Which version of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War should you buy?

With the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War coming during the launch of the PS5 and Xbox Series X, there are multiple options to buy.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is officially out today. Typically, the launch of a new Call of Duty game is pretty straight forward but with Black Ops Cold War coming at the same time of a new console release, things are a little more complicated with all the different versions. There’s the Standard Edition, Cross-Gen Bundle and Ultimate Edition. So which version should you buy?

The answer depends on what your plans are for the next-generation console.

Standard Edition

If you have a PlayStation 4 or Xbox One and don’t plan on upgrading to a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X|S any time soon, this is probably the best version for you. It’s also the cheapest with a standard launch price of $59.99. It comes with a Woods Operator Pack and Confrontation Weapons Pack as added goodies.

Now, here’s where some decision-making comes into play. The Standard Edition of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is playable on next-gen consoles via Backward Compatability functionality. However, you will not experience all the bells and whistles of the next-gen version.

So if you do end up getting a PS5 or Xbox Series X, you’ll still be able to play the Standard Edition. And if you’re looking to save money and don’t care about any of the enhanced next-gen features, this is a perfectly good option.

The good news is that even if you buy the Standard Edition, you can upgrade to the next-gen version later on anyway. You just have to pay a $10 upgrade fee. It’s slightly more complicated than simply going with the Cross-Gen Bundle.