Call of Duty: Black Ops 4's "M" Rating Warns of Parasitic Creatures, Hungry Zombies, And In-Game Purchases

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is due next month, but before it releases, the fine folk over at the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) have spent some time with the newest entry and have gone live with their rating of the game, unsurprisingly dishing out a "M" for Mature rating.

The rating warns of all of the classic staples of Call of Duty: intense violence, strong language, blood and gore, and drug references. And of course there's a lot of warning about zombies, and even a parasitic creature that lives inside your chest until it decides to rip it apart and come out.

Here's the full rating summary from the ESRB:

"This is first-person shooter in which players compete in multiplayer matches within military and fantasy settings. Players use pistols, machine guns, shotguns, and rocket launchers to kill enemy soldiers and waves of zombies in frenetic combat. Some weapon attacks can result in decapitation and/or dismemberment, leaving large bloodstains and body parts on the ground; several environments depict mutilated corpses with exposed entrails/viscera. Cutscenes can also depict intense acts of violence: zombies mauling victims from a close-up perspective; warriors dismembering and beheading zombies; a creature emerging from a man's body, ripping his chest apart. A handful of environments depict packets of drugs and white powder. The words "f**k" and "sh*t" are heard in the game."

The rating also makes note of two "other" things: in-game purchases (a newer staple of the series) and user interaction, because if you've played any online game where users interact, you will know that's a whole other level of graphic content that the ESRB can do very little to warn you about other than noting it exists.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is in development for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, and is slated to release next month, October 12. For more news, media, and information on the title, be sure to peep all of our previous coverage of it by clicking here, and expect much more to come in the build-up to one of the year's biggest launches.

In the most recent and related news, Activision announced "Signature Weapons" for the game.