Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Releases Special Ops Trailer, First Details

The time has finally come to learn more about Call of Duty: Modern Warfare's Special Ops mode. A new trailer and a detailed breakdown of the mode was released by Activision on Tuesday to show players how the new mode will look compared to what's been seen in past games. It's bringing back the individual missions players can tackle alone or with others, but it's also expanding the story of Special Ops to connect a series of events through a new feature called "Operations."

Special Ops is the last of the three core modes to be revealed and also one some players will be looking forward to the most if they remember past Spec Ops iterations fondly. Through Operations and Missions, players will team up with others to participate in what Activision calls the "global alliance Armistice" where different characters team up to take on a new global terror organization. The trailer above gives an overview of what that effort will look like.

The simplest way to look at the new Special Ops is through the lens of the two different ways to play: Operations and Missions. Operations are four-player matchmade games consisting of "interconnected experiences" where players complete different objectives centered around the opposition of the terror group. Different tactics like going in stealthily or with immense firepower are viable, and Modern Warfare will have four of these Operations across all platforms when it launches.

Modern Warfare's Missions are the more traditional Special Ops experience. These Missions are the individual assignments which can be played either by yourself or with teams of up to four players. Perform specific tasks, get a performance rating, and see if you can beat your time – or Infinity Ward's – in these Missions.

"Whereas Operations give you the widest breadth of strategic and tactical choice, Missions are a more curated experience where your proficiency with specific weapons, killstreaks, and other tools will be tested," Activision said. "These Missions are extremely replayable, and you're able to achieve a 1, 2, or 3-star ranking based on your performance. Naturally, there will be an 'Infinity Ward time' that you can attempt to beat!"

Cross-progression rewards, Operators, loadouts, and other parts of Special Ops are cross-mode compatible with multiplayer as well, so setups should be able to be used easily regardless of what online mode you're in. Players will also be able to choose "Roles" like Demolition, Medic, and Heavy that fulfil different jobs in Special Ops.

As Activision mentioned previously, PlayStation 4 users will get access to the Survival Mode first. This mode is part of Special Ops and features waves of enemies, and it'll be exclusive to the PlayStation 4 until October 1, 2020.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare releases for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC platforms on October 25th.