I'm not a 'Call of Duty' fan, but I'm really excited for the 'Blackout' battle royale mode in 'Black Ops 4'

Call of Duty / Activision

I've never been very interested in "Call of Duty" games.

I respect their significance in their genre, and absolutely admire the influence they've had on other games since, but for me, the boots-on-the-ground warfare depicted in "Call of Duty" and "Call of Duty: Black Ops" games have always been associated with some of the worst aspects of gaming culture (see: hyper-masculinity, graphic violence, etc.). I've also simply never found them very fun to play — that is, for a person who would rather solve puzzles and walk through open worlds than shoot endlessly at waves of enemies — but that's a personal preference.

However, I happen to love battle-royale games, like "PlayerUnknown's Battle Grounds" and "Fornite: Battle Royale," which pit players against each other in a Hunger Games-style battle to be the last man standing.

This week's Community Reveal Event for "Call of Duty Black Ops 4" felt just like any other year, until the reveal of the new "Blackout" mode, which combines the battle-royale style with "Call of Duty's" signature combat systems, characters, and even sections of old maps.

I never thought I would say this, but "Blackout" might give me reason enough to return to the Black Ops series — and the "Call of Duty" franchise as a whole — for the first time in years.

Here's why I'm so excited about the new Blackout battle-royale mode in "Call of Duty Black Ops 4":