All Articles: Call of Duty: Black Ops

Activision is working on at least three movies in a connected Call of Duty Cinematic Universe

Activision first began discussing the possibility of a “Call of Duty Cinematic Universe” shortly after opening their film division, Activision Blizzard Studios, a few years ago. Earlier this week, a new profile in The Guardian has revealed that the studio is already working on three separate films:

“We have plotted out many years,” [Co-President Stacey] Sher tells the Guardian. “We put together this group of writers to talk about where we were going. There’ll be a film that feels more like Black Ops, the story behind the story. The Modern Warfare series looks at what it’s like to fight a war with the eyes of the world on you. And then maybe something that is more of a hybrid, where you are looking at private, covert operations, while a public operation is going on.”

According to The Guardian, Activision would like to start filming the first entry in the “Call of Duty Cinematic Universe” sometime next year, with a theatrical premiere planned for “a couple of years after” that.

Sher and her Co-President, Nick Van Dyk, also have ambitions beyond traditional motion pictures. The pair has already partnered with Netflix to produce Skylanders Academy, and they’re also envisioning a Call of Duty-branded series that focuses on historical conflicts such as World War II and the Vietnam War.

Sher also wants fans to know that, above all else, Activision Blizzard Studios wants to make good movies: “If you just chase the empty blockbuster, and have nothing to say in the genre, forget about it.”

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Call of Duty: Black Ops III on PS3 and Xbox 360 won’t include the Campaign

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Cross-generation releases are becoming increasingly rare, but the planned PS3/Xbox 360 launch for this November’s Call of Duty: Black Ops III was expected to keep the practice alive for at least one more year. However, yesterday, Activision announced that the game PS3 and Xbox 360 owners will receive will be considerably different from the one in development for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

Just how different is it? According to an update on the official Call of Duty website, the PS3/Xbox 360 version of the game won’t include the Campaign.

“The ambitious scope of the 1-4 player coop Campaign design of the PS4, Xbox One and PC versions could not be faithfully recreated on old generation hardware,” wrote a spokesman from Acitivision, which likely means the Campaign story mode was axed due to the complicated nature of its four-player co-op option. This means that Call of Duty: Black Ops III on the PS3 and Xbox 360 will only include the competitive multiplayer mode and “Shadows of Evil,” its noir-inspired Zombies Mode. The Weapon Paint Shop and Black Ops III’s new suite of eSports tools will also only be included in the game on the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

In development at Beenox and Mercenary Technology, the PS3 and Xbox 360 version of Call of Duty: Black Ops III is still expected to be released on November 6 in spite of this setback. Activision has also decided to discount the game’s regular price to $49.99 and include a download code for a digital copy of Call of Duty: Black Ops to make up for the missing features.

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Explore the extensive timeline of the Call of Duty: Black Ops franchise in this video

Beginning with the birth of Victor Reznov in 1913, the Black Ops saga spans more than 100 years of history… most of which has been redacted. Thankfully, developer Treyarch has compiled this primer to help players read through the lines before the upcoming release of Call of Duty: Black Ops III. If you’ve got ten minutes to spare, I highly recommend you spend it reacquainting yourself with the events behind Black Ops and Black Ops II.

And if you skip to the end, you’ll even find out which of Black Ops II’s multiple endings is considered the true ending by Treyarch.

Call of Duty: Black Ops III will be released for the PC, PS4, Xbox One, PS3, and Xbox 360 on November 6.

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BOOM! Madden NFL 16 is the best-selling game of August 2015

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Whatever your opinion of Tom Brady and Deflategate (for the record, I agree with Tony Kornheiser, the suspension was “completely unjust”), it looks like nobody can take the air out of EA’s Madden NFL franchise. And don’t just take my word for it. The latest entry in the series, Madden NFL 16, topped the NPD Group’s newest monthly report and was declared the best-selling game of August 2015.

