There are certain things in life that you can expect to happen every year. Seasons will change, taxes will be paid (or avoided), and we’ll all begin to show our age a bit more. Gaming is the same way. I guess what I’m trying to say is that you don’t need to be Nostra-freaking-damus to predict that certain franchises will release a new game every year. One of these franchises is the ubiquitous Call of Duty. The next game in the Black Ops series will be released this October, and developer Treyarch has just announced it will not have a traditional single player campaign. And you know what? That’s just fine.

Of course, most of these reasons are opinion-based, but I think they will resonate with most fans.

Nobody buys Call of Duty games for the campaign:

Most of the time when I get a new COD, I might play the first mission or two in the campaign, and that’s it. The rest of my game time is split between online multiplayer and the zombie modes. Single player campaigns are just not the star of the show here. Sure, they can have some cool moments, and COD WWI’s campaign was actually decent, but if Treyarch can spend more time making their multiplayer platform better and more refined by skipping out on a full-blown campaign, I think that’s for the best.

Smaller, bite-sized missions will serve the game better:

This time around, the missions will be intended to introduce each Specialist so you can learn their different playstyles. No more trying to get invested in a predictable story. Instead, these smaller missions will be intended to get you familiar with each Specialist’s unique abilities.

GET YOURS: Pre-order your copy of Call of Duty Black Ops 4 from Amazon

This approach will benefit the online experience:

Now you can sample each character before being thrown into the online arena, and you’ll have a better idea how the characters might mesh together. This kind of knowledge may prove to be tantamount to multiplayer success seeing as how Treyarch is opting for more of a tactical, team-based focus. No doubt the success of similar games with unique heroes and team blendings, like Overwatch and Rainbow Six: Siege have helped to influence them in making this transition.

The different online games modes will make up for the loss:

I alluded to this previously, but the multiplayer component of this COD entry is going to be quite different than past games. It appears as if Treyarch is going for more of a tactical, team composition-like focus. No more just picking a loadout and rushing into combat. Instead, you’ll want to think about how your chosen Specialist will jive with your teammates. Perhaps the biggest surprise (that everybody expected) is that Black Ops 4 will have a battle royale game mode. Titled Blackout, this map will most likely feature traditional battle royale game tropes, such as dropping into an area and looting weapons and other resources as you go. It’s actually kind of exciting to wonder what features COD will bring over to this new mode. It’s already been reported that weapons from previous Black Ops games will be available, including the exploding RC car. Time will tell how Treyarch will blend COD‘s tradmark multiplayer with Fortnight or PUBG inspired gameplay.

Take a look at the trailers for Black Ops 4’s Specialists and Blackout multiplayer mode on the official Black Ops 4 website.

Again, with all of these things in mind, it definitely seems like the traditional single-player campaign will not be missed. It’s funny to think of how my own opinion has changed about this kind of announcement. When Black Ops 3 was released on Xbox 360, it did not have ANY single player or co-op campaign/missions, and I felt like they were just being cheap. In the case of Black Ops 4, it definitely seems like Treyarch is trying to bring so much new multiplayer content to the game that a true single player campaign would’ve just been an afterthought anyway. This is the exact opposite problem that has followed other big name games: great single player campaign, but no multiplayer. When talking about 2007’s Bioshock, former Irrational Games head Ken Levine opined that there was no point to just tacking on a multiplayer that didn’t parallel the quality of the single-player experience (Escapist Magazine).

I feel that Treyarch’s reasoning is similar: Why waste valuable development time working on a single player campaign that will fall by the wayside with all the new, quality multiplayer content they are creating? No single-player campaign in Black Ops 4? Sounds good to me!

READ: All of the Geekiverse’s Call of Duty coverage here

Andrew Garvey is a writer and editor for The Geekiverse. He’s spent countless hours playing COD online, and he’s not ashamed to admit it, although he’s still not very good. And he is a little ashamed to admit that.

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