The narrative around Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is starting to sound like a broken record - but the live service lever-pullers have once again introduced a microtransaction roundly criticised by pretty much everyone who plays Treyarch's shooter. Although the word microtransaction may not be the right word for what's happened with Black Ops 4's latest update, which went live yesterday.

In among the introduction of significant changes to Blackout, the addition of a new zombies experience for Black Ops Pass owners and the new Barebones mode for multiplayer is the new Home Wrecker melee weapon.

The Home Wrecker, which can be used in multiplayer and Blackout, was recently bigged up by Treyarch as a cool new weapon for Black Ops 4 that would obliterate your opponents in an explosive, bloody mush.

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Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is once again refreshed with a new seasonal event, but as with most things Call of Duty-related these days, it's a case of good, bad and downright ugly.

Let's start with the good. The Shamrock & Awe March event, live now on the PlayStation 4 version of the game, gives battle royale Blackout a free spring makeover - and lovely it looks indeed. There's a green lushness to the grass and a gorgeous spring sun sprays its joy all over the map. What's more, the grass is now dynamic, which means you'll see impressions made by player footsteps and slides.

There are some nice unannounced changes for players to find, too, such as the plane from the zombies map Mob of the Dead now placed in the north west corner of the map.

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Call of Duty: Black Ops 4's Blackout gets a Hardcore mode today.

It strips out the heads-up display (HUD), armour, vehicles and zombies from the battle royale, making for a much harder, more intense experience.

Hardcore launches in Blackout on PlayStation 4 today ahead of other platforms, as per Activision's timed-exclusivity deal with Sony.

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Treyarch has unveiled Operation Grand Heist, Call of Duty Black Ops 4's latest season of content. It's set to introduce new features across Multiplayer, Blackout, and Zombies modes, and starts tomorrow, February 19th, on PS4, with Xbox One and PC to follow.

Operation Grand Heist is the third Operation to be released for Black Ops 4 since its launch last October, following on from Operation First Strike and Operation Absolute Zero. New content will be introduced throughout the season, which ends in April, and while much is still under wraps, Treyarch has outlined the major additions coming tomorrow.

Blackout, for instance, will receive a new Western-themed area known as Ghost Town. The above-ground portion of this new location, Outlaw, is a reimagining of Black Ops 2's Standoff map. Beneath the town, meanwhile, is Buried, a series of interconnected caverns inspired by Zombies mode, featuring ample undead and "loot to die for". Players can also expect "dozens" of new supporting structures designed to add "a fresh layer of variety and strategy".

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Treyarch is making much-needed nerfs to armour (again) and concussion grenades in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Blackout.

As revealed in a post on the Black Ops 4 subreddit, Tuesday next week sees update 1.12 go live and with it tuning for armour, concussions and cluster grenades in Blackout.

Armour, which has undergone multiple tweaks in recent months, will see reduced damage protection across the board (levels one to three).

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Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Blackout's next limited time mode features only sniper rifles and melee weapons.

The LTD, named Ambush, was inadvertently revealed via the Call of Duty app. Players quickly picked up on it, before developer Treyarch confirmed the information in a post on the Black Ops 4 subreddit.

Ambush won't come out until after the current limited time mode, Down But Not Out, is done and dusted. DBNO will be live for a couple of weeks on each platform (it started on PlayStation 4 earlier this week). Ambush launches immediately afterward, Treyarch said.

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This week's shaping up to be a great one for those hoping to try Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. Today marks the start of Blackout's first 7-day free trial - and along with this, the advent of the battle royale mode's first limited time mode with respawning. This should certainly help if you're new.

The aptly-named Down But Not Out mode, which is currently a squads-only LTM, allows players to respawn their fallen comrades after each "new collapse" (that's when the circle moves to a new area). The catch is at least one squad member needs to stay alive for this to happen. Time to start practising those bush-hiding skills.

Down But Not Out is already live on the PlayStation 4 version of the game, with PC and Xbox One set to follow shortly. You'll have until 30th January to try this one, so make those days count.

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There are bugs - and then there's something we really do wish would happen to us because it looks like a lot of fun.

One Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Blackout game saw all 100 players parachuted into the map as normal - except it sent them straight into the last circle.

Redditor bwg11 clipped the carnage and uploaded it for all to see.

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Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Blackout gets custom games next week, Treyarch has announced.

Blackout custom games will let players drop into their own private match of Call of Duty's battle royale to explore the map, the developer said in a post on the Black Ops 4 subreddit.

You'll be able to visit destinations at your own pace and practice with teams of friends.

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Treyarch has revealed a big update coming to Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 - and it sounds pretty promising.

Operation Absolute Zero launches next week on PlayStation 4 (other platforms will get it later), and it makes a raft of key changes to the game.

As outlined on Treyarch's blog, the update adds Black Ops 4's first post-launch specialist, called Zero. She's a hacker who can be used in multiplayer and Blackout, and is described as someone who can "disrupt and distract" her enemies, bringing countermeasures to the game.

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