Modern Warfare's Special Operations 'Survival mode' is PS4-exclusive for a year (Updated)

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Update: A rep clarified with Gamespot that "just the Survival mode within the Spec Ops mode" is PS4 exclusive. "Everyone gets campaign, multiplayer and Spec Ops," the rep said. More information about the Special Ops mode is scheduled to be unveiled on October 7.

Activision confirmed in June that Special Ops, a series of short, fast-paced co-op missions spread across multiple categories of gradually increasing difficulty in Modern Warfare 2 and 3, would return in the upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. But as noticed by Eurogamer, today's story trailer carried with it a spot of bad news: Those of us on PC won't be able to actually play the Special Operations "Survival mode" for a year.

It doesn't appear in the story trailer we posted earlier today, but at the 2:17 point of the PS4 edition of the video (embedded above) is a brief tease for the Special Ops Survival Mode. In big characters, the header says, "Play first on PS4," and then in very small characters underneath, it adds, "Timed exclusive content until October 1, 2020." That's right, for a full year.

Timed exclusives on PlayStation 4 are nothing new for the Call of Duty series—it happened literally yesterday with the addition of tanks to Black Ops 4's battle royale mode—but this is bound to make non-PS4 players unhappy, especially since Activision said last week that "most post-launch gameplay content, including new multiplayer maps, new multiplayer modes, special ops missions and more will release simultaneously across all platforms." A one-week head-start on the beta test is one thing, but a year-long wait for a popular co-op mode is a whole different matter.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.