A series of leaked images recently released have revealed a look at a scrapped open-world version of theCall of Duty: Black Ops 3campaign, giving players a look at what might have been. Industry insider Jason Schreier hinted several years ago that the game was supposed to have an open-world campaign, though these rumors disappeared with time. This has now been vindicated, with many of the game’s scrapped features on clear display here.
Call of Dutycampaigns are known for being extremely linear, usually following a mission-by-mission format that the series has rarely deviated from. 2015’sCall of Duty: Black Ops 3was no exception, though it did support four-player cooperative play in the campaign. This meant that levels were designed to be slightly bigger than usual for the series, though nothing compared to what’s shown in this leak.
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The leaks are clearly from a very early build ofCall of Duty: Black Ops 3, with most of the map blocked out using simple geometry to get a rough idea of how the world should look. The screenshots also include various hub worlds that would serve as a method for players to explore and progress through the story, with aday/night cyclethat would create a more detailed world. The plans seemed to have been ambitious, and many of the assets went on to be used in the final game. The leaker claims that the build leaked was over a year’s worth of work, so it makes sense that much of it would be re-purposed rather than scrapped.
The user that posted the leaks has since deleted their Reddit account. This may indicate that the individual is still bound by a non-disclosure agreement from before the game’s release, and that this early build was still not supposed to be seen by the public, but that’s just speculation at this time.NDAs are common in the industry, though they often won’t stop determined individuals from leaking games.
Many players will find the leak disappointing, knowing they won’t get to experience developer Treyarch’s original vision forCall of Duty: Black Ops 3.TheCall of Dutyseries has often struggled creativelyin recent years, with some finding theCall of Dutyformula stale and tired. It is disappointing that an attempt to do something in a different direction didn’t work out.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 3is now available on PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
