Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Designer Defends New Scorestreak System

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is adopting a new type of Scorestreak system that has left players with some questions about the intent behind the design since it was announced. Scorestreaks no longer reset on death in Black Ops Cold War which is a huge change from how the performance-based rewards are typically handled. That change has led some players to wonder whether the system was adjusted to reward players who had a harder time getting Scorestreaks – "bad players," as some have said – but Treyarch's lead designer for the game's combat system says that's not the case.

Treyarch's multiplayer reveal was followed with posts on the developer's site meant to break down the different parts of the lengthy multiplayer showcase. Scorestreaks were addressed there with the preview below explaining how they work.

"Scorestreaks are back and completely revamped to be more dynamic and rewarding than ever," Treyarch said about the return of Scorestreaks. "In Black Ops Cold War, score is no longer lost on death and you'll earn score multipliers for stringing together multiple kills in the same life. You'll also earn score for helping your team to play the objective, and each Scorestreak will go on an automatic cooldown after it's used to prevent spamming."

Tony Flame, Lead Combat Designer on Black Ops Cold War, took to Twitter after the multiplayer reveal to offer some insights on the Scorestreaks system. Flame said it incentivizes different playstyles and that those who want the more valuable rewards will still have to work hard for them.

The Black Ops Cold War Scorestreak System incentivizes a greater range of playstyles. Earn low-tier streaks by contributing your part to a team victory. But to afford the juicy high end streaks, you still need to rack up multiple kills in the same life to earn that Streak Bonus.

— Tony Flame (@Tony_Flame) September 11, 2020

When a player responded to say the system "rewards bad players," Flame provided a different perspective on the Scorestreaks. He said some players still can't earn streaks in the new system and that one of the goals is to have "middle-tier players" still able to take part in the Scorestreaks.

I wouldn’t say that at all. Trust me we’ve still gotten plenty of feedback internally that some Players cant earn streaks, and that’s ok. But we do want more of the middle-tier players who invest so much time in our game to also participate in the fun.

— Tony Flame (@Tony_Flame) September 11, 2020

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is scheduled to release on November 13th with an open beta test planned to take place before that.