Is Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 cross platform?

Activision’s seminal Call of Duty franchise gets its latest outing with Black Ops 4 this week, but will the title offer cross-platform play?

Back in September, a big moment arrived for fans of online shooter games who prefer the PlayStation 4 as their console of choice. Due to prolonged outcry amongst fans of the popular franchise, Sony agreed to test and deliver cross-play for Epic Game’s Fortnite: allowing Xbox One, PC and Nintendo Switch gamers to match-up online.

With many predicting that the future of online gaming relies on greater integration of games amongst different console manufacturers and games developers, one of the big questions which looms around the hotly anticipated new Call of Duty title is whether a similar move awaits the release of Black Ops 4. So will gamers be able to take each other on, regardless of their console?

is call of duty: black ops 4 cross platform?

CREDIT: ACTIVISION

In an interview with Windows Central – Microsoft’s own brand portal for news and updates – two key members of the team behind Black Ops 4 (Jonathan Moses and Philippe Troie) were pressed specifically on the issue of cross-play and cross-platform enabled gaming.

They were clear in their response, stating that the game would not allow cross-play on its release but they offered hope for that becoming a possibility in the future.

Jonathan Moses, Treyarch’s Senior PC Producer, told Windows Central: “Thanks to the technology we’ve got behind the scenes, cross-play could be possible.”

Moses expanded on this a little further in the interview, stating that concerns about certain platforms out-performing others was a major concern around cross-play. Since a level playing field is absolutely crucial to the success of a competitive online game, it could be detrimental to the title’s overall success if some players found themselves at an automatic disadvantage.

Whether these issues are likely to stall the development of more cross-platform games, remains to be seen.