League Play is finally coming to Black Ops 4, but PS4 players will get it first

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 has been out since October, and it’s finally close to introducing its competitive ranked mode, League Play. It was originally expected out in December. Unfortunately, the spectre of exclusivity has once again appeared, as it has been doing a lot recently, restricting it to PS4 when it launches in mid-February. Everyone else will need to wait, and specific dates will be announced closer to release.

“Given these changes to the League Play structure, we’re taking a few extra weeks to implement and test the new changes, and the launch of the World League Hub and League Play is now slated for our next major game update planned for mid-February, first on PS4,” reads the Treyarch blog post. “Because this is a part of a larger game update with a lot of moving pieces between developer, publisher, and first-party platforms, the specific day of the release is still being finalized with all parties in the release process and will be announced as we get closer to it.”

Unsurprisingly, this has not gone down well with players on PC and Xbox One. This is far from the first update to release on PS4 first, but this time it seems to be especially egregious because it’s a major feature that was originally expected last year.

Treyarch’s plans for League Play have been expanded, which is apparently why it’s taken so long, and now include a new competitive ruleset, full-time ranked progress and CWL custom games in the World League Hub. A limited-time playlist is being launched later this week, showcasing the new ruleset and giving players a taste of what’s to come next month, or whenever it appears on PC and Xbox One.

Black Ops 4’s timed exclusives don’t last for very long, at least, but that’s unlikely to be much consolation if you’ve been waiting for months.

Fraser is the UK online editor and has actually met The Internet in person. With over a decade of experience, he's been around the block a few times, serving as a freelancer, news editor and prolific reviewer. Strategy games have been a 30-year-long obsession, from tiny RTSs to sprawling political sims, and he never turns down the chance to rave about Total War or Crusader Kings. He's also been known to set up shop in the latest MMO and likes to wind down with an endlessly deep, systemic RPG. These days, when he's not editing, he can usually be found writing features that are 1,000 words too long or talking about his dog.