Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Features Cross-Generation Warzone and Battle Pass Progress

A post on the Activision blog confirms that Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War will feature shared progression between generations and platforms as well as additional cross-gen and cross-generation multiplayer support features.

“For the first time in franchise history, all fans will experience the next generation of global combat as one community, regardless of the platform or console generation on which they play Black Ops Cold War,” says Activision. “With Black Ops Cold War, an entire Multiplayer party could be comprised of up to five players who are playing the game across the available five platforms, including next and current generation consoles as well as PC. Alongside cross-platform and cross-generation play, players will have their profile, progression, and statistics tied to their Activision account. This allows them to switch between platforms, if they choose to do so, without losing in-game progress or identity.”

What’s especially interesting is how Warzone will be integrated into this evolving experience and the ways that future Battle Pass releases will be incorporated into the battle royale and the game’s main multiplayer mode.

“Warzone will continue to evolve after the launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, interweaving some of Black Ops Cold War’s themes, weapons, and operators into this blockbuster free-to-play Battle Royale experience,” says Activision. “Specifically, both games will share post-launch seasonal content through the return of the Battle Pass system and the Store, as well as share a progression system. At launch, Black Ops Cold War is set to include a brand-new leveling journey that will later connect to Warzone, allowing players to unlock new functional content to be used in both titles. In addition, both games are set to share post-launch seasonal content through the return of the Battle Pass system and the Store.”

Activision then re-iterates that players will be able to keep all of the Warzone content they’ve unlocked so far and continue to use the unlocks as they progress through upcoming Cold War-related content. The studio also notes that there will not be “a Season Pass model” and that all “post-launch Multiplayer maps and modes will be free and given to all players simultaneously on all platforms.”

Cross-platform/cross-generation content is certainly a nice touch, but one of the biggest takeaways from this new information is that it still sounds like Warzone will continue to exist as a free-to-play multiplayer mode that Activision intends to support beyond the usual yearly rotation cycle. That bit of information, and the company’s confirmation that substantial, non-cosmetic Call of Duty updates will be released for free, is actually pretty good news for Call of Duty fans everywhere.