It is well known that Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 launched without a traditional single-player story campaign. The development team at Treyarch faced technical hurdles and tight timelines that ultimately led to the cancellation of the campaign mode. Recently, a substantial cache of internal images, posted by a Reddit user, has sparked renewed discussion by offering a closer look at what could have been a more expansive narrative experience.
The intended campaign for Black Ops 4 was titled areernd was designed around cooperative play. The concept positioned players into two-person teams who would undertake a series of interlinked objectives, with occasional conflicts between teams to drive tension and reactivity. The design suggested that victory for one team would shift the campaign goals for the other, creating a dynamic, ever-changing mission flow. Each mission was crafted to be completed in roughly 15 to 20 minutes, emphasizing fast-paced, episodic engagements rather than long, solitary play sessions.
Set in the year 2070, the Sky of Black Ops 4 would have followed events stemming from Black Ops 3, presenting two competing factions: the World United Nations and the Free People Army. The narrative frame implied a future world with divided loyalties and high-stakes operations, where geopolitical intrigue intersected with militant action. The imagery associated with these plans dates back to early 2017, with some assets remaining unedited, and the campaign’s cancellation was formally announced in early 2018, marking a notable pivot in the game strategy and post-launch content planning.
Descriptive materials from the leak outline four mission concepts. In one scenario, players would defend or attack a convoy during an air raid, testing coordination and timing under pressure. Another mission would task the first team with data theft while the second team moved quickly to extract or relocate a key object, creating a cat-and-mouse rhythm across player roles. These glimpses hint at a campaign design that leaned into asymmetrical tasks, rapid turnarounds, and a constant negotiation of risk and reward between competing squads.
Floor plans of some maps and locations:
Faction logos:
List of goals for each of the teams:
Screenshots:
All visuals linked through Imgur illustrate the breadth of materials under discussion, including early design concepts and prototype layouts. One caption jokingly notes a toilet repurposed into a gaming PC, a cheeky reminder of the playful spirit that often accompanies development leaks.
Note: The information above reflects internal previews and publicized descriptions associated with Black Ops 4’s canceled campaign, framed by subsequent reporting and community discussion.