Call of Duty: Mobile

Call of Duty: Mobile was officially announced in March 2019, with TiMi Studios, a subsidiary of the company Tencent Games, leading the development instead of Activision's Western development studios. Many of the game's features were revealed at this announcement, promising a familiar experience for fans of the console games. The aim of the game was to take familiar aspects from the franchise's previous games and allow users to access them from their mobile devices.[4][5] It features two in-game currencies, as well as a battle pass.[6] On July 18, 2019, a soft launch began in Canada and Australia.[7] Following the pre-release, the game was officially released worldwide in most regions on October 1, 2019.[8]

Call of Duty: Mobile features many playable characters, maps, and gamemodes from previous games in the series.[9] Different control settings were included to cater to player's preferences.[10] A "zombies" game mode was added to the game in November 2019. This game mode follows the classic Call of Duty zombies "survival" formula where the player fights off endless waves of zombies, aiming to survive as long as possible. A "Raid" mode was also included where the player must defeat a set amount of waves of zombies before encountering one of two final bosses.[11] Call of Duty: Mobile Zombies mode was removed on March 25th, 2020 due to the game mode not meeting Activision's standards. But, Activision said they might bring it back in a later update.[12]

Players can choose to play ranked or non-ranked matches in multiplayer mode. It has two types of in-game currencies: Credits(C), which are earned through playing the game, and COD Points(CP), which have to be bought with real world money. It is possible to play the full game without paying, however, some exclusive character and weapon skins can only be bought with COD Points.[13] Apart from standard matchmaking, a private room for both the multiplayer and battle royale modes can also be accessed where players can invite and battle with just their in-game friends. Additionally, the game features special and limited multiplayer modes that may last for days, weeks, or a whole game season. These include: Prop Hunt[14], Rapid Fire, Sticks and Stones[15], 2v2[16], Capture the Flag[17], One Shot One Kill[18], Snipers Only[19], and Gun Game,[20] among others.

The Zombies mode was added in Season 2 (November 2019). It placed teams of players against zombies that attacked in waves. The game takes place on the Shi No Numa (Swamp of Death) map from Call of Duty: World at War. It is playable in Endless Survival Mode, which runs like the classic zombies experience, and Raid Mode, which throws a set number of waves at the players before transitioning to a boss encounter. The players can choose whether to play it on normal or heroic difficulty. In Raid Mode, the selected difficulty will mean the difference between fighting through waves of zombies.[21] The mode was removed in March 2020 due to it not reaching the level of quality desired, according to Activision.[22]

The Call of Duty: Mobile World Championship 2020 Tournament is a partnership between Activision Blizzard and Sony Mobile Communications, and marks the game's entry into the top tier of esports.[24] It features more than $1 million in total prizes, which include both cash and in-game cosmetics.[25]

Competing teams are drawn directly from the game's community through four open online qualifiers starting April 20 up to May 24. Eligible players ranked veteran or higher will have the chance to play. However, the use of desktop emulators and any external devices including controllers and keyboards were prohibited.[26]

Reception
Aggregate score Aggregator Score Metacritic 81/100[27] Review scores Publication Score 4Players 60/100[28] Destructoid 8.5/10[29] Eurogamer 8/10[30] GameSpot 8/10[31] Gamezebo [32] IGN 7.7/10[33] Jeuxvideo.com 16/20[34]

Call of Duty: Mobile received "generally favorable reviews", according to the review aggregator Metacritic.[27] IGN wrote that the game “represents the best the juggernaut franchise has ever been on a handheld platform. The leveling path is rewarding, even without spending money, and there are lots of modes to jump around between, including an impressive battle royale mode.”[33] GameSpot says “beyond its messy microtransaction menus and the slight time-saving purchases, there's not much else in Call of Duty Mobile that detracts from its faithful recreation of the exhilarating and fast-paced multiplayer action of the core series.”[31] Polygon also praised the game stating, “Call of Duty: Mobile doesn’t come across like a deeply compromised or watered-down rendition of the age-old multiplayer format; it just feels like Call of Duty.”[35]

In its first month, the game had over 148 million downloads and generated nearly US$54 million in revenue, making it the largest mobile game launch in history.[36] By the end of 2019, the game had been downloaded over 180 million times within three months of its launch.[37]

The game passed 250 million downloads in its first eight months of availability, higher than the first eight months of downloading of Fortnite mobile and PUBG mobile, and as of June 2020, has generated $327 million in revenue.[3]

• Official website