Call of Duty Black Ops III

Overview

Call of Duty: Black Ops III is a 2015 first-person shooter developed by Treyarch and published by Activision. It is the twelfth entry in the Call of Duty series and the sequel to Call of Duty: Black Ops II. It was released on PlayStation 4, Windows and Xbox One on November 6, 2015. A feature-limited version made by Beenox and Mercenary Technology, with multiplayer only, was released on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and was the final Call of Duty title released on those platforms.

The game is set in 2065, forty years after Black Ops II, in a world shaped by climate change and advanced technology, including cybernetic enhancements. The campaign is built for 4-player co-op, with bigger, more open levels and less corridor shooting. Finishing the campaign unlocks Nightmares, which replays it with a new narrative and zombies in place of most enemies. There is also a standalone Zombies mode, the top-down Dead Ops Arcade, and Freerun, a parkour-style mode.

Multiplayer adds a momentum-based movement system with thruster packs, wall running and sliding. Alongside the Pick 10 class system, players choose from nine Specialists, each with a special weapon or ability, and a tenth, Blackjack, was added in a later update. A Gunsmith and a Paintshop let players customise weapons.

Black Ops III was the second game under Activision's three-year development cycle. It uses a heavily modified version of the IW engine from Black Ops II. It was the first Call of Duty released after Activision ended its partnership with Microsoft Studios and partnered with Sony Computer Entertainment, which secured timed exclusivity on downloadable content. The multiplayer beta ran on PlayStation 4 from August 18, 2015.

The score was composed by Jack Wall, who returned from Black Ops II, with Treyarch audio director Brian Tuey. The instrumental track Jade Helm by Avenged Sevenfold was included for multiplayer, and the Zombies soundtrack has songs performed by Elena Siegman and Malukah for each map.

Critics gave the game generally favourable reviews on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, praising the gameplay, the Zombies mode and the amount of content, and criticising the story and lack of innovation. The older console versions were singled out for performance issues and missing features. It was the top-selling retail game in the US in 2015, sold over 6.6 million copies in its first week and more than 43 million by December 2024.

Official trailer

Official Call of Duty®: Black Ops III, Launch Gameplay Trailer, Call of Duty. Watch on YouTube

Screenshots

Game details

Genres

First-person shooter

Developer

Treyarch

Publisher

Activision

Series

Call of Duty

Engine

IW (heavily modified)

