Call Of Duty: Black Ops III Drops Story Campaign From PS3, Xbox 360

Activision has said that this year's Call of Duty: Black Ops III release will only feature competitive multiplayer modes on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game. This news is bound to sting for those playing on the previous-generation consoles, as it was announced back in June that Black Ops III would still come to the PS3 and Xbox 360, albeit with a few content cuts, alongside the PS4, Xbox One, and PC versions.

One of the big features of the new Call of Duty is that those playing on PS4, Xbox One, or PC will have access to a full story campaign with 1-4 player co-op. Activision previously said that this simply wouldn't be possible on the PS3 and Xbox 360, but those versions would still have a two-player co-op option for the campaign. Unfortunately, that campaign mode has been dropped completely.

It's certainly understandable that some features wouldn't be possible on older consoles, especially since the PS4 and Xbox One have been out for just short of two years, and nearly all big title development is focused on those machines. As Activision explained, "The ambitious scope of the 1-4 player co-op campaign design of the PS4, Xbox One, and PC versions could not be faithfully recreated on old generation hardware."

The PS3/Xbox 360 versions of Black Ops III will only consist of online multiplayer and zombie survival modes. Other features, like gun customization options and e-sports tools, will also be limited to the PS4/Xbox One/PC releases.

There is at least some trade-off, however, which is that the game will be $10 cheaper for older consoles, and include a code to download the original Black Ops.

With the admission that a big portion of a hugely popular game isn't able to run on previous generation system, it seems likely that next year's Call of Duty, along with other large, hardware-demanding titles, will stick to the PS4/Xbox One/PC platforms, skipping the aging consoles entirely.

SOURCE Call of Duty/Activision