duty: Ghosts.

    “Last year’s championship came down to the final minute of the final match with everyone holding their breath to see who would win. The skill, passion and energy brought by these teams and the crowd looking-on showed just what makes our community the best in the world,” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing. “Call of Duty is more than a video game. It’s a pastime shared by millions. It’s exciting to play and fun to watch, and we can’t wait to see what this year’s event has in store.”

    With Call of Duty Championship being hosted by Xbox, Microsoft makes a big to do about this year’s tournament games being played on the Xbox One. The tournament will also be broadcast over Xbox Live. If you don’t have Xbox Live, you’ll be able to watch games via MLG.tv as well.

    The qualifying events will be taking place across six continents with players competing on the Xbox 360 version of Call of Duty: Ghosts. The winners of those matches will then go on to the regional finals in late February. The winners of those will then move on to the finals in Los Angeles in late March.

    If you want to take part in the Call of Duty Championship, get your team together and head to the MLG Web site. The first preliminary qualifier for the U.S. will take place on February 1. A second preliminary qualifier will take place on February 8.

    Image via CALLOFDUTY/YouTube

  • ‘Call of Duty: Ghosts’ Made $1 Billion on its First Day

    Activision today announced that it sold more than $1 billion worth of Call of Duty: Ghosts during the game’s first 24 hours on sale. This breaks the previous one-day record set back in September by Grand Theft Auto V, which sold more than $800 million on its first day and hit the billion-dollar mark within three days. Ghosts was released yesterday, November 5, for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC, and Wii U.

    “Call of Duty is by far the largest console franchise of this generation,” said Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision. “More people have played Call of Duty this year than ever before, logging four billion hours of gameplay. And in the last 12 months, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, including its digital content, generated more revenues than any other console game ever has in a single year. Although it is too early to assess sell-through for Call of Duty: Ghosts, it’s launching at a time when the franchise has never been more popular.”

    Importantly for Activision, Call of Duty: Ghosts almost certainly cost far less to produce than GTA V, which had a far longer development time. This means that more of that money will be inflating Activision’s bottom line.

    With sales figures for current-generation consoles through the roof, it would be easy to assume that Call of Duty fans have opted to shy away from next-generation versions of the title, but that isn’t the case. In addition to the sales figures, Activision also asserted today that Call of Duty: Ghosts is GameStop’s most pre-ordered next-generation title.

  • New ‘Call of Duty’ Stats Released on Eve of Launch

    Call of Duty fans are now just hours away from the release of this year’s iteration of the popular shooter franchise. Call of Duty: Ghosts is set to introduce fans to things like military dogs, space combat, and female multiplayer soldiers. Gamers however, will likely jump right into the game’s multiplayer tonight and begin unlocking the game’s weapons and gear.

    With the Ghosts launch so close, Activision today provided a reminder of just how popular Call of Duty multiplayer really is. A new infographic released by the publisher claims that gamers play a combined 1900 years of the game every single day – a figure that is likely to increase in the coming weeks as fans jump into the new game.

    The infographic also has other mind-boggling stats such as the 1.9 quadrillion (1,900,000,000,000,000) player respawns that have taken place in more than 18 billion multiplayer matches since the release of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare in 2007.

    Call of Duty infographic

    Call of Duty: Ghosts will be out for current-gen consoles, next-gen consoles (including Wii U), and PC tonight at midnight. Gamers who buy the game for PlayStation 4 or Xbox One have to wait a few weeks to play their copy, unless they take advantage of Activision’s next-gen $10 upgrade offer.

  • Megan Fox Gets People Talking About “Call Of Duty”

    Megan Fox appears in the live-action trailer for “Call Of Duty: Ghosts”–which will see an international launch on Tuesday–and her presence associated with the widely-anticipated game release has the web buzzing.

    The multiplayer game has added female characters this time around and takes place in Vegas, where there is a casino shootout and, of course, lots of explosions. Fox plays a sharp-shooter who saves the life of one of four guys on a trip to Sin City, and her famous face–which has been associated with blockbuster action flicks like the “Transformers” franchise–is getting some attention on Twitter, with some gamers torn as to how they feel about it.

    The trailer is the latest in the game’s “There’s A Soldier In All Of Us” campaign.

    “There are those who wear masks to protect themselves. And there are those who wear masks to protect us all,” a teaser trailer released earlier this year says.

    Image: YouTube

  • New ‘Call of Duty: Ghosts’ Trailer Features Megan Fox

    For years now, the Call of Duty series has famously been marketed using live-action trailers. Instead of actual gameplay, which doesn’t vary a great deal from year-to-year, the trailers feature normal people and celebrities fighting it out in massive battles. Last year’s live-action trailer for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 was directed by Guy Ritchie and featured Jack Black, Zach Galifianakis, and Robert Downey, Jr.

    This weekend Activision released the official live-action trailer for this year’s Call of Duty iteration, Call of Duty: Ghosts. Titled “Epic Night Out,” the trailer features four normal-looking guys in increasingly ridiculous combat situations, including combat in space. The celebrity appearances have been scaled back to one out-of-place cameo from former Transformers actress Megan Fox.

