Game developer Treyarch Studios and publisher Activision Publishing have nailed a haymaker with the release of the first-person shooter video game “Call of Duty: Black Ops 3” on November 6 on the PlayStation 4, the Xbox One, and the PC.
In fact, the new game has clearly outperformed its last two predecessors not only in terms of gameplay features and visuals but also in the most important aspects of sales and gamer engagement.
According to Cinema Blend, “Call of Duty: Black Ops 3” recorded a 100% digital sales improvement during its launch period compared to “Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare” when it was launched last year. The new game has also outdone “Call of Duty: Ghosts” when it comes to player engagement.
Activision announced on its website that “Call of Duty: Black Ops 3” posted the biggest entertainment opening not only in the company’s history but across any media industry this year, even out-pacing “Jurassic World,” and “Fast & Furious 7,” as well as some other movie blockbusters this year.
In fact, during the weekend following the launch of “Call of Duty: Black Ops 3” on November 6, a Friday, the game has posted $550 million in digital sales and racked up more than 75 million hours of player engagement within a span of 72 hours.
Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing, confirmed that the launching of “Call of Duty: Black Ops 3” is bigger than any game, any movie, or any entertainment launch this year.
He said that they are also very elated to know that gamers are engaging more deeply with the franchise than ever before, buoyed by records that clearly indicate that people are playing “Call of Duty: Black Ops 3” for more hours per player in any “Call of Duty” video game on record.
Hirshberg went on to say that with the success of the “Call of Duty: Black Ops 3,” the franchise has become more than just a game, but a year-round of passion and it continues to gain momentum.
A bombastic campaign
“Call of Duty” video games have always pushed boundaries in game development in terms of scale, scope, and spectacles.
It was no different with “Call of Duty: Black Ops 3” as it delivered yet another bombastic campaign that comes with a four-player online co-op, along with a two-player local split-screen mode.
Treyarch’s technological ambitions are also remarkable and it is very obvious in the game’s visuals, physically-based rendering, simulated global illumination, and a battery of impressive post effects work. These features make the new campaign in “Call of Duty: Black Ops 3” the most visually stunning to date, notes Eurogamer.
However, some critics feel that Treyarch Studios may have pushed its technology so far in the development of “Call of Duty: Black Ops 3.” One of the indicators is the game’s frame rate, which appears unable to meet its desired 60 fps target. There are times that the frame rate actually goes below than 30 fps.
However, it seems that the development team’s solution to the performance challenge is to implement yet another ambitious piece of technology called dynamic resolution scaling. The method involves adjusting pixel-count on the fly, depending on the engine load, to free up valuable GPU time without compromising image quality. It actually produced remarkably smooth results on “Halo 5: Guardians” and it would be interesting if the trick will also work in “Call of Duty: Black Ops 3.”
A deviation from the franchise
Critics believe that game developer Treyarch Studios disrupted the “Call of Duty” video game franchise when it released the “Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare” last year but in a nice way.
As a video game series that has seen significant improvements, “Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare” was precisely the shot that the franchise needed.