Activision’s upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 will not feature a traditional single-player campaign, anonymous sources familiar with the project told Polygon.
This would make Black Ops 4 the first major Call of Duty title to ship without a standard story. This creative shift highlights the uncertainty of single-player campaigns in future triple-A titles. The original Call of Duty franchise (developed by Infinity Ward) was hailed for its single-player campaigns, but an increase in popularity with every iteration in the series shifted focus onto multiplayer.
The sources claimed that as Black Ops 4’s release grew closer, it became apparent that development on the single-player campaign would not be completed.
Instead, developer Treyarch has apparently shifted focus on expanding Black Ops 4’s multiplayer and Zombies mode in place of a typical single-player campaign.
An Activision spokesperson told Polygon in a statement that “We don’t comment on rumor and speculation. We look forward to revealing Black Ops 4 on May 17th,” when more information about the game is set to be released.