Composers

Jack Wall, Brian Tuey

Designers

David Vonderhaar

Writers

Jason Blundell, Craig Houston

Directors

Jason Blundell, Dan Bunting

Modes

Single player

Yes

Local multiplayer

No

Online multiplayer

Yes

Release dates

Editions

Check out the store

Subscription history

Trophies

Trophies99

Platinum possibleYes

Platinum

1

Gold

1

Silver

25

Bronze

72

Total

99

Points

2220

• Platinum Awarded when all other trophies have been unlocked. Platinum 0.83% of players
• Disavowed Complete Black Ops on Hardened, Veteran, or Realistic. Silver 26.03% of players
• A Second Chance Complete New World on Hardened, Veteran, or Realistic. Silver 20.7% of players
• High Tide Complete In Darkness on Hardened, Veteran, or Realistic. Silver 16.87% of players
• Belly of the Beast Complete Provocation on Hardened, Veteran, or Realistic. Silver 13.94% of players
• Into the Abyss Complete Hypocenter on Hardened, Veteran, or Realistic. Silver 12.36% of players
• Blood for Blood Complete Vengeance on Hardened, Veteran, or Realistic. Silver 11.83% of players
• Friends and Foes Complete Rise and Fall on Hardened, Veteran, or Realistic. Silver 11.13% of players
• Understanding Madness Complete Demon Within on Hardened, Veteran, or Realistic. Silver 10.4% of players
• Fly, Swim, Shoot Complete Sand Castle on Hardened, Veteran, or Realistic. Silver 10.07% of players
• 200 Stories of Sheer Adventure! Complete Lotus Towers on Hardened, Veteran, or Realistic. Silver 9.64% of players
• Full Circle Complete Campaign on Hardened, Veteran, or Realistic. Silver 7.9% of players
• No One Will Believe You Complete the Campaign on Realistic. Silver 2.42% of players
• Another Side of the Story Complete the Campaign on any difficulty. Bronze 18.57% of players
• Hold Still! Kill 6 enemies affected by one Blinding Swarm or Firefly Swarm. Bronze 13.8% of players
• Rolling Heavy Kill 5 enemies using one burst of Unstoppable Force. Bronze 2.8% of players
• Sting like a Talon In Campaign, kill 20 enemies while flying the same Talon. Bronze 19.04% of players
• Decimator In Campaign, kill 10 enemies in under 3 seconds. Bronze 47.02% of players
• Curator Discover all of the collectibles in the Campaign. Silver 2.33% of players
• Gun Game In Campaign, kill 5 enemies with 5 different guns in under 30 seconds. Bronze 2.07% of players
• Personal Decorator Earn all Decorations. Gold 0.86% of players
• Doing Camo Right In Campaign, unlock all camos for any weapon. Bronze 17.39% of players
• Maximum Firepower Take control of an ASP. Bronze 5.95% of players
• Walking Encyclopedia Discover all of the collectibles in any Mission. Bronze 8.63% of players
• Crackshot In Campaign, kill 5 enemies from over 100m away. Bronze 21.06% of players
• Can't Hide In Campaign, kill an enemy through a wall or obstruction. Bronze 68.14% of players
• Biff! Bap! KaPow! Kill three enemies in a melee combo. Bronze 6.09% of players
• Inertial Distance In Campaign, wall run over 250 meters. Bronze 9.28% of players
• For real this time Earn a Gold Rating in the training simulator. Bronze 2.78% of players
• Foe To Friend Use an enemy combat robot to kill 10 enemies. Bronze 49.37% of players
• Throwing Flak Kill 3 Talons with a single mid-air grenade detonation. Bronze 4.56% of players
• Unlocked Potential Fully upgrade a Cybernetics Core. Bronze 12.64% of players
• Lock, Stock, And Then Some In Campaign, unlock all attachments for any weapon. Bronze 28.78% of players
• In Their Sleep In Campaign, kill 5 stunned enemies in under 3 seconds. Bronze 9.12% of players
• Silverback In Black Hack the Data Vault and brace yourself for Cyber's Avengening in Dead Ops Arcade 2. Bronze 37.83% of players
• The Beginning of the End In Shadows of Evil, complete all Rituals. Silver 34.17% of players
• From the Shadows In Shadows of Evil, spot the Shadowman fives times in one game. Bronze 34.4% of players
• Not out of Gobblegum! In Shadows of Evil, purchase and chew every type of GobbleGum in your Pack. Bronze 19.36% of players
• Sorry, we’re DEAD In Shadows of Evil, kill 10 zombies that are inside of a store in one game. Bronze 3.89% of players
• Strike! In Shadows of Evil, use the rocket shield attack to kill at least 10 zombies in one burst. Bronze 6.31% of players
• Beat CoP In Shadows of Evil, summon the Civil Protector in every district in a single game. Bronze 4.28% of players
• The Spider and the Fly In Shadows of Evil, kill 10 zombies ensnared by a Widow’s Wine grenade. Bronze 18.62% of players
• Margwa Party In Shadows of Evil, kill 2 Margwas in a single round. Bronze 18.93% of players
• Parasite-Seeing In Shadows of Evil, kill 5 Parasites while riding on the train. Bronze 11.45% of players
• Welcome to the Club Reach Sergeant (Level 10) in Multiplayer while playing online. Bronze Needs online 59.93% of players
• Battle Tested Reach Commander (Level 55) in Multiplayer while playing online. Bronze Needs online 33.81% of players
• Tactical Specialist Get 5 Medals based on a Specialist Ability in a single game. Bronze 25.74% of players
• Deadly Specialist Get a Specialist-based medal that requires 3 or more rapid kills while using any Specialist Weapon. Bronze 55.9% of players
