Call of Duty: Upgrades of the Next Generation of Black Ops Cold War Explained: How to Pay Twice

Activision has finally unveiled Call of Duty this year title – Black Ops Cold War. It will launch on November 13, and Activision is making a big deal about how it will be a cross-gen title for both PS5 and PS4, and Xbox One and Xbox Series X, in addition to PC.

But if you’re planning to upgrade to PS5 or Xbox Series X this holiday season, your purchasing decision will be a bit complicated.

At the moment there are ten versions fan Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War – and you actually have to pay extra for the higher frame rate and faster loading times that PS5 and Xbox Series X can offer. Unlike PS4 Pro and Xbox One X, you can not just wait for a free patch. Upgrades for next-generation consoles will be locked behind a paywall.

To make sure you avoid buying the wrong version and accidentally paying twice for the same game, here’s how the next generation prices for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War will work.

Just choose the expressions you describe below, and I’ll help you figure it out:

I will be playing on PlayStation

• I want a disc that plays on my PS4 first: You pay $ 60 for the “Physical Standard Edition”, and you can later purchase a PS5 upgrade from the PlayStation Store for $ 10 – if and only if you buy a PS5 with a disc drive, because you have the PS4 disc in while you play. Plus, you miss out on pre-ordered bonuses.

• I want to play digital on PS4, and I’m not sure I’m getting a PS5: $ 60 buys you the “Digital Standard Edition” and you can still upgrade to $ 10 if you change your mind.

• I want a disc that will play on a PS5: The “Next-Gen Physical Standard Edition” costs $ 70; again you have to buy the expensive PS5 with a disk drive.

• I already know I’m getting a PS5, but I’m not sure I’m paying for a disc drive: The “Cross-Gen Bundle” costs $ 70. No worries about discs or upgrades, it comes with both digital copies PS4 and PS5. But it does not come with a disc.

• I want sweets, not slices: The “Ultimate Edition” costs $ 90, giving you both digital copies PS4 and PS5, plus the battle card and the “Land / Sea / Air Pack” with three operator skins, three weapon blueprints, and three car skins.

I’ll be playing on Xbox

• I want a disc that will play on my Xbox One: You’ll probably have to shell out $ 70 for the next-gen Xbox Series X disc, aka “Physical Standard Xbox Series X edition”, because the cheaper $ 60 Xbox One disc can not get X upgrades at all. Both discs will play on both the Xbox One and Xbox Series X, but only the next-gen disc has the upgrades. None of the discs give you bonuses in advance.

• I want to play digital on Xbox One: $ 60 buys you the “Digital Standard Edition” and you can upgrade digitally for $ 10.

• I already know I’ll get a next-gen Xbox, but I’m not a discless Xbox Series S is coming as well as? With the ‘Cross-Gen bundle’ for $ 70, you only have to worry about disks or upgrades. It comes with both current and next-gen copies of the game.

• I want sweets, not slices: The “Ultimate Edition” costs $ 90, gives you both digital copies of Xbox and Xbox Series X, plus the battle card and the “Land / Sea / Air Pack” with three operator skins, three weapon blueprints, and three car skins.

Image: Activision

I will play on Windows

• I want a disc that will play on my PC: Good luck, you can only buy it digitally from Battle.net. They do not create physical PC disks.

• I want to pay less for less sweets: The $ 60 “Standard Edition” just comes with early access to the open beta plus a few weapon blues.

• I want to pay more for more sweets: The $ 90 “Ultimate Edition” adds the battle pass and the “Land / Sea / Air Pack” with three operator skins, three weapon blueprints, and three car skins.

At the moment, there seems to be no way to just pay $ 60 for a next-generation digital copy for the PS5 or Xbox Series X. Perhaps Activision is trying to normalize $ 70 as the price for next-gen titles?

NBA 2K21 also costs $ 70 on next-generation consoles, and their cross-gen bundle costs even more at $ 100. But other game developers have promised free next-generation upgrades for their games, including Cyberpunk 2077, Hitman 3, Destiny 2, en Madden 21. And while Remedy Entertainment will not offer a next-generation upgrade to the original version of Control, the game is $ 40 Ultimate Edition will also come with a free next-gen digital upgrade.