Black Ops Royale has just launched. This huge step in a new direction for Call of Duty: Warzone was headlined by some amazing new people, and one of those is Jason Rhode, Lead Producer at Raven Software. We took a moment to pick his brain about Black Ops Royale, and this session brought with it some fun answers.
David Burdette
GamingTrend: Did you work on the original Blackout mode in Black Ops 4? If not, what were the challenges of learning that style of gameplay after so much time invested in creating the current iteration of Warzone?
Jason Rhode: One of the big things that we focused on when it came to Black Ops Royale was “how can we take that Blackout experience and evolve it?”
Whether that’s the importance of the gameplay loop, the player journey of looting and building your power over the course of a match or navigating the map faster with tools like the grapple hook and wingsuit, we wanted to bring those core elements forward and build on them. The goal was to evolve them rather than recreate the experience beat for beat.
I think a good example of that is what we did with Zombies. They were just at POIs in Blackout but in Black Ops Royale we made an event out of them. We have the high tier loop tied to that event, and it really creates high-risk / reward opportunities.
GamingTrend: As mentioned in the blogs, Avalon had to get a little makeover to work best for this mode. What caused that realization?
Jason Rhode: Player feedback was a big factor. We heard players talk about their concerns with Avalon and decided to take another look at how it could work better for a PvP experience. Avalon in Endgame is largely built around PvE, so we knew there were things we needed to adjust for PvP.
Water is a good example, looking at things like the floor level and how players move through it. Mobility was another, giving players more escape options during fights, like jumping off cliffs and using the wingsuit to reposition.
Those kinds of changes led us to take a full pass on the map to make sure it supported the pace and flow we wanted for Black Ops Royale.
GamingTrend: The biggest change to me involves the weapons: nothing really customized by the player, weapon builds upgraded by kits, and bullet drop changes. Do you think this shift will be received well?
Jason Rhode: We put a big focus on player agency when it comes to weapon choice. Players can lean into different playstyles, whether that’s close-quarters combat, mobility, or long-range engagements, and the weapon builds support those approaches.
At the same time, we wanted to simplify the experience. In the original Blackout, there was a lot of attachment juggling and time spent in menus, finding attachments that didn’t fit your weapon and managing inventory. That created highs and lows in the looting experience.
With this system, players still have that choice, but the process is more streamlined. If you find a weapon you like and then discover an upgrade, it’s an immediate moment where you know you’re getting stronger and improving your chances heading into the final circle.
GamingTrend: Have you hidden any new surprises in Avalon for us to find? I loved Havens Hollow's easter eggs.
Jason Rhode: I don’t want to spoil anything, but I’m really excited about the Operator Orders and the challenge they’ll bring for players. They also tap into some nostalgia and bring back elements that we think will reignite a lot of excitement for the community.
GamingTrend: Players don't always like change. How will Black Ops Royale win over Warzone players?
Jason Rhode: What excites me most is that it adds another layer to what Call of Duty: Warzone offers players. Whether it’s this mode, Resurgence, Ranked, Core BR or one of our many limited-time modes (LTMs), there are already a lot of ways to play Warzone. Black Ops Royale expands that even further and helps shake up the player experience.
GamingTrend: Tell me a fun story from your time developing Black Ops Royale (could be something involving development or even something that occured at the office).
Jason Rhode: There’s a lot but one fun thing we realized during development of Black Ops Royale was that everyone remembered Blackout a little differently. For some players it was how the mode felt at launch, for others it was how they experienced it later through updates or LTMs.
That really reinforced for us that we shouldn’t try to recreate Blackout one-to-one. Instead, we focused on building a new experience that evolves those ideas while delivering the best possible experience for players today.
Thanks again to Raven Software and Jason Rhode for their time!
