The long-awaited new CoD game, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War has finally been announced, and from the looks of it, the series will keep the momentum of Modern Warfare. As a direct sequel to 2010’s Black Ops, CoD Cold War will be set during the 1980s and feature the return of Frank Mason, Alex Woods, and Jason Hudson.
The new Call of Duty is being developed by Treyarch and Raven Software. Treyarch is known for developing all of the Black Ops titles plus Call of Duty: World at War, while Raven Software assisted the development of many CoD titles after Black Ops and was the main developer of 2016’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Plot Details
As the 17th main title in the massive Call of Duty game order, the new CoD will be set in the 1980s during the Cold War. Inspired by real events, the plot will revolve around the tension between the US and the Soviet Union. In the reveal trailer, we saw the US President Ronald Reagan talking to a black-op team led by the CIA officer Russell Adler.
In Call of Duty Cold War, players will take the place of a character codenamed Bell and will pursue the Soviet spy codenamed Perseus, who is thought to have infiltrated the US government and stole the nuclear secrets of the Manhattan Project. The story will touch on the psychology of war as well as the subversion of the US by the Soviets. For the second time after Black Ops 2, Call of Duty 2020 will also feature multiple endings influenced by players’ choices made during the campaign.
Here are 10 major highlights of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War to look forward to:
1. Thrilling singleplayer: While almost all of the Call of Duty campaigns are known to be non-stop action, Treyarch’s campaigns often include much more intricate, gritty, and mature storylines. Looking at the current data we have, it is safe to say that the next Call of Duty will be no different. On top of grand action set pieces, Black Ops Cold War’s singleplayer will touch on illegal operations, war crimes, psychological effects of war, and serious international conflicts.
2. Cross-play, cross-progression, and cross-generation: 2019’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare popularized cross-play, and it seems like Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is taking things a step further. The game will be cross-play and cross-generation, which means all players, no matter which platform or generation of consoles they are playing on, will be able to play with each other. Cross-progression means that your stats and progression will carry over if you switch platforms.
3. Warzone returns: Since Call of Duty: Warzone is one of the most popular games right now, it is confirmed that it will be supported for years to come. After the launch of the Cold War, Warzone will be regularly updated with Black Ops Cold War content, such as new weapons, themes, and operators. With shared progression, your stats and items will be connected to your Activision account so you will keep everything you earned wherever you go.
4. Zombies: If there is one thing Treyarch is known for, it is Zombies. Started with Call of Duty: World at War, Treyarch’s Zombies has been a fan favorite with its iconic characters, unique settings, and crazy weapons. Cold War’s Zombies will feature many new mechanics as Black Ops 3 Zombies did. The post-launch content for Zombies will be free, and with the cross-play feature, you will be able to enjoy this amazing co-op experience with all of your friends.
5. Player choices: Call of Duty campaigns are often linear with very little player choice. Black Ops 2 was the first to break from this rule, and it has been confirmed that Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War will also feature player choices throughout the campaign which will influence the ending. The player character will also be customizable with different personal skin tones, genders, backgrounds, and psychological traits.
6. Vehicular combat: It is not often that we see vehicles in a CoD game. Modern Warfare’s 32 vs 32 Ground War mode shook things up a lot for the franchise with large maps and many vehicles, and Call of Duty 2020 will continue the trend. Cold War’s Combined Arms will feature 12 vs 12 game modes with larger maps and vehicular combat with many choices like tanks, boats, jet-skis, helicopters, snowmobiles, and motorcycles.
7. Gunsmith: One of the most praised aspects of Modern Warfare was its innovative and realistic Gunsmith, and it’s making a comeback in Black Ops Cold War. Gunsmith features dozens of attachments and allows you to put on 5 attachments on a weapon, with each of them having different pros and cons that drastically change how your gun behaves. This is a huge upgrade from older Call of Duty titles, in which the guns and the attachments were much more static.
8. Free DLC: Continuing another successful tradition from Modern Warfare, Black Ops Cold War will have a “massive calendar of free, post-launch content, including Multiplayer maps and modes”. All the paid content will be cosmetic-only and anything that shapes the gameplay like maps, modes and guns will be added to the game for free. This will help to keep the game balanced, and the matchmaking won’t be split between DLC-owners and vanilla owners.
9. No loot boxes: On top of free DLC, the game won’t feature any kind of loot boxes, which have become a real nuisance in many online titles nowadays. If there is a cosmetic item you want, you won’t have to open 20 loot boxes to get it; you will be able to buy it from the in-game store directly.
10. Wildcards: Your custom load-outs in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War can be outfitted with Wildcards, which can change how you play the game significantly. These wildcards can let you get 8 attachments for your primary weapon, carry 6 perks, carry two times more lethal and tactical equipment, or carry 3 perks from 1 category. These Wildcards will further diversify the players’ gameplay options, letting them create truly personalized load-outs that fit their playstyle.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Special Editions
The Standard Edition of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is available for pre-order for $59.99 on Battle.net, PlayStation Store, and Microsoft Store. Since the game’s launch date is pretty close to the launch of the new generation consoles, there is also a Cross-Gen Bundle for $69.99 which includes both the current-gen and the next-gen versions of the game, should you wish to play the game on the current consoles when it comes out and upgrade to the next-gen consoles afterward.
If you pre-order either the Standard Edition or the Cross-Gen Bundle, you will get access to the beta and the Confrontation Weapons Pack, on top of a Woods Operator Pack for Warzone. The biggest bundle available is the Ultimate Edition, which includes the Land, Sea and Air Pack with 9 in-game items and the Battle Pass Bundle (1 Season Battle Pass + 20 Tier Skips) in addition to all the bonuses of the Cross-Gen Bundle.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Release Date, Platforms, and Other Details
Set out to be released on November 13, 2020, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War will be a major title that will scratch your FPS itch. No matter what you like, whether it is a thrilling campaign, fun co-op, or action-packed multiplayer, Black Ops Cold War will have what you are looking for.
Cold War seems to be keeping most of the elements that made Modern Warfare great and upgrading them. The game will be boots-on-the-ground, so there won’t be any flying around like Call of Duty III Black Ops. With cross-generation and cross-play features, you will be able to play with your friends no matter which platform you choose. The campaign will be replayable thanks to different endings, and Zombies, Warzone, and Multiplayer will be kept fresh with free updates.
Cold War is coming to all major platforms as it will be released for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. It will also come to the next-gen consoles, having the title of being the first in the CoD series to be released in the next-gen. But the release date for the next-gen consoles is not certain yet, though it is guessed that it won’t be far from the release of the next-gen consoles.
Recently, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s system requirements have also been announced. Looking at them, the game looks well-optimized for a next-gen game. Its recommended requirements can easily be met with a mid-tier PC, so there is no need to worry for the next-gen if you have a decent setup.
The minimum system requirements for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War include at least an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 or AMD Radeon R7 260 GPU to run properly. You will also need Intel Core i3-6300 or AMD FX-8120 CPU, as well as 8 GB RAM. Plus, make sure that your OS is not older than Windows 7 64-bit and you have 100 GB free storage space.
The recommended system requirements for Black Ops Cold War include Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 6GB or AMD Radeon R9 390X GPU, Intel Core i5-6600K or AMD Ryzen R7 1700X processor and 12GB of RAM, as well as 100 GB of free storage space.
