Call of Duty: Black Ops III

Call of Duty: Black Ops III
Developer(s)Treyarch[a]
Publisher(s)Activision
Director(s)
Producer(s)
  • Ben Brinkman
  • Sam Nouriani
  • Pat Dwyer
  • Max Hutson
Designer(s)
Programmer(s)
  • David King
  • Martin Donlon
  • Trevor Walker
Artist(s)Colin Whitney
Writer(s)
Composer(s)Jack Wall[b]
SeriesCall of Duty
EngineIW 3.0 (heavily modified)
Platform(s)
Release
  • PS3, PS4, Win, X360, XONE
    November 6, 2015
  • macOS
    April 4, 2019
Genre(s)First-person shooter
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer[c]

Call of Duty: Black Ops III is a 2015 first-person shooter game developed by Treyarch and published by Activision. It is the twelfth entry in the Call of Duty series and the sequel to the 2012 video game Call of Duty: Black Ops II. It was released on PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One on November 6, 2015. A feature-limited version developed by Beenox and Mercenary Technology that only supports multiplayer modes was released on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and was also the final Call of Duty title released on those platforms.

Black Ops III is set in 2065, 40 years after the events of Black Ops II, in a world shaped by the impacts of climate change and the rise of advanced technologies, including cybernetic enhancements.

Similar to its predecessors, the story follows a group of black ops soldiers. The game's campaign is designed to support 4-player cooperative gameplay, allowing for bigger, more open level design and less corridor shooting. As the player character is cybernetically enhanced, players have access to various special activities. The game also features a standalone Zombies campaign mode, and a "Nightmares" mode which replaces all enemies as zombies.

Announced in late April 2015, the game is the first Call of Duty video game released after Activision ended its partnership with Microsoft Studios and instead partnered with Sony Computer Entertainment, which secured the timed exclusivity of the game's downloadable content. Upon release, the game received generally positive reviews from critics, praising the gameplay, Zombies mode, and amount of content. However, it was also criticized for its story and lack of innovation. The seventh-generation console versions in particular were singled-out for their graphics, performance issues, and lack of a campaign and numerous features, as well as them being online-only. It was a commercial success, with it becoming the top-selling retail game in the US in 2015, and one of the most successful titles released for the eighth generation of video game consoles, selling over 43 million copies worldwide since its release.

Following the years after its release, Black Ops III has gained a cult following and its online modes still remain active. A prequel, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, was released on October 12, 2018.

Gameplay

The campaign in Black Ops III is designed to support 4-player cooperative gameplay, allowing for bigger, more open and free level design and less corridor shooting. In addition, the player can customize their character's appearance and clothing. The campaign features its own progression system, featuring unlock tokens which must be used to acquire different weapons and gears as they progress through the campaign.[2] The game features a "realistic" difficulty mode, in which players will get defeated if they are hit by one bullet.[3] Finishing all campaign missions will also unlock "Nightmares" mode, where players can replay the entire campaign with a new narrative, as well as zombies replacing most of the normal enemies.

The multiplayer mode introduces a new momentum based movement system, which utilizes thruster packs to allow players to perform slow boosts into the air, as well as perform wall running and sliding, all the while giving players complete gun control.[4] In addition to the Pick 10 class system from Black Ops II, Treyarch implemented a character system called "Specialists", where players can pick from 9 different soldiers, each with either a special weapon or ability unique to them.[5] In a later update, a tenth specialist named Blackjack was added to the game. Blackjack is able to mimic the abilities of other specialists, and is only playable for a short amount of time upon completing a set of challenges.[6] A new "Gunsmith" feature offers aesthetic variations in weapon attachments, allowing various weapon customization combinations.[7] The Paintshop feature allows players to create their own custom prints onto specific portions of a gun, further emphasizing the depth of customization in the game.[8]

The Zombies mode features a new XP progression system, which allows players to unlock items in a similar fashion to multiplayer and campaign. Unlockable items include "Gobblegums", which grant players with temporary bonuses, and weapon kits that allow players to modify the appearance and attributes of the guns with various camos and attachments.

Black Ops III features several bonus game modes in addition to the three main offerings: Nightmares, an alternate retelling of the campaign that incorporates zombies; Dead Ops Arcade, a top-down shooter mode that acts as a sequel to the original iteration from Call of Duty: Black Ops, and Freerun, a parkour-inspired game mode where players utilize advanced movement mechanics to navigate the levels and reach the goal.[9][10][11]

Plot

Setting and characters

Call of Duty: Black Ops III is set in 2065, 40 years after Black Ops II, during a time of global upheaval from conflicts, climate change, and new tech. A third Cold War rages between the Winslow Accord and the Common Defense Pact. Following the drone attacks by Raul Menendez on June 19, 2025, many countries have developed Directed Energy Air Defense systems that make traditional air forces obsolete. Most warfare now involves covert operatives behind enemy lines. Advances in robotics mean drones and cyborg supersoldiers are common, sparking fears of a robotic takeover.