• My Brother’s Keeper In Der Eisendrache, the one must be erased. Silver 13.59% of players
• Der Meisterbogenschuetze In Der Eisendrache, obtain all of the ancient bows. Silver 26.04% of players
• None Left Standing In Der Eisendrache, kill every type of zombie using a minigun. Bronze 5.1% of players
• Take a Bow In Der Eisendrache, upgrade the Wrath of the Ancients. Silver 37.28% of players
• Not Big Enough In Der Eisendrache, trap and kill a Panzersoldat using the Ragnarok DG-4. Bronze 11.85% of players
• Time to Slam In Der Eisendrache, revive two players protected by the Ragnarok DG-4. Bronze 10.28% of players
• Quick Off Your Feet In Der Eisendrache, wall buy the BRM. Bronze 17.47% of players
• That’s a lot of Jigawatts! In Der Eisendrache, electrocute 121 zombies. Bronze 28.08% of players
• Fling Me to the Moon In Der Eisendrache, use every Wundersphere twice. Bronze 18.65% of players
• Death From Above In Der Eisendrache, kill a zombie while being flung by a Wundersphere. Bronze 28.76% of players
• Seeds of Doubt In Zetsubou No Shima, the one must be saved. Silver 12.58% of players
• Sanguine Serum In Zetsubou No Shima, drink fresh Widow's Wine. Silver 20.95% of players
• Herbal Remedy In Zetsubou No Shima, use a plant to return to life. Bronze 7.63% of players
• The Ultimate Sacrifice In Zetsubou No Shima, retrieve the Skull of Nan Sapwe. Silver 25.56% of players
• Crop Duster In Zetsubou No Shima, kill 10 zombies with a single shot of the KT-4. Bronze 11.63% of players
• Iron Lung In Zetsubou No Shima, stay underwater for one minute. Bronze 6.3% of players
• In the Belly of the Beast In Zetsubou No Shima, survive getting consumed. Bronze 27.17% of players
• Assault With Battery In Zetsubou No Shima, electrocute a zombie with a shield. Bronze 6.85% of players
• Web of Defeat In Zetsubou No Shima, remove webs in every possible way in one game. Bronze 2.62% of players
• One Too Many In Zetsubou No Shima, throw up. Bronze 10.46% of players
• Love And War In Gorod Krovi, the one must be freed. Silver 8.5% of players
• Wield a Fist of Iron In Gorod Krovi, wield the Gauntlet of Siegfried. Silver 17.65% of players
• Time Attack In Gorod Krovi, complete Time Attack: Round 20. Silver 3.73% of players
• Taking Flight In Gorod Krovi, ride a Dragon. Bronze 32.15% of players
• Not One Inch In Gorod Krovi, complete a Lockdown Event. Bronze 26.04% of players
• Viktorious Revenge In Gorod Krovi, complete all solo Trials in one Zombies game. Bronze 6.91% of players
• Vaporeyezed In Gorod Krovi, use the Gigant Beam to kill 20 Zombies in one activation. Bronze 7.26% of players
• Fire Mission In Gorod Krovi, kill 8 zombies with a single Dragon Strike. Bronze 16.08% of players
• Blown Away In Gorod Krovi, kill 10 zombies at once with the Guard of Fafnir. Bronze 13.73% of players
• Zombiepult In Gorod Krovi, launch 10 zombies into the air at the same time. Bronze 3.07% of players
• For The Good Of All In Revelations, the Key must be opened. Silver 9.28% of players
• A Better Tomorrow In Revelations, complete the cycle. Silver 8.11% of players
• Pack-A-Punch-ectomy In Revelations, recover the Pack-a-Punch machine from its abductor. Bronze 34.44% of players
• Keep Close In Revelations, assist a Keeper in defeating every type of enemy. Bronze 2.11% of players
• Death Ray In Revelations, kill 40 enemies with a single activation of a Corruption Turret. Bronze 3.29% of players
• The Grand Tour In Revelations, visit every unique location within 2 minutes. Bronze 18.65% of players
• Wardrobe Change In Revelations, wear three different hats. Bronze 10.59% of players
• Wonderful In Revelations, kill 10 enemies in one shot with each wonder weapon. Bronze 11.82% of players
• Controlled Chaos In Revelations, override all of the Corruption Engines before round 6. Bronze 24.02% of players
• It's a Trap! In Shi No Numa, kill at least one zombie with three different traps in a single round. Bronze 3.99% of players
• The Eagle has Landers In Ascension, escape on all three lunar landers. Bronze 28.82% of players
• Chimp on the Barbie In Ascension, kill a space monkey with a fire trap. Bronze 7.88% of players
• Time Travel Will Tell In Shangri-La, acquire the Focusing Stone. Bronze 2.42% of players
• Small Consolation In Shangri-La, use the 31-79 JGb215 on each type of zombie. Bronze 3.07% of players
• Cryogenic Slumber Party In Moon, complete Richtofen's Grand Scheme. Bronze 8.09% of players
• Ground Control In Moon, prevent each excavator from breaching the base in one game. Bronze 2.52% of players
• Little Lost Girl In Origins, release Samantha. Bronze 9.08% of players
• Overachiever In Origins, complete all 4 Challenges in one game. Bronze 6.58% of players
• I said we’re CLOSED! In Nacht Der Untoten, do not let any zombies enter the building during the first 3 rounds. Bronze 16.57% of players
• Acted Alone In Verrückt, headshot 20 zombies in the courtyard from the second floor of the Asylum. Bronze 3.33% of players
• I’ve seen some things… In Kino Der Toten, visit every location the teleporter can take you to. Bronze 12.86% of players

