'Call of Duty: Black Ops 4' League Play Goes Live Later This Month, Confirms Treyarch

After the earlier tease today, the latest Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 update is now live and brings with it a ton of new features for players to enjoy now that the new year has officially kicked off. The biggest part of today's update? We finally know when the long-awaited League Play will be going live!

Treyarch has mentioned previously that the competitive scene was going to be a major focus in 2019. With that goal in mind, the studio had to make sure that the groundwork was properly set and that that Treyarch is ready, they've revealed their plans for when and how League Play will be implemented.

"This all kicks off with the launch of League Play by the end of January, which we know many of you are eagerly anticipating," reads the studio's most recent Reddit post. "League Play will operate a little differently this time around. The system is designed to emulate a schedule more like the pros play, where League Play events will be intense and frequent but shorter duration, generally spanning weekends or 3-day periods."

Treyarch also touched on the League ladders and what else this means for players, "In between those events, Scrims will be run as an unranked playlist using CWL rules so that players and teams can sharpen their skills before a competition. Both League Play events and Scrims will use skill-based matchmaking, where focus has been applied to making sure skill matches are as accurate as possible without resulting in empty lobbies or long wait times. League ladders will be built around 50-player groupings to ensure the most intense competition for these shorter-duration events. We'll provide more around how the ranking system works along with other details as we approach the launch date."

There's still a little bit to go, but getting League Play up and running is definitely a good first step for the new year. "Our planned schedule is to release the World League Hub and first League Play event by the end of January. That said, we want to make sure that we've spent enough time play-testing and incorporating feedback before it launches, so this date is subject to change. We love ranked play as much as you do, and that's why we're taking the time required to give League Play the attention it deserves. From there, we'll continue to release new World League Hub features, including Teams and Clans for our competitive-focused players."

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is available now on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.