Like previous installments in the Black Ops series, the campaign follows a team of black ops soldiers,[12] who work for Winslow Accord. The player character (voiced by Ben Browder if male and Abby Brammell if female) and Jacob Hendricks (Sean Douglas) are members of the faction's wetwork team, while Commander John Taylor (Christopher Meloni) and his team Sebastian Diaz (Reynaldo Gallegos), Sarah Hall (Katee Sackhoff), and Peter Maretti (Ary Katz), compose the faction's cybernetics division.[13][14] Additional characters include: Rachel Kane (Rachel Kimsey), a CIA agent who was romantically involved with Taylor; Sebastian Krueger (Robert Picardo), CEO of the Coalescence Corporation; Yousef Salim (Tony Amendola), a therapist who once worked for Coalescence; and Goh Xiulan (Lynn Chen), leader of the Singaporean criminal organization 54 Immortals. NFL running back Marshawn Lynch makes a cameo appearance in the game as a 54 Immortals mercenary.

Included in the game is the "Nightmares" campaign mode, which is a retelling of the main campaign with the plot changed to incorporate zombies and other supernatural beings. In this campaign, the lethal Virus 61-15 is released in various cities around the world, turning whoever it infects into zombies. In response, the governments of the world seal off the worst infected areas into Quarantine Zones and form the Deadkillers, cybernetic soldiers trained to exterminate zombies.

Synopsis

On October 27, 2065, the Player and Jacob Hendricks of the Winslow Accord Black Ops are deployed to Ethiopia to rescue the Egyptian Prime Minister and hostages from the Nile River Coalition (NRC). The extraction goes awry, leaving the Player wounded by a combat robot and left behind. Rescued by John Taylor, the Player undergoes cybernetic surgery, including a direct neural interface (DNI), and receives virtual training from Taylor, Sebastian Diaz, Sarah Hall, and Peter Maretti. Hendricks volunteers for surgery.

After five years of wetwork, the Player and Hendricks are assigned to CIA handler Rachel Kane to investigate a quiet CIA black site in Singapore. They find it attacked by the crime syndicate 54 Immortals, with data stolen, leading Kane to believe Taylor and his team defected and murdered staff. To locate the data, the Player and Hendricks disguise as arms dealers to meet the Immortals, but their cover is blown, resulting in the death of leader Goh Min. They recover data pointing to Taylor's last known location at a Coalescence Corporation site in Singapore, destroyed ten years earlier in a deadly explosion. At the site, they find a hidden CIA lab and discover Diaz leaking classified info, whom they kill. Diaz's DNI reveals Taylor’s goal is to find two survivors of the explosion: CEO Sebastian Krueger and Dr. Salim. When the leaked info leads to Kane’s capture by the Immortals, the Player defies orders to leave her behind and rescues her by killing Goh Min's sister, Xiulan.

The trio goes to Cairo and finds Salim, who reveals he conducted secret DNI experiments involving calming humans through imagining a frozen forest. The NRC then invades, allowing Taylor's team to abduct Salim, who is later interrogated and executed by Taylor. The Player, Hendricks, and Kane pursue Taylor with help from the Egyptian Army, but face resistance from Hall. After killing Hall, the Player connects to her DNI and encounters Corvus, an intelligence created during experiments to monitor DNI users' thoughts. Corvus malfunctioned, causing an explosion and infecting Taylor's team. This obsession with finding the forest spreads to the Player and Hendricks after they interface with Hall and Diaz. After killing Maretti, they spark a people's uprising against the NRC, using the chaos to locate Taylor, who they corner on a rooftop. Taylor wounds the Player but resists Corvus and pulls out his DNI, sparing the Player. Hendricks is infected and kills Taylor, then leaves for Zürich to find Krueger.

The Player races to Zürich with Kane to stop Corvus, discovering Corvus has stored Nova 6 gas used in the Singapore explosion at the HQ. Kane tries to contain it but is locked in a room, and the gas is leaked, killing her in front of the Player. The Player finds Hendricks holding Krueger hostage; after Hendricks kills Krueger, the Player kills him. The Player attempts to end their life to stop Corvus but is trapped in a simulated frozen forest created by Corvus for dead DNI users. As a glitch, Taylor reunites with the Player, advising they must purge their DNI to end Corvus. With Taylor's help, the Player resists Corvus and deletes the virus, then escapes and identifies as "Taylor" to Zürich Security.

