All signs point to Call of Duty 2024 being a return to the Black Ops series, as leaks have shown that the game will take place within Treyarch’s beloved franchise. Whether it existing Black Ops timeline or marks the start of a new beginning like Modern Warfare 2019 is unclear, as is the setting, with both a semi futuristic focus and a Gulf War game rumored.
While many would agree that the Black Ops timeline provides the best storytelling in the Call of Duty series, it is not without its faults. The first two Black Ops games may have been some of the best Call of Duty titles ever, and Black Ops 3 was the highlight of a weak futuristic era, but Black Ops 4 and Black Ops Cold War each had some significant issues. Call of Duty 2024 needs to avoid these drawbacks, and if it succeeds in doing so, the Black Ops series could become just as popular as it was several years ago.
Call of Duty 2024 Needs a Campaign
Those familiar with Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 will likely remember the big controversy in the lead-up to the game’s release, as it was the first and only entry in the franchise to not feature a campaign. While Treyarch had supposedly tried to get experimental with a two-player co-op campaign, the developer was unable to get the mode into a good place ahead of release. As such, it was scrapped, with the closest thing to a campaign being the Specialist tutorials and the cutscenes they provide.
While Blackout proved to be a big hit, easing the blow of the campaign’s removal and saving Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Treyarch needs to avoid a similar scenario taking place in the future. Even if the developer must call on the assistance of Raven Software once again, as the Warzone studio made the singleplayer mode for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, it is important that a campaign is present within Call of Duty 2024. Not only are there gamers out there who still love campaigns in first-person shooters, but given the quality of the stories in the Black Ops games, it would be a mistake to ever skip a campaign again.
Call of Duty 2024 Needs To Be a Polished Experience
Unfortunately, one thing Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 and Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War shared was a buggy launch. This was a shame to see, as the original Black Ops and Black Ops 2 were very polished titles. However, Black Ops 3’s Exodus map needing to be removed multiple times due to crashing issues was the start of a bad run for Treyarch when it comes to performance problems, with Black Ops 4 and Black Ops Cold War going on to be the buggiest games in Activision’s flagship franchise.
In the case of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, the game simply needed an extra month of bug fixes and QA testing, with the rushed release mostly impacting the game’s Zombies mode. At launch, players would constantly crash during Easter egg attempts, making the race to be first in the world feel pointless. Dozens of bugs were present in each map, and the poor state of the Zombies mode on day one ensured that it was essentially dead on arrival. Content creators began to bash the mode, with some criticism being valid, and the negative response early on led to less funding for Zombies during Black Ops 4’s DLC season.
Not only did a lack of polish kill Call of Duty: Black Ops 4’s Zombies mode, but it made Black Ops Cold War’s multiplayer borderline unplayable in the first few months. Crashes, texture bugs, out of map exploits, and weapon camos not unlocking were just some of the many problems that players had to deal with during the game’s early days. While Zombies was solid in Black Ops Cold War, it had its share of technical issues too, as did the campaign. Though fans know that these flaws were caused by Treyarch being rushed, as it had to get a game out in 2020 to fill in for Sledgehammer, it is still a shame that Black Ops Cold War released in the state that it did.
Call of Duty 2024 Needs a Significant Amount of Day One Content
The two most recent Black Ops titles being pushed out the door resulted in a lack of content for each game. While Zombies received plenty of maps in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, multiplayer only had 10 original maps on day one, with four more remasters added to pad the count a bit. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War was even worse in this area, boasting a series’ low multiplayer map count of eight. With Call of Duty 2024, Treyarch cannot let this happen again.
It is also worth noting that Zombies would benefit from some more day one content in Call of Duty 2024. While Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Zombies launched with a staggering four maps, Black Ops Cold War only provided one, a count that had not been seen since Call of Duty: World at War - the first game to ever include Zombies. Two launch maps like what was seen in the first three Black Ops games would be preferable, though a large round-based map broken into smaller survival maps like TranZit would also be exciting. Having Outbreak on day one would be another way to give Zombies fans more content to enjoy.
Fortunately for Treyarch, a 2024 release means that it will have a long time to develop its next major Call of Duty game. As such, the developer should have plenty of time to do QA testing and eliminate any potential bugs, leading to a title with far less day one issues to patch out. Aside from a smoother release, Treyarch will theoretically have more time to craft content for the game, something that should lead to fleshed out Zombies and multiplayer modes. By delivering plenty of maps for each, the biggest issues from the recent Black Ops games could be fixed, leading to a release that fans love. While the delay to 2024 is primarily so Treyarch can learn the newer Call of Duty engine - ensuring that the next Black Ops game has a more modern look and feel - it could prove to be helpful in other ways as well.