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‘Call of Duty: Black Ops 4’ adds Black Market system to dress up your soldier

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Official Call of Duty®: Black Ops 4 – Launch Gameplay Trailer

In case you haven’t heard yet, we really enjoy Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, and if you’re anything like us, you’ve been playing a ton of competitive multiplayer and Blackout battle royale so far. If you’re looking to make your character stand out from the crowd a little more, the Black Market system is just what you need.

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Available now on PlayStation 4 and coming to Xbox One and PC next week, the Black Market offers a few different ways to earn new Blackout characters, signature weapons, outfits for specialists, and new tags and gestures. Each “Operation” for the Black Market will swap out the rewards, with the inaugural one appropriately called “First Strike.”

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The first way to earn these goodies is the “Contraband stream” system, which gives you rewards just by playing Black Ops 4. You’ll want to continuously play the game to earn rewards, as they will change every few months.

Limited-time events also offer unique gear, with a Halloween-themed event kicking off on PS4 October 20. Once these items are gone, they’re gone for good, so you’ll want to complete the Contraband stream before it concludes.

Official Call of Duty®: Black Ops 4 – Blackout Battle Royale Trailer

As with the previous Call of Duty games, there is also a microtransaction option, but it is not live yet. Starting in November, you will be able to directly purchase the gear you want, with the shop changing out items once a week. It doesn’t sound like there will be any loot boxes or guessing games, so you shouldn’t have to use it too frequently, if at all.

If you’re more interested in Zombies mode, you will not need to worry about the Black Market, as it is meant for competitive multiplayer and Blackout. Still, it’s great to see Treyarch supporting Blackout with additional options for skins already and the studio will have to keep the updates coming if it wants the game to compete with Fortnite over the long haul.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is available now for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. If you want some tips for picking your Blackout weapons or surviving in the Zombies mode, we have you covered.

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Gabe Gurwin
Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
The best Perk-A-Colas in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
A screenshot from Call of Duty: Black Ops 6's zombies mode.

There's nothing more refreshing than taking a nice big swig of a Perk-A-Cola during an intense Zombies match with your pals in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. Besides tasting great (we assume), these colas empower you with buffs that will keep you alive until the later rounds. These bonuses are just as important as the Pack-A-Punch, but come in a wider range of flavors. It is possible to stack them all, but that gets expensive very fast so you need to be thrifty about choosing which ones are most valuable early on. These colas come in eight different types that may or may not be worth your Essence to chug. If you want to know which ones are the best in Black Ops 6, check out our ranking.
Best Perk-A-Colas in Black Ops 6

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Speed Cola
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Stamin-Up
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Melee Macchiato
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