Taylor's mission reports reveal that the Player actually died during their cybernetics surgery due to complications. The events that follow until Taylor's death occur in a simulation that diverges from Taylor's and Hendricks's experience of hunting down Dylan Stone and his team (Javier Ramirez, Alice Conrad, and Joseph Fierro), who defected after discovering the CIA black site. The Player's consciousness is shown living in Taylor's mind throughout the simulation, indicating that the Player manages to take over Taylor's body after his simulated death until the DNI purge results in Corvus and the Player being erased as Taylor regains control.

Development

Call of Duty: Black Ops III is the twelfth game in the Call of Duty franchise, and the fourth entry in the Black Ops series. The game was the second to benefit under publisher Activision's three-year development cycle, the first being Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. The cycle allows each of the development teams of the Call of Duty series (Infinity Ward, Treyarch, and Sledgehammer Games) to develop games in a three-year timespan, as opposed to the two allowed previously. Black Ops III uses a heavily modified version of the IW engine used previously in Black Ops II.[15]

On June 9, 2015, versions for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 were confirmed to be under development by Beenox and Mercenary Technology. These versions lack some features available on other platforms, such as the game's campaign mode and the remaining DLC contents.[16][17] On June 15, 2015, it was announced that as part of a new exclusivity deal with Sony Computer Entertainment, all downloadable content for future Call of Duty games, beginning with Black Ops III, would be released first on PlayStation platforms as timed exclusives. This ends a similar exclusivity deal with Microsoft dating back to Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.[18]

According to gaming journalist Jason Schreier, Call of Duty: Black Ops III was initially intended to include an open-world campaign, but was scrapped during development, resulting in a period of crunch for employees.[19]

A multiplayer beta was released for the PlayStation 4 on August 18, 2015,[20] and was released for Windows and the Xbox One on August 26, 2015.[21][22] All versions of the multiplayer beta ran for six days.

Music

Jack Wall, who previously composed the score for Call of Duty: Black Ops II, returned along with Treyarch's Audio Director Brian Tuey to compose the score for the game. The game also featured an instrumental score entitled "Jade Helm", provided by Avenged Sevenfold, for use in the multiplayer mode.[23] Additionally, both Wall, Tuey and Treyarch's Sound Designer Kevin Sherwood contributed to the composition of the Zombies mode's soundtrack, including several new songs performed by Elena Siegman and Malukah for each of the maps.

To promote, the DJ and producer Afrojack did a song for the game, called "Unstoppable".

Marketing

Reveal

Teasers were released beginning with Snapchat links[24] appearing in the gameplay of Black Ops II as well as a teaser video released by Treyarch.[25] On April 26, 2015, the first reveal trailer for the game was released and revealed the return of the Zombies mode and beta access for people that pre-order the game for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. The full game was released on November 6, 2015.[21]

Controversy

On September 29, 2015, the official Twitter account of Call of Duty was temporarily renamed to "Current Events Aggregate". It then began tweeting messages about real-life fashion, movies and a terrorist attack that takes place in Singapore. Activision later revealed that these tweets are fake, and served to promote the game's story campaign.[26] This marketing campaign was strongly criticized for faking news, and publisher Activision was blamed for being "irresponsible".[27][28] The game's director Jason Blundell said that the team was "shocked" by the negative reaction of the marketing campaign,[26] and offered an apology.[29]

Seize Glory

Seize Glory is an official live action trailer for Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 that was directed by Wayne McClammy and starring Michael B. Jordan, Cara Delevingne and Marshawn Lynch.[30][31] The trailer features Michael B. Jordan following a man named Kevin as he runs through warfare while destroying zombies and robots.[32] The trailer first aired during November 2015.[33]

The trailer begins with “Paint It Black” by The Rolling Stones as the background music. The setting is a war zone of explosions, soldiers, and a demolished city. Michael B. Jordan standing on a tower, watching over the battle, looks at the camera and says, “What? Y’all don't know about Kevin?” Kevin, a younger man, explodes onto the battle field with a large assault rifle. Kevin runs through the chaotic city enjoying himself as he shoots at everything and Michael B. Jordan builds up Kevin's character. Kevin performs exciting moves like sliding down stairs and running on walls. Kevin even eats a sandwich while setting off explosives on enemies. Then, Marshawn Lynch, a star running back in the National Football League, fully geared with weapons and armor slides in, ready to take out a whole room of zombies. Kevin flies in and steals Marshawn's glory. Kevin makes the classic cool guy move by setting off explosives behind him without looking while he walks away. Suddenly, a girl that Michael B. Jordan introduces as Cara, jumps down from the sky and sends Kevin off the screen. Cara, a young woman, takes Kevin's spotlight and starts wreaking havoc on the battle field. Cara, smiling, throws her handguns to the side while walking away from explosions in the background. In the middle of the screen, in bold white letters, appears the slogan, “There's a Soldier in All of Us.”

