As sure as eggs is eggs, Activision will release a new Call of Duty game later this year. After all, there have been annual instalments in the series since 2005’s Call of Duty 2 (the first came out in 2003).
But, what do we know about it already? Which studio is taking the reins this time? And, will it be a next-gen title?
We hope to answer all of these and more in our everything you need to know about Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War.
COD: Black Ops Cold War name and setting
There has been a lot of talk about the next Call of Duty in recent times, especially considering the success of the free-to-play COD: Warzone, but some seem to have been wide of the mark.
For example, in late April a leak appeared online claiming that the name of 2020’s COD would be Call of Duty: Vietnam. It would therefore be based during the 60s/early 70s and set during the Vietnam War (mainly).
However, while the time period looks to be correct – maybe even one of the locations – that looks not to be the case.
Instead, in late May, information from different sources, including COD leaker Okami (via Twitter) and Eurogamer, pointed to the final name being Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. And there has been no contradictory assertion since.
— Okami (@Okami13_) May 19, 2020
The Black Ops name also suggests that Treyarch is handling development duties this time around, as that series is very much its bag. And the theme could also mean that, like Modern Warfare, this could be a reboot of sorts, as the first Black Ops was also set during the Cold War (1962-1979).
Keen eyed Warzone players also found some clues to this. A Cold War-esque spy plane was discovered when players managed to use a PC mod to clip through walls of one of the game’s hidden locked bunkers. In addition, there was a nuclear warhead – another pointer to a period of global paranoia.
Could these be placeholders for Black Ops Cold War integration in Warzone?
COD: Black Ops Cold War maps
As well as a lengthy single-player campaign (we hope – even though Black Ops 4 was multiplayer only), additional leaks have pointed at some of the MP maps that will be available in Cold War.
According to @LongSensationYT (whose Twitter account has since been suspended for unknown reasons), COD classics Nuketown, Jungle, Summit and Firing Range will return for Cold War, in remastered form.
The leak was retweet by an alternative address on 28 May:
Nuketown, Jungle, Summit and Firing Range are already remastered maps coming to Black Ops
Should have just remastered the original at this rate.— Tom Henderson (@_TomHenderson_) May 28, 2020
Each of those maps are real fan faves, so their return will be much welcomed, we imagine.
COD: Black Ops Cold War release date
We don’t yet have official confirmation of the game, so no actual release date yet. However, it is reasonable to guess that the next COD will be released between mid-October and the beginning of November.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) released on 25 October 2019, for example, while Black Ops 4 came out on 12 October 2018.
Prior to those, WWII was released on 3 November 2017 and Infinite Warfare on 4 November 2016.
We expect to hear more in the coming month, considering Activision would usually unveil a trailer or details at the very least shortly before each year’s E3. And, while there isn’t an E3 trade show this year, we expect the publisher to stick to a similar schedule.
COD: Black Ops Cold War platforms
Again, as we don’t yet have confirmation on the game, we don’t know what platforms it will be released for. But, we can be safe in the knowledge that it will be available on PS4, Xbox One and Windows PC.
Where it could get interesting is whether we’ll also see the franchise debut on Xbox Series X and PS5 too. And, could it be coming for cloud gaming platforms, such as Google Stadia?
Sadly, Activision doesn’t tend to publish games for the Switch (save for the Crash Bandicoot and Spyro remasters). After all, the recently announced Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 remastered collection is not (yet) planned for Nintendo’s console.
COD: Black Ops Cold War screens and trailer
We don’t yet have any official screens (or leaked ones). There is no trailer at present neither.
We’ll update when some are made available. We’ll also update the rest of this feature when we find out more information, so bookmark it if you’re keen to keep up with the latest on Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War.