Black Ops 4’s physical release won’t work without a day-one patch

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If you intend on getting a physical copy of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 this Friday, be warned that it will require a day-one patch to work. A Twitter user by the name of Ateam_ShAdoWw had acquired an early copy of Activision’s next big cash cow and discovered that he is unable to do anything with his disc. The splash screens played and then a message read, “An update is required to play Call of Duty: Black Ops 4.”

This is the same thing that happened with last year’s Call of Duty: WW2. In an effort to prevent early leaks from happening, Activision locked everything down behind an update for disc-based users. While I can sort of see it from that perspective, this patch effectively renders the disc worthless.

While Black Ops 4 is a multiplayer only experience, you’re typically able to play the “Zombies” mode offline. Past Black Ops entries have done that (and even allowed split-screen), so I’m scratching my head trying to figure out why this is even a thing. Years from now when Activision’s legacy servers are shut down, both WW2 and Black Ops 4 will vanish from existence. Maybe that is some meta-critique on how Call of Duty is essentially the same game every year, but fans do have their preferred entries and like to revisit them at times.

At any rate, just make a note that if you happen to get a disc early, you’ll still be waiting to play.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 disc unplayable without a day one patch – report [VG24/7]

ShAdoWw [Twitter]

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Peter Glagowski
Former Dtoid staff member.
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