Activision hired Wayne McClammy as the director. Wayne has been the director of many Call of Duty advertisements.[34] According to Activision Publishing CMO Tim Ellis, the trailer's intent was to show that “The gaming population is so much bigger and more diverse than people may think".[35] Actors Michael B. Jordan and Cara Delevingne were chosen to star in the trailer as both were known by Activision to be fans of the Call of Duty series.[36]

Pre-order

Call of Duty: Black Ops III and the Digital Deluxe Edition counterpart were available to pre-order on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. The Digital Deluxe Edition comes with the season pass, which can also be ordered separately. Pre-ordering provided access to the Call of Duty: Black Ops III multiplayer beta and in-game items for Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, such as custom reticles, an emblem, a calling card, and Advanced Supply Drops.[37] Sony also announced that the Black Ops III beta would come to the PS4 first on August 19 through August 23, 2015.[38] The beta for the PS4 went live on August 18, 2015, several hours earlier than originally announced.[20] After the beta period ended, it was announced that all pre-orders would include the bonus multiplayer map "NUK3TOWN", a remake of the original "Nuketown" map, featured in Call of Duty: Black Ops, and in Call of Duty: Black Ops II as "Nuketown 2025". Owing to the lack of the campaign mode, the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions included a digital copy of Black Ops as an added bonus, as well as having their price reduced by 10 dollars compared to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions.[39]

Comics tie-in

A comic book titled Call of Duty: Black Ops III was announced on July 1, 2015. Serving as a prequel to the game, the first issue was released worldwide on November 4, 2015, and was published by Dark Horse Comics. The story is written by Larry Hama, while Marcelo Ferreira served as the artist for the comic book.[40] The story takes place several years prior to the main events of the game, and stars Jacob Hendricks and John Taylor along with their black ops squadmates in an attempt to stop a Russian terrorist plot. Subsequent issues were released throughout 2016.

On July 11, 2016, Treyarch announced a new comic book series titled Call of Duty: Zombies, to expand upon the story of the Zombies mode. The story features the return of the TranZit team: Abigail "Misty" Briarton, Marlton Johnson, Russman and Samuel Stuhlinger, previously the main protagonists of Call of Duty: Black Ops II, as they embark on a search for an artifact known as the Kronorium, while discovering the truth behind Edward Richtofen's reappearance. The miniseries, also published by Dark Horse, features Justin Jordan as the writer and Jonathan Wayshak as the main artist, while Simon Bisley draws the cover art of each issue. The first issue was released on October 28, 2016, and subsequent issues were released throughout 2017.

Special editions and downloadable content

In addition to the Digital Deluxe Edition, other special editions include the Hardened Edition and the Juggernog Edition.[41] The Juggernog Edition includes a mini-refrigerator, a season pass and multiple in-game content.[42] A Collector's Edition bonus map for the Zombie mode, "The Giant" was announced. It is a remake of the Call of Duty: World at War map "Der Riese", and features the original characters, Dempsey, Nikolai, Takeo, and Richtofen.[43] A multiplayer-only starter pack for Windows was announced and released on February 16, 2016. It features the multiplayer mode's core mechanics, though certain features, such as the Zombie mode and the Nightmare mode, were excluded. This version of the game is available for players to purchase until the end of February 2016, though it has been made available permanently since.[44]

In December 2015, during Sony's PlayStation Experience event, Activision announced the first downloadable content map pack for Black Ops III, titled "Awakening", and was released first on PlayStation 4 on February 2, 2016. Releases for Windows and Xbox One happened in March 2016. The map pack contains four new multiplayer maps: "Skyjacked" (a remake of the Black Ops II multiplayer map "Hijacked"), "Rise", "Splash", and "Gauntlet", a new Zombies map, Der Eisendrache, and several new gumballs for the Zombie mode.[45] In March 2016, Treyarch revealed the second map pack, titled "Eclipse". The map pack has four new multiplayer maps, including a remake of the World at War map "Bonzai" and a new Zombies map, "Zetsubou no Shima".[46] The map pack was released on April 19 for PlayStation 4 and May 19 for Xbox One and PC.

