E3 Countdown: Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII

In the lead-up to E3, we’re counting down with our most anticipated titles. You can find out when all the press conferences are taking place in Australian/NZ times HERE.


Though it has always been good at drawing the ire of passionate gamers, a lot of the intel that has trickled out regarding Black Ops IIII has been specialist even for Activision. No campaign, a battle royale mode and even that bizarre, stylised title. There’s not a lot of goodwill left for Call of Duty, but perhaps a good showing at E3 will help restore what has been lost.

WHEN WAS IT ANNOUNCED?

We don’t have to go back too far to reminisce about Black Ops IIII’s announcement back in March, though its official reveal in May was even more recent where it was confirmed that the game would have no single-player, would introduce Blackout (the game’s take on the battle royale) and was going back to the future.

WHERE WILL WE SEE IT?

This all depends on who, out of Microsoft and Sony, has managed to line Activision’s pockets with enough cash to nail down the exclusivity for either game’s inevitable beta or post-release DLC. In the case of last year’s WWII, it was Sony who dug deep for timed-exclusivity, so it might very well feature at their already stacked conference again this year.

WHEN WILL IT RELEASE?

Unlike a lot of games in the E3 Countdown, Black Ops IIII already has a release date as it’s expected to land on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC on October 12, 2018.

WHAT DO WE WANT TO SEE?

Though we’re sure the multiplayer mode will get a run with the help of a gaggle of screaming influencers, we’re hoping to see a bit of Blackout in action. As pretty big adopters of the battle royale philosophy, we’re curious to see how the core Call of Duty features meld together with the ballistic, off the wall action that typically goes hand-in-hand with battle royales.

Though it’s much-maligned by gamers old enough to vote, Call of Duty is still huge with a lot of younger gamers so if there’s anything that can perhaps shake Fortnite from its perch, it’s Blackout.