19 Sep 2019
We’ve been expecting Call of Duty’s latest (and biggest) mobile adaptation since March, and now it seems the wait is finally over. Those of you looking to scratch that run-and-gun itch on your phones and tablets can do so when the game launches world-wide on October 1st, 2019.
I’ll be honest, there hasn’t quite been the ‘revolution’ of mainstream games coming to mobile that I thought there’d be back when Fortnite and Ark were leading the charge, but Activision bringing Call of Duty in a more comparable form to the primary console versions is still not to be ignored. Perhaps today’s Apple Arcade launch will also incentivize more companies to give it a go… although the way things are now I’m surprised COD didn’t decide to just go to the Switch instead.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnhok5r3mwM?controls=0]
Call of Duty Mobile is promising a “feature rich” experience that draws from both the Modern Warfare and Black Ops games, a kind of ‘greatest hits’ experience. This is shown through the wide range of game modes (Frontline, Team Deathmatch, Domination, Gun Game, and Search & Destroy), Maps (Nuketown, Hijacked, Crash) and even unlockable Operators (Modern Warfare’s John “Soap” MacTavish vs. Alex Mason from Black Ops) available.
The game will also feature a new 100-player Battle Royale mode, which can be played solo, in pairs or in a four-man team. It features a separate roster of six classes you can choose from, and will include vehicles and weapons. It can be played first or third person, like all good Battle Royale games.
That’s about all we know so far, other than that the ‘Global’ launch doesn’t include mainland China (they’ll have their own version it seems), Vietnam or mainland Belgium. Pocket Gamer’s Cameron Bald proposed an interesting theory that this means we should probably expect Loot Boxes in the game. Belgium has recently investigated such transactions and outright banned them, which means anyone living in that country has been spare- I mean, is out of luck.
Anyone in Australia, Canada and Peru who’ve been a part of the soft-launch will also be pleased to note that you get to keep your progress.
Pre-registration has been open since March, but if you’re just getting around to it now you can go here, or pre-register directly on iOS or Android.