The third map pack, Descent, was revealed on June 28, 2016, featuring four new MP maps, including a remake of the Black Ops II map "Raid" and a new Zombies map, "Gorod Krovi". The map pack was released on July 12 for PlayStation 4 and August 11 for Xbox One and PC. The PC release of Descent received controversy, for Activision and Treyarch announced that the map packs would no longer be sold separately, and PC players must purchase the season pass to receive all map packs, while owners of Awakening and/or Eclipse would receive discounts upon purchasing the season pass. The fourth map pack, Salvation, was revealed on August 25, 2016, with remakes of the MP maps "Standoff" from Black Ops II and "Outskirt" from World at War, along with the final Zombies map, "Revelations". The map pack was released on September 6 for PlayStation 4, and October 6 for Xbox One and PC.

A fifth and final map pack, Zombies Chronicles, contains remastered versions of 8 Zombies maps from previous games: "Nacht Der Untoten", "Verrückt", and "Shi no Numa" from World at War, "Kino Der Toten", "Ascension", "Shangri-La", and "Moon" from Black Ops, and "Origins" from Black Ops II, and is not included in the season pass of the game. The map pack was released on May 16, 2017, for PlayStation 4, and June 16 for Xbox One and PC.[47]

On May 24, 2017, Activision and Treyarch announced a Multiplayer DLC Trial Pack for the PC version of Black Ops III, allowing all players to play on all multiplayer maps from the four map packs for free for a limited time, while also offering XP bonuses to players who previously owned the map packs and/or the season pass.[48] On March 20, 2018, the Zombies maps from the four map packs were made available for separate purchase on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, with PC to follow on May 2.[49] On June 11, 2018, Activision and Treyarch announced the "Back in Black" map pack, which contains four remastered versions of fan-favorite multiplayer maps from Black Ops and Black Ops II: "Summit", "Jungle", "Firing Range", and "Slums". These four maps, which are also included in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 at launch, are offered exclusively to the PlayStation 4 version of the game for players who pre-order Black Ops 4 on the aforementioned platform.

Reception

Critical response

According to review aggregator Metacritic, Call of Duty: Black Ops III received "generally favorable" critic reviews for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and "mixed or average" critic reviews for PC.[50][51][53] GameSpot awarded it a score of 7 out of 10, saying, "Black Ops III doesn't offer anything remarkable to the series, but does just enough to maintain the Call of Duty status quo. The franchise, however slowly, continues its inexorable march."[55] Polygon also gave the game a score of 7 out of 10, saying "Black Ops III's biggest point of recommendation may be the breadth of content there, and that's a valid point of view. But Treyarch doesn't meaningfully move the series forward here."[60] IGN awarded it a score of 9.2 out of 10, saying "With fun 4-player co-op, new powers, and a fleshed out Zombies mode, Black Ops 3 is the biggest Call of Duty game yet."[58] Stuart Andrews of Trusted Reviews criticized the setting and narrative, writing "Black Ops 3 is a solid installment that will please the series' hardcore fans, but it's not a mainstream crowd-pleaser in the way that last year's Advanced Warfare was", and unfavorably compared it to its predecessors, disparaging that it "focuses entirely on the sci-fi stuff, loses most of its conspiracy theory trappings and brings augmented super-soldiers in. The result sometimes feels less like a third Black Ops game than Call of Duty: Even More Advanced Warfare."[61]

The PS3 and Xbox 360 versions received less praise than the other versions. IGN's Brian Albert criticised the lack of the campaign in these versions, as well as the poor graphics and long waiting times, but concluded that despite these versions issues, they were still very fun to play.[59]

Sales

Black Ops III sold over 6.6 million copies in its first week of sales (not including digital) and grossed over $550 million in sales during its first three days of release.[62][63] In the United Kingdom, the game bested Halo 5: Guardians to become the top selling game.[64] Black Ops III was the top best selling game in the US according to NPD's figures.[65] Black Ops III later became the top selling game of 2015.[66] According to Activision, Black Ops III was one of the best-selling games released for the eighth generation of video game consoles, and that its financial performance is significantly better than its predecessor, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare.[67][68] By December 2024, Black Ops III had sold over 43 million copies.[69]

Awards

List of awards and nominations
Award Category Result Ref.
The Game Award Best Shooter Nominated [70]
Best Multiplayer Nominated

References

Notes
  1. ^ The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game were developed by Beenox and Mercenary Technology, and Raven Software assisted development on the multiplayer map, Redwood.
  2. ^ Additional music composed by Brian Tuey and Kevin Sherwood[1]
  3. ^ The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game are multiplayer only.
Footnotes
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