The beta trailer for Activision's Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 has given bloodthirsty battle royale brawlers a look at the game's highly-anticipated Blackout mode. Taking the Black Ops franchise in a new direction, the fourth installment will be the first Call of Duty game to introduce battle royale, the increasingly popular trend in gaming.
Although some players may be a little down that Black Ops 4 won't include a traditional single-player story, developers at Treyarch are hoping to make up for it with an action-packed battle royale mode. There was plenty to take in during the beta trailer and even more to be excited about thanks to Blackout.
Related: Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Beta - When it Starts & How to Play
Appearing at the very end of the trailer, gamers get a 13-second glimpse of what to expect from Blackout. Alongside the fan-favorite Nuketown map, Call of Duty: World at War's Verruckt map also popped up alongside some zombies. Although it is yet to be confirmed, the appearance of the zombies suggests that shuffling hordes of the undead could also play a part in Blackout. Just imagine the extra challenge of overcoming ravenous Nazi zombies while also having to contend with the other battle royale players.
Elsewhere, there is newcomer character Bruno Delacroix alongside some familiar Black Ops to reiterate that Treyarch's take on battle royale will also hark back to the franchise's past. Finally, the big talking point is Blackout's vehicular gameplay. The trailer ends with one team putting the pedal to the metal as they flee on ATVs as the opposition fires from above in a helicopter. It is key to note that the ATV team manage to obliterate the helicopter side with a handy RPG, proving that an air assault isn't always going to guarantee success.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is going all out with two beta releases. Although August's Private Multiplayer Beta promises to be a supersized version including 10 Specialists across five game modes and six maps, all eyes will be on September's Blackout beta.
Blackout was first revealed back in May, but it is safe to say that the battle royale mode is all anyone is talking about right now. Importantly, Black Ops 4 shows that Blackout will be completely different to anything we've seen before. In an already crowded market of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds and Fortnite - not to mention Battlefield 5's upcoming battle royale mode - Activision is keeping Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 fans pumped with Blackout ahead of the game's October 12 release.