Choose Call of Duty®: Black Ops III
Choose Call of Duty®: Black Ops III if you want the Valve Anti-Cheat enabled side of the pairing. 3,713 Steam reviews back the pick.
Call of Duty®: Black Ops III vs ARCADE
Call of Duty®: Black Ops III and ARCADE both land in Action, Adventure on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both share Action, Adventure on Steam. Call of Duty®: Black Ops III (2015) is 5 years older than ARCADE (2020). ARCADE scores higher on Steam reviews (78.9% positive) than Call of Duty®: Black Ops III (32.4% positive). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose ARCADE
Choose ARCADE if you want a Massively Multiplayer and Casual game with Shared/Split Screen Co-op. On Steam, it's currently about 73% cheaper on the Steam Store. ARCADE launched in 2020.
Both Call of Duty®: Black Ops III and ARCADE sit in Action and Adventure on Steam and both list Multi-player, Shared/Split Screen, and Steam Leaderboards, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Use the side-by-side table for the feature view, or follow the "Games like" links below to see ranked alternatives for either title.
Side-by-side comparison
 Call of Duty®: Black Ops III |  ARCADE | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2015 | 2020 |
| Genres | Action, Adventure | Action, Adventure, Massively Multiplayer, Casual |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Unrated | Deck Verified |
| Price | 14.99 USD | 3.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 32.4% positive (3,713 reviews) | 78.9% positive (19 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player, Co-op | Multi-player, Shared/Split Screen Co-op, Co-op |
| Developers | Treyarch, Aspyr (Mac) | EYEFRONT |
Side by side
- Both share Action, Adventure on Steam.
- Call of Duty®: Black Ops III (2015) is 5 years older than ARCADE (2020).
- ARCADE scores higher on Steam reviews (78.9% positive) than Call of Duty®: Black Ops III (32.4% positive).
- ARCADE is currently ~73% cheaper on Steam than Call of Duty®: Black Ops III (3.99 USD vs. 14.99 USD).
- Both support cooperative play.
- ARCADE is Deck Verified on Steam Deck; Call of Duty®: Black Ops III has no Deck rating yet.
Call of Duty®: Black Ops III vs ARCADE — FAQ
- Should I play Call of Duty®: Black Ops III or ARCADE first?
- If you want chronology, Call of Duty®: Black Ops III (2015) came out before ARCADE (2020). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are Call of Duty®: Black Ops III and ARCADE similar?
- They overlap on Action, Adventure on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.
- Do both Call of Duty®: Black Ops III and ARCADE have co-op?
- Yes — both list a co-op category on Steam. Specifics differ: Call of Duty®: Black Ops III ships Co-op; ARCADE ships Shared/Split Screen Co-op, Co-op.