With the highly anticipated Black Ops Royale mode set to make its debut in Call of Duty: Warzone this week, developer Raven Software has responded to fan complaints regarding the available squad sizes, specifically the lack of Solos. Call of Duty: Warzone and Black Ops 7‘s big Season 2 Reloaded update will launch today, March 11, but players won’t be able to jump into Black Ops Royale, the new Blackout-inspired game mode, until March 12.
Late last year, publisher Activision surprised fans when it revealed that Blackout, which was Call of Duty‘s very first attempt at a Battle Royale mode, would be returning in Spring 2026. The mode was originally a part of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, replacing the single-player Campaign. Although Blackout quickly became a fan-favorite among the community, support ended upon the launch of Warzone in 2020, which was a new, standalone Battle Royale game that was completely free-to-play. These days, Warzone has become one of the most popular games around, but it differs majorly from Blackout, largely due to the ability to have custom loadouts, respawn with a win in the Gulag, and purchase various scorestreaks and items from Buy Stations.
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Raven Software Explains Why Black Ops Royale Doesn’t Have Solos
Call of Duty‘s big Season 2 Reloaded update will release today, March 11, for Black Ops 7 and Warzone, but fans looking to jump into the new Black Ops Royale mode will need to wait one more day, as the Blackout-inspired mode won’t be launching until March 12. However, it has already been confirmed that Black Ops Royale will only feature Quads matchmaking, meaning players will need to team up with three others when they drop into Avalon. As expected, this has irritated many players, especially those who enjoy playing solo. In response, Raven Software has issued a statement explaining its reasoning for the decision. “Because this is such a fresh experience, and with many possible directions we could take, we chose to launch with a single mode based on the squad size that has proven to be the most popular across all of our other modes,” the studio said in a new Twitter post. It also notes how it has heard the feedback from players and will “continue the dialogue.”
Balance the critic averages
Balance the critic averages
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In a separate post, Raven Software also addressed questions from the community about players being able to use weapon skins in Black Ops Royale. The studio said that it was a “massive effort” bringing Black Ops 4‘s iconic Blackout mode back, spanning across multiple teams. Unfortunately, Raven notes that implementing a fully featured system to support cosmetic integrations “requires significant development time.” As such, the team’s current focus is to ensure the core experience lands well with players. Black Ops Royale will continue to be evaluated by Raven Software, as the studio says it will provide updates further down the road on whether or not it intends to expand support for things such as weapon skins.
Raven recently pulled back the curtain on Black Ops Royale, detailing all of the iconic features and systems set to return from the days of Blackout. While the mode will not be a 1:1 recreation, it has been heavily inspired by Black Ops 4‘s Battle Royale, which means there will be no weapon loadouts, no Gulag, and no Buy Stations. Wingsuits will also be making a return as players soar through the new Avalon map. Raven says there are great influences from the core Blackout experience, such as bullet drop and weapon handling, as well as the armor system and use of the Trauma Kit.
Those who aren’t fans of Warzone still have plenty to look forward to with today’s Season 2 Reloaded update, as Treyarch Studios is bringing tons of new content to Black Ops 7 Multiplayer and Zombies. The mid-season update will once again see the return of some iconic maps, such as Grind, Firing Range, and Cliff Town. There’s also a new round-based Zombies map known as Paradox Junction, which will see players jump between different versions of Nuketown, and tons of new modes, weapons, and more.
- Released
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March 10, 2020
- ESRB
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M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Drugs, Violence
