Call of Duty: Black Ops III Receives $15 Multiplayer-Only Starter Pack Via Steam

When can you pretty much guarantee that the multiplayer part of a certain game is more popular than its single-player campaign? When the publisher decides to release an MP-only "starter pack", of course. That's exactly what Activision has just done with Call of Duty: Black Ops III.

It's no secret that the Call of Duty series is one of the most popular destinations for gaming on Earth, with each release selling in quantities that are enviable by every other developer and publisher out there. So why, then, would Activision risk hurting its sales by releasing an MP-only pack? By stripping many features and capping the level - those crafty buggers!

But what else can we expect for the asking price of $15?

It's noted on the Steam product page that this is a "limited time offer", so it's unclear if once the month concludes, the pack will disappear or go up in price. It seems likely that it'd be the latter given the fact that Treyarch took the time to craft this special build of the game. Still, if you want a taste of Black Ops III multiplayer but don't want to pay full price before finding out if you like it, we'd recommend jumping right on this.

Fortunately, you are not gouged if you purchase this starter pack and decide to upgrade to the full game - the price you paid for the starter pack is deducted from either of the two full versions. That's a rarity and something many gamers will appreciate (hopefully more publishers learn from this).

Per the developer, these are the features missing from this starter pack:

• Zombies game mode
• Campaign game mode
• Ability to play in Multiplayer custom games
• Ability to Prestige (your level will be capped at 55 in the Starter Pack)
• Access to mod tools or modded content (once released)
• Access to unranked server browser (once released)
• Ability to Fresh Start your profile
• The ability to access Dead Ops Arcade II and Nightmares mode

Some of those limitations are harsher than others, but for $15 USD, this pack will offer a lot of fun multiplayer action. Just be prepared to have an additional ~$50 in your wallet in case you truly get sucked in!