‘Call of Duty: Black Ops 3’ Won’t Have A Campaign On Last Gen Consoles

For those who have yet to make the jump to the current generation of consoles, the next iteration of the Call of Duty franchise might just show you a reason why it might just be time to do so. When Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 was initially announced, there was no mention, at first, of last generation hardware getting the release. However, that changed a few weeks later, when Activision revealed that the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 would indeed be getting the next chapter in the Black Ops series.

However, those playing on last gen hardware won’t be able to experience any of the story that ties it to the previous two games in the series. Announced today via a blog post on the Call of Duty community boards, Black Ops 3 will not feature the campaign on the last gen versions of the game’s release.

“As we announced back in June, we know that there are still fans waiting to make the switch to the newest console hardware and developers Beenox and Mercenary Technology have been working tirelessly to bring as much of the Black Ops 3 gameplay as possible to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.”

“The Black Ops 3 PS3 and Xbox 360 versions will feature Multiplayer and Zombies gameplay only, not Campaign. The ambitious scope of the 1-4 player coop Campaign design of the PS4, Xbox One and PC versions could not be faithfully recreated on old generation hardware.”

The Call of Duty team cites the ambitious nature of the campaign coming to current gen hardware and PC as the reason why the campaign cannot be made on the last gen consoles. It’s implied that in order to make the game work fully on the old hardware, Treyarch would likely need to compromise its vision with the game, so instead PS3 and Xbox 360 fans can simply enjoy the multiplayer modes as well as the Zombies mode titled, “Shadow of Evil.” The Zombie mode is a 1940s-noir inspired adventure that, according to the Call of Duty devs, “takes the signature Black Ops Zombies gameplay to a new level.”

Campaign isn’t the only feature to be dropped from the last gen release, however. The much-anticipated Weapon Paint Shop as well as the bevy of eSports tools set to launch with Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 will not find themselves on the older hardware, either.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 will launch on Xbox 360 and PS3 for $49.99, ten dollars less than the current gen release of $59.99. Players who grab the last gen version will also get a free download of the original Call of Duty: Black Ops. Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 will be available to fans on November 6.

What are your thoughts about the last gen versions of Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 ditching the campaign and other features? Sound off in the comments below.

[Image via Activision]