Madden NFL 16’s ascendance to the top of the list was a foregone conclusion, but August was an unusually quiet month for new releases. Just look at the three remakes/re-releases that broke into the top ten. Gears of War: Ultimate Edition chainsawed its way into the #3 spot, while the 30 games in the Rare Replay compilation collectively landed at #6. Finally, a Combo Pack containing Call of Duty: Black Ops + Call of Duty: Black Ops II claimed the #8 position (two spots ahead of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare at #10, I might add). The only other new release to crack the top ten was Sony’s Until Dawn at #7.

But the real story of the month might be that Minecraft continues to sell. Even though its been available on the PS4 and Xbox One since last year (and another year on the PS3 and Xbox 360), the game continues to sell month after month. Only Madden NFL 16 was able to outpace Mojang’s creation in August as Minecraft is sitting at #2 on the best-sellers list.

A complete look at August 2015’s top ten is available after the break. (more…)

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Activision thinks “a lot” about developing Call of Duty remasters

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Remasters are all the rage these days, but one of the world’s biggest game publishers, Activision, has mostly stayed away from their back catalog. Activision has dabbled in the remaster market (producing Call of Duty Classic in 2009, GoldenEye 007/GoldenEye 007: Reloaded in 2010/2011, and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD in 2012), but they haven’t made that big push into their past like Capcom, Sony, Square Enix, and several others.

However, that attitude might be up for a reevaluation as fans have begun to request remasters of Call of Duty titles from the PS3/Xbox 360 era. Rather than shut down such speculation, Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg is encouraging it, and confirmed that the company thinks about doing a Call of Duty remaster “a lot.” Speaking to Game Informer, the executive specifically cited Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: Black Ops as two games he’d like to see remade:

“If done well, I think [remasters] can be great,” Hirshberg says. “You talk about nostalgia, and people have such connection to the games they love from the last cycle. They want to see what it would look like if someone did it right for this cycle. It’s always the opportunity cost, meaning we need every body we can get to make the content we’re already committed to for our new games. It’s always a matter of finding great people to do that work. I would love to play Modern Warfare 1 or the original Black Ops. There’s certainly a deep well there. No announcements, but it’s something we talk about and think about a lot.”

Activision has aggressively expanded the Call of Duty franchise over the last decade, building it up into one of the biggest franchises of all time. If I had to guess, I think Hirshberg sees a Call of Duty remaster as a matter of “when,” not “if.”

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Darksiders II, NSMB2, Kingdom Hearts 3D reign supreme as August’s bestselling games

The Death that stars in Darksiders II isn’t taking a holiday, but he did take the top spot in The NPD Group’s list of bestselling games in August.

Two other August releases, New Super Mario Bros 2 and Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, round out the top three, making August the first time all Summer that three new releases lead the bestseller list. New releases Sleeping Dogs (#6) and Transformers: Fall of Cybertron (#7) also made the list.

The remainder of the August top ten looks very similar to previous months and you can find it after the break. (more…)

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NCAA Football 13 is the bestselling game of July 2012

The NPD Group has released their list of the ten bestselling games of July 2012 and, surprising no one, NCAA Football 13 took the top spot.

The football sim was the only new release from the month of July to crack the top ten, but to be fair, there weren’t very many games released last month. Instead, the top ten is populated by holdovers like Lego Batman 2, The Amazing Spider-Man, and two Call of Duty games (Black Ops and Modern Warfare 3). According to Joystiq, this motley crew could only manage sales of $260.7 million, a 23% drop from July 2011’s take of $338.5 million.

The full top ten is available after the break. (more…)

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PSN “Ultimate Editions” of Black Ops, Mortal Kombat, LA Noire, more on sale this week

Sony has added a new featured section to their PS3 Full Games store: Ultimate Editions!

Each Ultimate Edition is comprised of the original game and any available downloadable content, ensuring that gamers who use the PSN always have the complete game. To celebrate their new offering, Sony is running a weeklong sale on all nine Ultimate Editions. From now until June 4, all the Ultimate Editions will be 30% off with PS Plus subscribers getting a 50% discount.

Hit the jump to view the full list of PS3 Ultimate Editions. (more…)

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