DLC

Four map packs and a Zombies remaster pack followed the game, each arriving first on PlayStation 4. Each pack came with its own set of trophies.

Items

Name	Date	Adds
Awakening	2016-02-02	Four multiplayer maps (Skyjacked, Rise, Splash, Gauntlet) and the Zombies map Der Eisendrache
Eclipse	2016-04-19	Four multiplayer maps, including a remake of Bonzai from World at War, and the Zombies map Zetsubou No Shima
Descent	2016-07-12	Four multiplayer maps, including a remake of Raid from Black Ops II, and the Zombies map Gorod Krovi
Salvation	2016-09-06	Multiplayer maps including remakes of Standoff and Outskirts, and the Zombies map Revelations
Zombies Chronicles	2017-05-16	Eight remastered Zombies maps from earlier games: Nacht Der Untoten, Verruckt, Shi No Numa, Kino Der Toten, Ascension, Shangri-La, Moon and Origins. Not part of the season pass
Back in Black	2018	Four remastered multiplayer maps (Summit, Jungle, Firing Range, Slums) offered to PlayStation 4 players who pre-ordered Black Ops 4

Playable today

Online

No shutdown of the PS4 online services has been announced. Two trophies need online multiplayer, so the Platinum needs online play.

Reception

Aggregates

Outlet	Platform	Score	Scale
Metacritic	PS4	81	100

Critics

Outlet	Score	Scale
IGN	9.2	10
GameSpot	7	10
Polygon	7	10
Destructoid	8.5	10
EGM	9.5	10
GamesRadar	9	10
Giant Bomb	3	5

Staff and cast

Staff

Role	Name
Director	Jason Blundell
Director	Dan Bunting
Designer	David Vonderhaar
Writer	Jason Blundell
Writer	Craig Houston
Artist	Colin Whitney
Composer	Jack Wall
Audio director	Brian Tuey

Cast

Character	Actor
The Player	Ben Browder / Abby Brammell
Jacob Hendricks	Sean Douglas
John Taylor	Christopher Meloni
Sarah Hall	Katee Sackhoff
Sebastian Diaz	Reynaldo Gallegos
Peter Maretti	Ary Katz
Rachel Kane	Rachel Kimsey
Sebastian Krueger	Robert Picardo
Yousef Salim	Tony Amendola
Xiulan	Lynn Chen

Notes for collectors

• The PS4 list has 99 trophies: 48 in the base game group, which includes the Platinum, and 51 across five DLC packs.
• Welcome to the Club and Battle Tested both need online multiplayer (reach level 10 and level 55), so the Platinum cannot be earned offline.
• The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions have no campaign. They came with a digital copy of the first Black Ops and cost 10 dollars less.
• Zombies Chronicles is not in the season pass.
• Treyarch first planned an open-world campaign and scrapped it during development.
• Activision renamed the Call of Duty Twitter account Current Events Aggregate on September 29, 2015 and posted fake news items to promote the story. The stunt was criticised and the game's director apologised.

Credits

Publisher

Activision

Developer

Treyarch

Director

Jason Blundell and Dan Bunting

Released

2015-11-06

Age rating

M

Region

US

Time to beat

about 9 hours