Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War release date, rumours, formats and everything you need to know
As sure as eggs is eggs, Activision will release a new Call of Duty game this year, and it's planning a major worldwide reveal event for 2020's outing next week.
So, 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
Activision has confirmed the name and setting in a teaser for its online worldwide reveal event (below). It will be Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, as expected, and will therefore be set in the 60s/early 70s - much like the first Black Ops released in 2010.
As it is a Black Ops game, 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.
On the build up over the last few months, Activision had left crumps and teases inside COD: Warzone.
First, 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.
Then, in early July, audio files appeared in the free-to-play online shooter that also seemed to point towards Black Ops Cold War.
The files mention the word "Ascension" and the numbers "7 15 1 2 19 7 25 6 13 6 7 15 14 0". Fans realised that they are the exact same word and numbers found in the intro to the original Black Ops.
More recently, at the beginning of August, a strange screen-glitch started to appear with the words "know your history" appearing for a split second. This has now been revealed as the tease to the main video announcement above.
And these were not the only cheeky teasers out there...
What is The Red Door?
In mid-July, a listing appeared on the Microsoft Store for a mystery "shooter" from Activision called The Red Door. It had also previously been spotted in the PlayStation Store database along with the code "COD2020INTALPHA1" in the content ID.
It lead some - including Eurogamer - to believe that testers had their hands on an alpha build of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War.
Perhaps most intriguing was its description: "There is more than one truth. If you go looking for answers, be ready to question everything and accept that nothing will ever be the same. The Red Door awaits, do you dare step through it?"
The demo also gave dataminers a lot to look into, including a significant trove of information, largely in the form of map names and hints, such as the below list:
ger_stakeout
— Prototype Warehouse (@ProtoWarehouse) July 19, 2020
nam_armada
nam_prisoner
nic_revolution
rus_amerika
rus_duga
rus_kgb
rus_siege
rus_yamantau
(sidemission) tundra
(sidemission) takedown
takedown#First#SP
It provided the names of missions in the game's single-player campaign. The same leaker also released codenames for multiplayer maps and a zombies mode.
COD: Black Ops Cold War maps and modes
As well as a lengthy single-player campaign (which will be much welcome considering Black Ops 4 was multiplayer only), some of the leaks have pointed at some of the PVP 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
— Tom Henderson (@_TomHenderson_) May 28, 2020
Should have just remastered the original at this rate.
Each of those maps are real fan faves, so their return will be well received, we imagine.
In terms of modes, one Twitter leak suggests that Blackout could return. Originally added to Black Ops 4 in 2018, Blackout was the franchise's first stab at a Battle Royale mode. That has since been refined by Warzone.
VentureBeat's Jeff Grubb claimed in June that it is scheduled to return to Black Ops Cold War.
In other shocking news, Blackout is going to return in some form with Black Ops this year.
— Jeff Grubb (@JeffGrubb) June 10, 2020
That is strange, considering how successful Warzone continues to be, but not impossible, we guess. We would speculate that Warzone itself will remain connected but apart from the main game, and still be available as a free download, but receive themed updates from Black Ops Cold War.
The other big news is that Black Ops Cold War may see zombies mode return - it's a beloved part of COD history, and looks like it might return, according to the same datamining that uncovered those mission names.
— Prototype Warehouse (@ProtoWarehouse) July 19, 2020
That's obviously a much less substantial set of information, but it still shows that this source is confident that zombies mode will be returning, which should excite a lot of fans of its frenetic survival action.
COD: Black Ops Cold War release date
We should find out much more about COD: Black Ops Cold War during the online worldwide reveal event on Wednesday 26 August 2020 (see above). Hopefully, that'll include the release date.
It's likely to be October.
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.
In addition, the small print of a Doritos promotion leak (as found here) shows that the competition starts in October, so that matches our estimations.
COD: Black Ops Cold War platforms
We don't yet have confirmation on what platforms it will be released for, but 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 footage
We don't yet have any official screens (or leaked ones) - although an official trailer should be available soon.
In the meantime, at the start of June, Twitter was awash with comments about clips alleged 45 minute gameplay video appearing online.
Originally posted by @Walshburg the main clip was suddenly hit by takedown requests so is no longer available (a possible sign to its validity).
I would also like to make something clear. @xgongggg is falsifying information, Do not let his / her fake leaks get your hopes crushed or up. There is not a playable version of the game on the loose. Only footage of it being played.
— Mark Walshburg (Moved to @MarkyMarkBURG) (@walshburg) June 4, 2020
However, others managed to screen record the footage released so far, including @TMTJulian_, who claims that the following is what was shown.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (COD 2020) Pre-Alpha gameplay. pic.twitter.com/TfnkQzn8Gi
— Julian™ (@TMTJulian_) June 3, 2020
It's not that pretty - there are no real textures or specific Black Ops tropes shown - but considering the ire the posters are getting from sources unknown, including takedown requests, it could very well be the pre-alpha footage claimed.
We'll update when more video and screens are 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.
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