Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War – Which edition to choose?

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is the most recent and most ambitious game in the Call of Duty: Black Ops series. It is Set in the early ‘80s at the height of the Cold War and is the direct sequel to Call of Duty: Black Ops. It was released on November 13, 2020 for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. Since then, we have been tracking its performance and overall reception. This article is created for everyone who has not already made the investment and would like to know as much as they need to know about the game before they buy it.

By     WilKyle

For starters, there are two distinct editions:

• Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Standard Edition
• Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Ultimate Edition

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Standard Edition

With the Standard Edition you get exactly what the name suggests, the standard or base game.

There are two versions of the Standard Edition:

• Call of Duty: Balck Ops Cold War Digital Standard Edition
• Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Physical Standard Edition

The Digital Standard Editions offer next-generation upgrade options for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Upgrades have to be within the same console family, meaning from PlayStation 4 to PlayStation 5 and Xbox One to Xbox Series X. Once upgraded, the games will support higher framerates, hardware-based ray-tracing, shorter load times, and much more. However, you must bear in mind that next-gen upgrades are only available on the next-generation consoles such as: PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S/X.

Additionally, the game offers backward compatibility. For example: If you have an Xbox One, and an Xbox Series X, you don’t need to purchase two digital copies of the game. Simply, download the game from your account’s digital library. The same goes for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.

The Physical Standard Editions come with the base Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War game. PlayStation 4 players will be able to upgrade to next-gen through the PlayStation Store but be sure to have the PlayStation 4 disc inserted into the PlayStation 5 to access the digitally upgraded PS5 version of the game. Unfortunately, the Xbox One physical edition cannot be upgraded to Xbox Series X.

Much like the Digital Edition, both current generation versions (PlayStation 4 and Xbox One) will be playable on their respective next-generation console courtesy of backwards compatibility.

Also, note that PC players will only be able to purchase the Digital Editions of the game as there are no Physical Editions for PC.

Digital Cross-Gen Bundles

Before we get to the Ultimate Pack, we must first talk about the Digital Cross-Gen Bundles. 

There are two Digital Cross-Gen Bundles but the only difference between the two is that one is for PlayStation and the other is for Xbox.

The Cross-Gen Bundle features:

• The Standard Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War game
• Confrontation Weapons Pack: Western Front Tactical Rifle Blueprint, Iron Curtain Assault Rifle Blueprint 
• Legendary Woods Operator in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: Warzone
• ”Old Faithful” AR Weapon Blueprint in COD: Modern Warfare and COD: Warzone

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Ultimate Edition

The Ultimate Edition is the larger and rightfully more expensive edition of the two. It consists of:

• The Standard Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Edition with all the mentioned niceties and upgrades
• One Season of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Battle Pass Bundle, including 20 Tier Skips
• The Land/Sea/Air Pack for use in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War

The Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Battle Pass Bundle has loads of content that players can earn by simply playing the game. There are rewards for each milestone/tier that you reach in the game. With the standard edition, you start at tier one with the Ultimate Edition you will skip 20 tiers which means you will get immediate access to all the rewards from tier 1 to tier 20.

The Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Land/Sea/Air Pack comes with three themed packs in it. It has a Land Themed Pack, a Sea Themed Pack and an Air Themed Pack.

The Land Themed Pack features:

• Operator Skin –Ground infantry with bandolier and mesh face camouflage.
• Weapon Blueprint – “Sucker Punch”  Sawed off-stock Shotgun
• Vehicle Skin called “Red Bear”

• Operator Skin –Special operations wetsuit.
• Weapon Blueprint “Black Tide” Assault Rifle
• Vehicle Skin “Leviathan” Skin

The Air Themed Pack features:

• Operator Skin – Airborne division operator flightsuit.
• Weapon Blueprint “Wingman” Pistol
• Vehicle Skin “Death Dealer” Skin

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War System Requirements

As for system requirements, console players need not worry because the prescribed consoles already meet the system requirements but PC players have a little to consider.

PC players will need the minimum:

• OS: Windows 7 64-bit (SP1) or Windows 10 64-bit (v.1803 or higher)
• CPU: Intel Core i3-4340 or AMD FX-6300
• GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 670 / GeForce GTX 1650 or AMD Radeon HD 7950
• RAM: 8GB
• HDD: 50GB (multiplayer-only) or 175GB (all game modes)

However, if you would like to experience the game at a steady 60fps with ray-tracing developer Treyarch recommends that you have at least:

• CPU: Intel i7-8700K or AMD Ryzen 1800X
• GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070
• RAM: 16GB
• HDD: 175GB

Reception

As for its Reception, the game was praised by acclaimed critics and players alike. Much of this praise is attributed to its captivating and immersive campaign mode and the vast array of game modes. According to the developer, the game has been selling well and will continue to do so.

Unfortunately, this late investment means you will be missing out on the pre-order exclusive bonuses. However, it is not too bad because at least now you get to make an informed decision thus guaranteeing your investment’s worth. Additionally, once you have a copy of the game there is a lot more in store, through the battlepass, incoming updates, and upgrades.

The game has been doing very well and has certainly been just as amazing as advertised according to player testimonials and acclaimed critics. If a lack of information and or results was the reason for your delayed investment then this article will have provided you with all you need. You now know what to expect as well as links to trusted online retailers with the most competitive prices. If you do treat yourself or a loved one to a copy of the game, we do sincerely hope that it is all you need it to be and more.