Are you a fan of traditional first-person shooter video games, zombie puzzle games, or battle royale style matches? If so, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 delivers on all fronts.

Developed by Activision and released on October 12, 2018, COD: Black Ops 4 is shattering sales records across download platforms and viewership numbers on streaming services.

World-wide sales topped $500 million according to GFK Chart Track data.  Following its October 12th launch, Black Ops 4 established a new one-day record for PlayStation digital game sales, and  became the best-selling Activision Xbox One digital game in a 24-hour period.

“Black Ops 4 is an incredible game, and the community’s response to it has been amazing. We have shattered multiple digital day one sales records, and the number of people who connected online on day one to play has grown year on year,” said Rob Kostich, EVP and GM of COD in a press release. “But probably the most important thing is that the community is having so much fun across Multiplayer, Zombies and Blackout. We are so incredibly thankful for the community’s trust and support. This is just the beginning, it’s going to be an incredible journey with Black Ops 4.”

COD: Black Ops 4 has garnered extraordinary viewership on the video game streaming site Twitch.  According to analytics provided by the Esports Observer, one of the world’s top sources for Esports business news and insights, Black Ops 4 has taken over viewership on Twitch since its release. From October 11 to 17, the game has amassed a total of 29.66 million hours watched on Twitch, the highest level of viewership through a launch weekend in Twitch’s franchise history.

Courtesy of Desert.com

So, what exactly is special about COD: Black Ops 4? A brief step back in gaming history will shed some light.

The battle royale style game mode has gained in popularity over the last couple of years with games like Player Unknown’s Battleground and Fortnite. In a nutshell, 100 players are dropped from the sky with no weapons or gear. They must scrounge around in search of “loot,” items like guns, ammo, body armor, helmets, scopes, and grenades. The playing field or “map” is large, taking up the virtual equivalent of two square miles.

After a short time, a random circular section of the map is revealed, then an all-encompassing larger sphere of electric death closes in around. This squeezing of space continues until one player remains.

By incorporating well known COD fixtures from the past, Black Ops 4 has innovated the battle royale style game. Player enhancements or “peaks” can be found randomly around the map that can have one of several effects such as improved hearing, complete silence while moving, enemy awareness, or longer held breath while sniping. Several gadgets unique to COD can be found as well such as trip mines, portable sonic walls, sensor darts, grenade deactivators, grappling pistols, and an assortment of grenades.

Will Black Ops have the longevity of its predecessors? Can it maintain Twitch viewership with the onslaught of holiday game releases? Has the battle royale genre reached its zenith of popularity? These questions can only be answered in time, but for now COD has set new watershed marks for the next iteration of battle royale to strive for.