Activision now has a retail option for those interested in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 but only in the competitive multiplayer modes and not the cooperative Zombies mode. Today the publisher announced a PC-exclusive bundle named the Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Battle Edition, available solely through Blizzard's digital Battle.net storefront. The Battle Edition includes both the Multiplayer and Blackout battle royale modes, but drops the Zombies mode, and has a lower price of $29.99 as a result.
The full price is technically $39.99 but has been dropped as part of an ongoing sale that will last through January 6. Discounted, that's just $15 apiece for both the Multiplayer and Blackout modes. There's no word on if this bundle will come to platforms other than PC.
Also, those who purchase the Battle Edition will have the option to purchase the Zombies mode separately as part of the Digital Standard Edition. The standard edition typically costs $59.99, though it's currently discounted to $47.99. Players will simply have to pay the difference in price if they upgrade. The Digital Standard Edition also includes 1,100 Call of Duty Points and several bonus items to help justify the extra price.
Activision Senior Vice President of Global Digital and Mobile Commerce Rob Schonfield provided a prepared statement explaining Activision's reasoning for releasing the new bundle:
"The Black Ops 4 Battle Edition is a great way to bring even more new players into the game and allow them to jump into the incredibly fun Multiplayer and Blackout modes which fans have loved so much since day one."
"It'll get more people playing Black Ops 4," is a surprisingly straightforward and understandable statement. Though the implication that the cooperative Zombies mode or the higher price point is putting players off is up for debate.
A $30 price point also makes Blackout priced competitively with PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, though they're both still far off from Fortnite's free-to-play status. The timing of this announcement is also interesting to consider, given that there's a rumor that Valve is reportedly announcing its own battle royale Counter-Strike spin-off tonight at The Game Awards. Of course, maybe Activision is simply trying to continue to improve holiday sales going into the headed holiday sales season leading up to Christmas.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. The Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Battle Edition is available now exclusively on PC.