Buying Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is a confusing mess

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• Buying Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is a confusing mess

Buyers Beware: Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War comes with a number of warnings depending on which version of the game you purchase. Pick the wrong one and it could end up falling out of your pocket. With an installed base of over 80 million, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War will sell the majority of its copies on PS4. It is a fact and the publisher Activision knows it perfectly. He also knows that he can get a nice benefit from all PS4 owners who buy a PS5 in the form of a next-gen upgrade, such as those who buy the game on Xbox One. Of course, it would be great if Activision offered free next-gen upgrades, as many other publishers have already promised, but business is business. I can't be sorry that Activision wants to make as much money as possible, but did they really have to make buying a copy of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War that difficult? Here's the deal: if you buy a digital copy of Call of Duty: Black Ops on PS4 or Xbox One, you should earn $59.99 (£59.99 / AU$79.99). However, Activision also sells a digital 'cross-gen' version of the game, which costs $64.99 (£64.99 / AU$89.99). This version offers you the current and next generation versions of the game, as opposed to the standard version. Presumably you'll need to pay an upgrade fee for this (I'm guessing it'll cost more than €5, but we'll see). But what about consumers who prefer to buy physical copies? Well, this is where it gets downright silly.

Physical effort

If you buy a physical copy of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War on PS4, you can upgrade the game to a digital version for PS5 via the PlayStation Store, for a small fee of course. However, if you buy a physical copy of Black Ops Cold War on Xbox One, you can't upgrade to an Xbox Series X version. Instead, you'll need to buy the game on Xbox Series X. Technically, it's not Activision's fault, but I can only sympathize with consumers who don't keep up with the stupid practices of the video game industry because one only has to look at the minefield. waiting for them on store shelves. .

These Xbox Black Ops Cold War boxes are not confusing at all. pic.twitter.com/otJusvTzC4 August 26, 2020 So expect returns and disappointments over the holiday period.

The war has not ended

But wait, there is more. If you purchase a physical copy of the Xbox Series X version of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, you will be able to play it on your Xbox One. The Xbox One version of the game will also be compatible with Xbox Series X through backwards compatibility, but it obviously won't include the fancy bells and whistles that the next-gen versions will provide. Do you know how it still works? Well, difficult, because we are not quite finished. Unlike Xbox Series X, if you buy a physical copy of Black Ops Cold War on PS5, you won't be able to play it on PS4 as it will only work on PS5. If you insert a Black Ops PS4 disc into a PS5, it will work via backwards compatibility. Simple truth?

Confusion call

"Give me a copy of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War! No, not this version!" (Image credit: Activision) All of that could have been avoided if Activision had offered, you know, consumers who already bought the game digitally or physically a free upgrade if they bought a next-gen console. That's what Square Enix is ​​doing with its Avengers game, after all. Players have already dropped €59,99 for a copy of the game, so does Activision really need to charge extra money? Well, assuming Black Ops Cold War will undoubtedly have microtransactions, season passes, and all the usual nonsense we're used to, why not? Activison doesn't need to show generosity to its fans, it certainly has its own reasons for starting the Cold War this way. But that doesn't mean the leveling path for the next Call of Duty game had to be any more complicated than the horribly convoluted storylines of Black Ops. Get the best Sony PlayStation 5 pre-order deals before everyone else! As soon as PlayStation 5 is available for pre-order, we'll send you an email with the best deals and bundles. The first wave of products may sell out quickly, so get your pre-order in before the queue! Please send me details of other relevant Techradar products and future brands. Please send me details of other relevant third party products. No spam, I promise. You can unsubscribe at any time and we will never share your data without your permission.