While the new singleplayer content is an enticing follow-up to the originalBlack Ops, most fans have been eager to get more details onCall of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s multiplayer content. During and after the official reveal, tons of new information has been confirmed about the multiplayer offering in this year’sCall of Duty. More information on the new maps, multiplayer modes, custom classes, guns, and more were all revealed, however one particular detail proved to be divisive among the rest of the good news.
Among all of the new multiplayer details unveiled,Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold Waris also eschewing killstreaks and re-introducing scorestreaks. This is a particularly touchy subject forCall of Dutyfans, as the majority of the fanbase is typically split on which system is better. There’s also some who would argue both is the perfect balance, while others say it’s one or the other. Some argue scorestreaks rewards bad players, others feel it levels the playing field. Here’s why Scorestreaks are proving controversial inBlack Ops Cold War.
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How Scorestreaks Work In Black Ops Cold War
In the previous game, as well as severalCall of Dutygames, the de facto bonus system in multiplayer matches has always been killstreaks. So long as players were racking up several kills in a row, they would be rewarded with UAVs, care packages, air strikes, and various other bonus rewards. Scorestreaks area relatively new addition toCall of Dutymultiplayer, first introduced inBlack Ops 2, that allows players to gain these same bonuses through various score thresholds instead of consecutive kills. Any objective-focused actions by the player contributed to scorestreaks, instead of just achieving higher kill counts.
Now inCall of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, the game is implementing a sort-of hybrid version of scorestreaks and killstreaks. While multiple consecutive kills will net bonus points to players, any objective-related actions also nets points to players' scorestreaks as well. Additionally, scorestreaks are not reset upon death, so players are continually working towards their scorestreak rewards per match. There’s no resetting factor, but scorestreaks are rising substantially in price to counterbalance this,meaning more kills theoretically leads to quicker scorestreak rewardsanyway.
Why Scorestreaks vs. Killstreaks is Controversial
Now there’s a few definitive reasons as to why scorestreaks vs. killstreaks is a controversial debate amongCall of Dutyfans. Killstreak advocates believe scorestreaks give “bad” players just as much an advantage over “good” players in a points-based system, which would be a valid argument in a vacuum.Scorestreak advocates believe killstreaks is ultimately limiting, and doesn’t make sense in modes with objective-based win conditions. WithBlack Ops Cold War’s scorestreaks, Treyarch is attempting to reach a happy medium between both schools of thought.
With a higher point requirement for the higher-tier streak rewards,Black Ops Cold Waris attempting to level the playing fieldbetween high-tier and mid-tier players. The goal is to have the mid-tier players, who are investing just as much time as other highly skilled players, to be rewarded on a relatively even level. Scorestreaks are placed on a universal cooldown timer as well, meaning no matter how many mid and high-tier players get the same scorestreak, they can only be used in spurts compared to one-after-the-other in previousCall of Dutygames. While this isn’t necessarily rewarding “bad” players, the cooldowns are designed to help mitigate oversaturation of airstrikes/artillery/etc.
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A Balanced System, Maybe
Theoretically, the high score requirement is meant to make the system more balanced between top tier players and the higher than average players as well. Of course, at this point, it’s up to interpretation how effective this method will be until the beta or official release is available to players worldwide. That being said, killstreak fans have every right to be skeptical of a scorestreak system.
This gives every player the ability to stack points over the course of a game andunlocking higher tier rewards like Chopper Gunner later on in the game. Scorestreak advocates would argue that these players are putting less effort as them to get the same rewards a killstreak player normally would.
Only some of the scorestreaks were available in the alpha gameplay previews over the past week, so streak costs and availability could be changed over time as balance issues come to light. For right now, as contentious as this hybrid scorestreak system seems to be for players, it’s unclear how drastically this willchange multiplayer gameplay from previousCall of Dutygames.
At a bare minimum, the concept does sound positive at least for players who often find themselves doing relatively well, and not having the killstreaks to show for it. That being said, this system could easily prove problematic if the scorestreaks don’t have a high enough cost, or the frequency of streak bonuses ends up oversaturating games.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold Warreleases on August 02, 2025, for PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. PS5 version release date has not yet been confirmed.
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