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Credit: Treyarch/ Activision

Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4 launched worldwide today on PS4, Xbox One and PC. So far it’s off to a great start, with servers up and running and tons of multiplayer content to explore across traditional MP, Blackout battle royale and Zombies.

While there are some queues to wait in for Blackout, mostly that mode is off to a killer start. It’s obviously not going to unseat the free-to-play Fortnite, but it is the new gold standard in Battle Royale games, and titles like PUBG have much to fear.


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But one thing that very few people are talking about just yet is Blackout’s secret weapon: Split-screen gameplay. For the first time in the battle royale genre, players can sit down on the couch together and play on the same screen.

This means that if I want to play Duos with my buddy or my son, we can hop on together on the same TV and dive in (literally) to Blackout’s enormous map (you can check out where to land for the hottest action or to stay safe here.)

That’s something that’s missing from a lot of online games these days. I can’t play in split-screen in Fortnite or Destiny 2. Even the most recent Halo game ditched split-screen to make way for online co-op (because apparently nobody every enjoyed split-screen in Halo games. Right.)

To be fair, I can play Fortnite locally by logging on to multiple devices (a console, a couple of switches, the laptop etc.) and that’s super fun—but it requires multiple devices. With Blackout all you need is a copy of the game and your PS4 or Xbox One and you’re off to the races.

This is one of the best pieces of news coming out of Black Ops 4 as far as I’m concerned. I really love couch co-op and I’m excited that I’ll get to play in split-screen across all the game’s multiplayer modes. Honestly, I don’t even miss the campaign at this point I’m having that much fun with Black Ops 4. Oddly enough, the thing I miss most is War Mode from last year’s Call Of Duty: WWII. That would be such a cool mode to have in Black Ops 4.

So Treyarch, let’s get on that shall we?

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Erik Kain

I write about TV shows like House Of The Dragon, The Witcher, The Rings Of Power, Stranger Things, Yellowjackets, Severance and many others. I also cover movies, video games, comic books and novels, largely in the fantasy, science-fiction, horror and superhero genres. Some of my favorite video games to play and write about include Dark Souls, Elden Ring, Call Of Duty, XCOM, Mass Effect, Titanfall, The Witcher and many other action, RPG and shooter games. My favorite films include Braveheart, Tropic Thunder, Arsenic and Old Lace, Schindler's List and far too many others to list here. I often discuss the "pop culture wars" and how shifting cultural values impact our art and entertainment. I prefer deep conversations and debate to shouting matches, and welcome readers from all walks of life and all religious and political backgrounds to join in this conversation. Thanks for reading!

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