It's sure looking like this year's Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 will have a battle royale mode.

That's according to reliable source of COD leaks Charlie Intel, who claims that Raven Software has been tasked with creating a battle royale section for the title.

This mode is to fill the void left by the apparent lack of a single-player campaign in Black Ops IIII. Polygon reports - and Kotaku has corroborated - that this title will be the first mainline Call of Duty game in the franchise to date to ship without a single-player narrative.

Though this is one of the core pillars of the Call of Duty franchise - and arguably part of the reason the series had early success - these days the multiplayer components are far more enticing to consumers.

Also, a single-player component was not going to be ready in time for the game's October release, apparently.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 was rumoured earlier this year before finally being confirmed in March. The title is set to be properly revealed next month ahead of an October release.

It's hardly a bold prediction to say that this will be the first time that a triple-A game ships with a battle royale mode in 2018. Call of Duty might be the first, but expect variations on this to come to other shooters like Battlefield.