Great news for fans of the battle royale game genre! "Call of Duty's" battle royale mode, "Blackout," is free to play for all players of the base game for the whole month of April. Read on for more details.
Players can now enjoy Blackout through its Free Access promotion that runs from April 2 through April 30. Players on all platforms -- PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows PC -- can download the game mode from the Call of Duty website.
Polygon notes that Blackout was released in October last year, just shortly after the base game, "Call of Duty: Black Ops 4" was released. Like other battle royale games, Blackout pits a large number of players against each other in a struggle for supremacy.
In Blackout, a hundred players will face each other in a map that grows smaller over time. Maps are custom-made locations peppered with gear such as weapons, ammunition, and armor, that players need to acquire in order to fight each other.
Blackout's maps also feature strategic areas that players can take advantage of to gain the upper hand against adversaries. Unlike other titles, however, Blackout isn't a wait-and-see type of battle royale game; it favors fast-paced gunfights, putting pressure on players to become the best that they can be.
The free access version gives players access to the original map, along with the latest spring weapon and color updates. It will also allow matchmaking with all Blackout players, including those who are playing with the paid version.
Game developers said, via a press release, that those who download the free access version of the game need not worry about having to start again once the promotion period is over. Those who decide to purchase the full game will have their player progress transferred to allow them to continue where they stopped.
New map
The free access promotion coincides with a new map, Alcatraz. This new map is now live for players on the PS4 and will come to the Xbox and the PC at a later, still undefined date.
GameSpot says Alcatraz is smaller than the usual Blackout map. Due to its size, players and their teams will not be dropped from the sky; rather, they will enter the map at random locations. Alcatraz pits a maximum of 40 players in close-quarters combat. Players who die in combat (or zombie attacks) will respawn up to five times.
