After Battlefield V, Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII also went neck deep into its battle royale mode.

GameInformer‘s October issue focuses on Treyarch‘s game in detail, putting it on the cover no less, and the coverage started with Dan Bunting, Treyarch‘s head, revealing the number of players in the Blackout game mode:

„What’s more important to us than a number is that the gameplay experience is as refined as it can be, that’s it the ideal perfect format for what players are going to play. So, we’re starting with 80 players, but we’ve gone higher than that. Whenever we launch a game as a beta or whatever, that’s the beginning of something. We’re going to actively be participating in the community and taking feedback, making changes and adapting, evolving the game as feedback rolls in. So there’s a lot that can go on that can happen beyond that first impact of the game going out there.” So eighty players. That’s more than Battlefield V’s Firestorm mode (we discussed it separately), but less than PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds and Fortnite: Battle Royale with their 100-player limit.

Blackout will have AI-controlled zombies, and we also learned what the vehicles would be: a cargo truck (one driver, four passengers), an ATV (one driver, one passenger), an inflatable boat (one pilot, three passengers), and a helicopter (one pilot, four passengers).

David Vonderhaar, Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII‘s design director, also answered 195 rapid-fire questions as well. Thus, we learned that Blackout, which is being worked on by Raven Software, won’t have custom games “as you think about them.” Treyarch is testing split-screen now, and it’s very feasible. Multiple Blackout maps are possible, but they will need time to become available. Dozens of Blackout characters will arrive post-launch (possibly with cameos from non-Treyarch Call of Duty games, and there also will be Blackout-specific ones, too). At launch, there will be around twenty, and there are no benefits to using a specific character. The characters won’t be locked behind limited-time events, but they might make them easier to be unlocked. You unlock characters by doing character-specific missions and generally progressing the game.

There will be no changing weather (only sunny!), no third-person perspective, no platform-exclusive content, no cross-play, and no headquarters (seen in WWII last year) either. You can’t pick up clothing and cosmetic items for characters inside the world, but you can trade items or steal them from somebody you killed (including quest items).

The zombies will spawn at several „zombie destinations,” marked by a ray of light. At least one melee weapon will be in Blackout to deal with them. The safe circle will be „largely random,” with some limitations. There will be fall damage, as well as a firing range area. There are plans to have emotes, but they might not be available at launch.

Blackout being sold as a standalone game would be „interesting,” and making the mode/game available on mobile is a „good idea.” Treyarch’s goal is to have sixty frames per second, but it’s not working out well for them at the moment.

According to CharlieIntel, Call of Duty’s official Twitter account has messaged several influencers pieces of Blackout‘s map, which is Treyarch’s and Activision’s method of creating hype. We have this much of the map revealed.

Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII, as well as its Blackout game mode, will launch on October 12 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. The Blackout beta has the following schedule: PS4: September 10-17, starting and ending at 10 a.m. PDT, Xbox One: September 14-17, PC: Early Access Period Start: September 14 at 10 a.m. PDT, non-Early Access Period Start: September 15 at 10 a.m. PDT, and it also ends at 17 at 10 a.m. PDT.

Source: WCCFTech, DualShockers

3 teasers for Blackout…looks like the map pieces?

Full tweets from @PrestigeIsKey, @HollowPoiint, and @OGXRAYZ: https://t.co/2DOLeZFK6F pic.twitter.com/z5EpqA56Oy

— Call of Duty News • charlieINTEL.com (@charlieINTEL) September 4, 2018