'Call of Duty: Black Ops 4's' First Free Content Update Launches Tomorrow On PS4

Blackout

Call of Duty's signature Battle Royale experience is getting some changes as well, including "several hotly-anticipated updates to the core Blackout experience for all platforms, including our new Armor repair system, audio improvements, SDM and Spitfire weapon balancing, and seasonal changes across the entire map," according to the studio.

These seasonal changes include foliage and softer winter lighting, as well as smoke trails that give you a good idea where everyone is dropping. You'll also see environmental improvements in Nuketown Island, Hydro Dam and Factory, which should be more detailed once patch notes arrive sometime next week.

There's also Hijacked, which debuts today on PlayStation 4 as the latest "Blackout destination." It's "located on the peaceful waters of the map's northwest quadrant. Inspired by the classic Treyarch Multiplayer map, our favorite luxury yacht becomes everyone's new favorite hot drop in Blackout."

Treyarch also added, "Once you make it to dry land, hop into the new ARAV armored vehicle with a friend and light up your foes with its turret-mounted machine gun. Players can also drop in as Zero after unlocking her, or as one of the four zombie-killing gladiators from IX after finding and completing the brand-new set of Blackout Zombies Character Missions."

Personalization will also be bumped up a notch in the Black Market, with various new characters to unlock, along with new Epic Specialist Outfits, shared Warpants and new weapons, which are available starting today. It never hurts to take them to the Firing Range to get som epractice.

More content is also set to come to Blackout next week, including Custom Games, Weapon Camos, Stash interface updates, holiday map decorations and, just in time for Christmas, the ability to throw snowballs! We'll have more details very soon.

Zombies

Three new features are joining the fray for Zombies this week -- Daily Callings, the Black Ops Authenticity Stamp system and Daily Tier Skips for Zombies.

Daily Callings provide new gameplay challenges that reward Zombies players with bonus XP and Nebulium Plasma upon completion. Be sure to check the Zombies Barracks for each day's new challenge to maximize your earnings, level up faster, and concoct even more Elixirs and Talismans for your next record-breaking run.

Want to prove your zombie-slaying prowess to the world? For the first time in Zombies history, the new Black Ops Authenticity Stamp system gives players the ability to verify and share the results of their game online with a personalized code generated at the end of each match. The Black Ops Authenticity Stamp website tracks a variety of stats, including:

• Number of kills, deaths, downs, revives, headshots, and rounds survived

• Map selection, game type, numbers of players, and difficulty attempted

• Special Weapons, Equipment, and Talismans used

• Perks and Elixirs equipped

• Number of Elixirs consumed

• Match duration, score spent, final score, and more

As for Black Market Tier progression, you can take on the Daily Tier Skip for Zombies. This'll kick off next week, and once you complete 15 rounds of Classic Zombies, you'll earn your daily bonus for the Tier.

"With an unprecedented amount of Zombies experiences released by the end of this year, we've never been more committed to delivering new and exciting content for our Zombies community. Next week's launches of Daily Callings, Black Ops Authenticity Stamp, and Daily Tier Skip in Zombies are just the beginning, as we're also kicking off our limited-time Winter Calling event in Zombies with new seasonal personalization rewards to unlock starting December 13 on PS4," Treyarch noted.

More content will come in 2019, including Factions, a number of seasonal Event Callings, a second phase of the Stamp System, and more gameplay improvements!

The Black Market

Finally, it's time to hit the Black Market! Here, you'll find that Tier progression is much easier and more rewarding, with new content available based on community requests. And hey, you can now mix Warpaints with different outfits!

Treyarch notes, "The new Contraband stream kicks off with 100 Tiers designed to deliver a more diverse and exciting collection of items to earn, with themes built around every 25 Tiers and more opportunities to use personalization items in new ways. Here's what to expect on day one:

• 100 Clearly Defined Tiers: We've streamlined the progression experience by reducing the initial Tier showcase from 200 to 100. Every reward for the first 100 Tiers can be previewed in the Black Market right off the bat, so you can always track your progress toward your next favorite new item.

• New Earnable Weapons: We're introducing our first batch of new earnable weapons in the Operation Contraband stream to deploy in your Multiplayer loadouts, including the Daemon 3XB SMG, SWAT RFT assault rifle, and Secret Santa melee weapon.

• New Specialist Unlock: Operation Absolute Zero begins in the Black Market with our new Specialist, Zero, unlockable at Tier 1 for use in Multiplayer and Blackout.

• New Item Categories and More Diverse Content: Weapon Camos, Reactive Camos, Reticles, shared Warpaints and new Mastercraft cosmetic weapon variants have been added to the Black Market by popular demand! Each Reactive Camo unlocked in the Black Market is uniquely designed for its designated weapon, while new Weapon Camos can be equipped across multiple weapons.

• New Mastercrafts: Players can now earn new Mastercraft weapon variants in the Black Market, including new ABR 223 Mastercraft for tactical rifle fans.

• New Blackout characters: Our Ultimis Zombies heroes are coming to Blackout in the Black Market! Keep an eye out for old-school Nikolai, unlockable at Tier 45.

• New Shared Warpaints: To give players more freedom to personalize their Black Ops 4 experience, Warpaints can now be equipped with outfits across different Themes on the same Specialist.

• Reserves Now Start at Tier 101: Players will earn cosmetic Reserve content after unlocking the first 100 Tiers of Black Market content, including all-new personalization items and a new Mastercraft. And if you haven't completed the collection of Reserve items from Operation First Strike, don't worry – they're still included in Reserves for Operation Absolute Zero.

• Content Changes: While we're also introducing new Gestures, Calling Cards, and additional personalization items along with the new content mentioned above, we aren't adding any new Decals for Specialist Outfits to the loot pool to ensure every item earned can be immediately equipped and enjoyed in the game. As with the rest of the game, we'll continue to refine the Black Market experience as the Operation continues.

• Daily Tier Skip for Zombies: As we mentioned above, all Zombies players can earn a bonus Daily Tier Skip in the Black Market by completing 15 rounds in a game of Classic Zombies each day.

You can read more about the update -- as well as details from Call of Duty: Black Ops 4's Competitive Season -- at this link.

The update will be live on PlayStation 4 starting today and will come to other platforms early next year.

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