14 DAY TRIAL // A Treyarch developer sent out a Twitter message which mentions that a set of modding tools for the first-person shooter Call of Duty: Black Ops will be launched during May, allowing players on the PC to create their own content, presumably limited to maps and maybe simple battle scenarios.
Here's the entire message offered by the people at Twitter, which reads: “News: We are shooting for mod tools release in May. #codblackops #pc”
The message does not address it directly, but the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 versions of Call of Duty: Black Ops will probably not get any modding tools and will also be unable to download and use any content which is created with them on the PC.
Treyarch committed to making its first-person shooter friendly for modders since before the official launch of the game, but has so far failed to release the tools, making a significant part of the PC-based fan community question the loyalty of the developer to the platform.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, which was developed by Infinity Ward, did not get any modding tools.
In May Call of Duty: Black Ops is also set to get Escalation, a new set of maps and game modes which aims to extend the shelf live of the game well into this year.
The content will initially be only delivered on the Xbox 360 from Microsoft, as part of a long-term deal, but the PC and the PlayStation 3 are also set to receive it after about one month.
Video games publisher Activision Blizzard has already confirmed that a new game in the Call of Duty franchise will be launched on all platform in the fall of this year, but the company has not specified which of its studios is handling the development work.