The annual half-year build-up to the next Call of Duty game has begun. Through a combination of leaks and official reveals, there's a whole load of information already available for Black Ops 3. We've rounded up all the most important information to make one, easily digestible resource to scratch your CoD itch.
Release date and pre-orders
Call of Duty Black Ops 3 will be released for PS4, Xbox One and PC on November 6. For the first time, there will be no release for either the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360, meaning you'll need current-gen hardware (or a PC, see minimum specs below) in order to play Black Ops 3.
If you pre-order the game, you'll also get access to the multiplayer beta, available for Xbox One, PS4 and PC. There's no firm date on when this beta will begin, so there's probably no need to rush into pre-ordering yet.
PC minimum specifications
Get your PC CoD-ready. These specifications aren't a massive challenge, and Activision hasn't published "recommended specifications" yet.
OS: Windows 7, 8 or 8.1 64-bit
Processor: Intel Core i3-530 / AMD Phenom II X4 810
RAM: 6GB
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 470 / AMD Radeon HD 6970
DirectX 11
Single player campaign
Black Ops 3 is set in a future where soldiers and machines can become one, with physical augmentations playing a key role in both the game's story and gameplay. Lots of comparisons have been made to Deus Ex, especially around the game's debates as to whether cybernetic enhancements have gone too far. Then again, who doesn't want a sweet arm-replacing gatling gun?
Plot details are thin on the ground, with suggestions of a major intelligence leak bringing chaos to all corners of the world. That's enough to be going on with, really. The one big question is whether they can top the headline-grabbing Kevin Spacey, who leant his face and voice to 2014's Call of Duty Advanced Warfare.
Gameplay will feature a similar runny-jumpy feel to Advanced Warfare, with a few tweaks to make the process of navigating the maps perhaps a little less disconcerting than it was in last year's game. This includes keeping your weapon up while mantling over objects, automatically climbing over obstructions when walking backwards and a more finely tuned jumping mechanism, that lets you feather the jump button to stay in the air longer.
Multiplayer, co-op and Zombies
Activision and Treyarch have been surprisingly revealing about the multiplayer element of Black Ops 3, which will include a unique co-op campaign as well as competitive multiplayer and the co-operative Zombies mode. Not much has been revealed about co-op or Zombies, but there's plenty of information about the four specialist classes that will be playable in the competitive modes.
For the first time, Call of Duty will have classes with unique abilities, which should spice up the action a little. Abilities can only be activated when the The four characters are:
Seraph: Manoeuvrable character with a powerful revolver and the Combat Focus ability for extra scorestreak bonus points.
Ruin: Has Overdrive ability for extra movement speed, and a "Gravity Spikes" with an area of effect attack.
Outrider: Unique bow weapon and a "Vision Pulse" ability that highlights nearby enemies.
Reaper: Unique Scythe weapon that can turn into a minigun and "Glitch" ability that allows the user to travel back to a previous position - this is currently set at six seconds.
We also know that the new Gunsmith weapon customisation system will let players add up to five attachments to their weapons and pimp them out in a variety of colours and skins.