'Call of Duty: Black Ops 4' Launch Trailer Revealed

It's October 12, also known as, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 release day. And in case the bajillion streams on Twitch or endless social media posts haven't reminded you of this fact: Activision and Treyarch have released the official launch trailer for the game.

As with all Call of Duty launch trailers, there's plenty of adrenaline-pumping gameplay and influencers, such as rapper Lil Yachty and streamer Dr. DisRespect.

More specifically, the trailer seems to be focused on the series' new Blackout mode, which is Call of Duty's take on the booming battle-royale genre. In fact, there's no reference to the game's Zombie mode, which perhaps is an early indicator of where a bulk of Treyarch's attention will be post-launch.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is notably the highest-rated game in the series since Call of Duty: Black Ops, which is quite an impressive feat. However, it's worth nothing that many reviews are still coming in, so that could change over time. But for the moment -- at least on PlayStation 4 -- it's sitting at 87 on Metacritic.

It seems like, for the first time in years, Call of Duty has the type of buzz it really hasn't had since Call of Duty: Black Ops II. That isn't to say the game's popularity has fallen: it continues to be the best-selling title year-in-year-out. However, with Fortnite and PUBG in the picture, and already commanding massive audiences in the battle-royale realm, especially the former, Call of Duty would likely need to have an extra big year to top the industry. And it looks poised to do that.

However, given that Fortnite is free-to-play and more kid-friendly, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is unlikely to knock Fortnite off its perch, but it should eat into its player base.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. At the moment, there is no word of a Nintendo Switch release. Below, you can read more about the game:

"Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 features gritty, grounded, fluid Multiplayer combat, the biggest Zombies offering ever with three full undead adventures at launch, and Blackout, where the universe of Black Ops comes to life in one massive battle royale experience."