    This year’s video was directed by James Mangold, who is best known for directing movies such as Identity, Walk the Line, 3:10 to Yuma, and The Wolverine.

  • CoD: Ghosts Will Run at 720p on XB1 While PS4 Runs 1080p

    Call of Duty has done it again, at least in terms of causing controversy. Unlike previous controversies of the next-generation consoles, one of which involved Microsoft’s crazy DRM policies and the feud with the retail/resale market while another cited NSA-like data collection associated with the Kinect device, this one involves the release resolution for Call of Duty: Ghosts. The bad press, at least for Xbox One, seems viral; as it stands, the PS4 version of the new game will run at a higher native resolution than the Xbox competitor.

    PlayStation/Xbox rivalry is well-documented, and Call of Duty: Ghosts producer Mark Rubin certainly didn’t help things when he confirmed the difference on Twitter:

    “[For] Xbox One we’re 1080p upscaled from 720p. And, we’re native 1080p on PS4. We optimized each console to hit 60 FPS and the game looks great on both,” the tweet continued.

    Erik Kain at Forbes writes that this difference shouldn’t be a dealbreaker, especially for console gamers, most of whom probably don’t care about the strength of their hardware. In other words, “you don’t buy a PS4 because it has higher resolution if you’re a big Halo fan,” he wrote. “You don’t buy an Xbox One because it comes with a Kinect if you’re a big Uncharted fan.”

    Kain takes note of a piece on CinemaBlend by author William Usher, who clearly believes the gaming media is doing Microsoft a favor by downplaying the Xbox One’s technological inferiority. But unlike Usher, Kain acknowledges that console players probably won’t angrily charge onto internet forums and voice their disapproval.

    The endless debate over PC graphics cards shouldn’t even extend to consoles, Kain contends, because a vast majority of console players don’t overclock, tinker, and upgrade their gaming rig in the same way a PC gamer does. “You just plug and play, end of story,” he writes. “You don’t equip your PS4 with water-cooling.”

    [Image via Microsoft/Xbox.com]

  • ‘Call of Duty: Ghosts’ Bonus Map Gameplay Previewed

    With only days to go before the launch of Call of Duty: Ghosts, Activision has now revealed one of its last efforts to encourage pre-orders for the yearly shooter. The publisher has released a new gameplay trailer featuring multiplayer action in a competitive map named “Free Fall.”

    Free Fall will be a free downloadable bonus map for players who pre-order Call of Duty: Ghosts. Activision previewed the map back in August when it was announced as a pre-order bonus with a video showcasing developers at Infinity Ward describing their efforts at shaping the map.

    Free Fall is a bit special for the Call of Duty franchise, as it features more dynamically-changing elements than other multiplayer maps in the series that have come before it. Players will battle inside of a crumbling building that is wedged between two skyscrapers. The floors of the map will partially be the glass windows of the building, forcing players to adapt as the environment changes over the course of a match. It’s Infinity Ward’s answer to Battlefield 4’s much-touted “Levolution” concept.

    The trailer for the map put out today actually shows some simulated multiplayer gameplay on Free Fall:

  • ‘Call of Duty: Ghosts’ Perks System Detailed

    With just days to go before the release of the next yearly Call of Duty title, Activision has detailed one of the most important parts of the game’s competitive multiplayer modes – the perks system.

    Call of Duty: Ghosts will feature a very flexible perks system in which players will be able to customize their load-out with a variety of special abilities. Each of the 35 available perks has a point value from one to five, depending on how valuable it is. Each load-out a player creates has a base of 8 points to spend on these perks. These points can be increased by one (up to 12) for removing each of the primary, secondary, tactical, and lethal weapons from the load-out.

    Of course, not all of the perks will start out unlocked. Players will unlock perks as they level up. Alternatively, the “Squad Point” in-game currency earned by gaining XP can be used to unlock specific perks ahead of time.

    The perks are all grouped into seven categories of five. The categories include speed, handling, stealth, awareness, resistance, equipment, and elite, which includes special perks such as Gambler (gives a random perk).

    Much of this new perks system was teased back in August in a long, Microsoft-produced video about Ghosts multiplayer that was released around the time of the Gamescom conference:

  • Call of Duty: Ghosts “Extinction” Mode Revealed in New Trailer

    With only one week to go before the launch of Call of Duty: Ghosts on PC and current-generation consoles, Activision has officially revealed a new game mode called “Extinction.” The mode seems to be Infinity Ward’s answer to the popular Zombies mode found in Call of Duty games developed by Treyarch.

    Extinction will be a cooperative game mode pitting up to four players against waves of alien creatures. As shown in the first trailer for Extinction mode, players will have to destroy alien hives while fighting off the alien horde. To do that, players will have to defend a drill that places bombs into alien hives for a certain amount of time. Killstreak weapons and environmental traps can all be used to help players survive. It appears to be a mix of Zombies mode mixed with a bit of classic FPS horde modes.

    The reveal trailer does not include any gameplay footage, though the preview does indicate that the game mode will be extremely fast-paced and full of action: