Black Ops Cold War – 5 Things You Need to Know
The Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War—Call of Duty’s seventeenth title and the Black Ops series’ sixth—campaign was revealed on August 26. Developers, Raven Software and Treyarch, announced multiplayer footage would be coming September 9. Cold War will be a direct sequel to Black Ops and is planned for release November 13. It’s easy to get lost in the wave of information, though, so here are five main facts about Black Ops Cold War.
5) The Rule of Two
Cold War will be the first CoD since Modern Warfare 3 to be developed by two studios, as well as the first CoD game with Raven Software as a primary developer. Raven helped with the multiplayer and extras of previous titles, but is taking lead this time. With Treyarch’s vast CoD development experience, and various support studios helping on the project, it’s safe to assume the series is in good hands.
Interviewing with Venturebeat, Dan Bunting, co-studio head at Treyarch stated, “All the development studios within the Call of Duty franchise are constantly working together, constantly sharing tech, constantly sharing ideas, [having] philosophical debates. It’s an incredible thing when you have this large of a group of developers all collaborating toward a common goal of making Call of Duty the most awesome franchise in the world. A lot of the tech we have is shared. We pulled a lot of systems over from what Infinity Ward developed for Modern Warfare.”
4) Editions
Cold War was announced with standard, ultimate, and cross-gen editions. The ultimate edition contains three skin packs, and battle pass season one. Both ultimate and cross-gen editions provide “smart delivery”, giving users access to current and next-gen versions of the game. Pre-ordering rewards early admittance to the open-access beta, and a Frank Woods operator pack in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: Warzone. All the physical and digital options can get confusing, and nobody wants to buy the wrong version. Some important features to note are:
Physical
- The PS4 standard physical edition can be upgraded to PS5 digital, for a price.
- The physical PS4 disc is required to play the upgraded PS5 version.
- The PS4 version can be played on the PS5 without upgrading.
- The PS5 standard physical edition disc won’t work in a PS4.
- The Xbox One standard physical edition cannot be upgraded digitally to the Series X version, however, it can be played on the Series X using backwards compatibility.
- The Series X standard physical edition disc will be playable on the Xbox One.
Digital
- The PS4 and Xbox One standard digital editions can be upgraded to their next-gen counterparts, for a price.
- Ultimate and cross-gen editions include access to both versions.
3) A Cold Campaign
It’s 1981 and President Reagan hears of a Soviet spy named Perseus (based on a true conspiracy). He authorizes a black operation led by CIA officer Russel Adler and his SAD/SOG team. CIA veterans Alex Mason, Frank Woods, and Jason Hudson also make an appearance. Players follow Adler on his pursuit for the “alleged” soviet spy, Perseus, whose mission is to tip the balance of power from the United States to the Soviets.
A direct sequel to the original Black Ops (2010), Cold War is supposedly inspired by true events. The campaign is said to include historical figures, hard truths, and iconic locals from around the globe; such as Turkey, Vietnam, East Berlin, and even the Soviet KGB headquarters. Bell, the player character, is fully customizable, with options for skin tones, ethnicities, gender, and unique personality traits that provide in-game perks. The campaign features multiple endings that trigger depending upon the player’s choices throughout the story.
2) A Cold War Arsenal
The multiplayer gameplay reveal on September 9 will be another treasure trove of information. According to devs, Cold War brings a “Cold War arsenal of weapons and equipment into the next generation of multiplayer.” All Cold War DLC, including Multiplayer and Zombies, will be free. Activision president Rob Kostich confirmed during the Q2 earnings call that Black Ops Cold War will be “tightly connected” to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) and Call of Duty: Warzone. His statement is illusive, but it’ll be interesting to see what exactly he means.
1) Across Generations
Cold War is confirmed to feature “cross-generation” cross-play. Xbox One, PS4, and PC players will be able to connect to each other, as well as to those on Xbox Series X and PS5—and vice versa. Raven and Treyarch set lofty goals for the next Call of Duty, likely leading to a massive online service platform. The objective is to unite CoD fans, whether they own old-gen consoles or new-gen. This level of interconnectivity bodes well for ultimate cohesion within the video game industry.
