Call of Duty: Black Ops III

The PC version of Call of Duty: Black Ops III launched on November 6, 2015, alongside the console editions for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and offers the complete content of the game – a full campaign set in the year 2065, including the alternate Nightmares mode, a multiplayer with wall-running, double jumps and nine Specialists, and a Zombies mode with the Shadows of Evil map. The game was created by Treyarch, and the campaign is also designed for cooperative play for up to four players.

As with other entries in the series, the PC edition offers the highest technical ceiling of all the platforms of the time: unlimited frame rate, a wider range of graphics settings and support for higher resolutions than the consoles of the era. The game ran through its own Call of Duty launcher instead of Steam, which was an unusual solution for the series at the time, even though it was also purchasable on Steam. A unique advantage of the PC version was support for Steam Workshop, which let players download and play custom user-made maps for both multiplayer and Zombies – an option no console version offered. Controls can be fully customized for keyboard and mouse, but the game also supports a gamepad.

Unlike owners of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, who only received a limited version of the game without the campaign, developed by a different studio, PC players had access from day one to a fully complete experience identical to the PS4 and Xbox One release. Thanks to the higher performance of gaming rigs at the time, PC players could achieve significantly higher frame rates than on consoles, which was a noticeable advantage in the fast, movement-heavy multiplayer.

Black Ops III also offered a detailed character and camouflage editor for the Zombies mode, as well as an extensive system of unlockable weapon attachments shared between the campaign, multiplayer and Zombies. PC players also had access, thanks to Steam Workshop, to a constantly growing selection of user-made maps that they could download and play for free, which made the game on this platform a more vibrant community experience in the long run than on consoles.

Why play it: Thanks to Steam Workshop's constantly growing selection of user-made maps, this is the most enduringly vibrant community version of the game, ideal for players who also want to try out fan-made creations.