Activision has revealed several exclusive bonuses that PlayStation owners will receive when playing Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War in multiplayer. Call of Duty has been one of several multiplayer-focused franchises to traditionally offer exclusive content with one platform over the other, whether that be early access to DLC, exclusive missions or maps, or some other bonus. This typically comes as part of a marketing deal where the platform holder will hype the game in exchange for placing their console’s logo in trailers and other advertising. The game may come out on multiple console platforms, but it gets a major leg up on one.
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Call of Duty has spent time in both Microsoft and Sony’s camp over the years, typically dealing with whichever machine was out in front as far as mass adoption and fan preference. Two generations ago, a huge contingent of shooter fans gathered around the Xbox 360, and Call of Duty was one of the juggernauts to emerge every year. Activision stuck with Xbox for the first two years of the Xbox One, but the massive sales success of the PlayStation 4 made it switch sides. Since then, Activision has offered exclusives on PlayStation, and that now continues into the PS5 era.
As revealed on the PlayStation Blog by Activision representative James Mattone, there are four levels of bonuses for PS4 and PS5 players of Black Ops Cold War. Right off the bat, those that purchase the multiplayer Battle Pass with 20 level skips get an extra five on the house. Once that’s secure, teaming up with fellow PlayStation players will earn everyone in the party an additional 25 percent weapon XP in each match. Monthly 24-hour long Double XP events will also be exclusive to PlayStation platforms, and players on PlayStation get two additional loadout slots when they unlock Create-A-Class.
It’s an interesting tactic by Activision, and it may be a necessary one. Call of Duty maps are no longer premium DLC, so it’s impossible to offer early access or exclusive arenas like in the old days. The developers could offer unique cosmetics, but that’s probably not seen as enough of an incentive to get players to pick PlayStation over Xbox as their console of choice. XP buffs and the like will certainly accomplish that goal, but it also raises the question of fairness, especially as Black Ops Cold War is a cross-platform experience. Xbox players will have to contend with enemies that have more loadouts available and possibly more weapon unlocks faster, and there’s nothing they can do about it.
In the end, outside of those playing on the highest competitive levels, the additional XP rewards and other bonuses for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War likely will not be the end of the world. It’s certainly unfair, but one could argue that early peeks at DLC maps had the same tinge of unfairness in the old days. At least with this setup, everyone gets the full game experience right from the word go. PlayStation players may just have an easier time seeing all of it from the jump.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War releases on current-gen and next-gen Xbox and PlayStation consoles on November 12.
Source: PlayStation Blog
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