After months of anticipation, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War was finally revealed today by Activision. The next installment of the storied first-person shooter franchise will release on November 13 for PC via Battle.net, PS4, and Xbox One. Next-gen versions for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X will release later this holiday season.
It is a direct sequel to the original Black Ops, which released in 2010 for PC, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, and Nintendo DS. There will be a full campaign mode tying into the events of that game, as well as the expected multiplayer suite. Perhaps more importantly for some fans, zombies will make a comeback, as will Warzone, the series’ most-recent battle royale component.
A press release accompanying the announcement said:
In pure Black Ops style, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War fuses elements of 1980s pop culture through a mind-bending conspiracy story, where deception and subterfuge are the norm in the gripping single-player Campaign. In this sequel to the original Call of Duty: Black Ops, players encounter historic figures and learn hard truths as they battle around the globe through iconic locales like East Berlin, Turkey, Vietnam, Soviet-era Moscow, and more.
As elite operatives, players attempt to stop a plot decades in the making as they follow the trail of a shadowy figure named Perseus, who is on a mission to destabilize the global balance of power and change the course of history. Beyond the Campaign, players will bring a wide selection of Cold War weapons and equipment into the next generation of Multiplayer combat and an all-new Zombies experience.
According to Activision, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War “features cross-play support across current and next-generation systems with cross-progression across all modes.”
Both PlayStation 4 physical and digital editions will be eligible for upgrades to the PlayStation 5 version of the game. Both editions will upgrade through the PlayStation Store. However, the physical edition upgrade will require a PS4 disc and a disc-based PS5 console.
Xbox One digital edition upgrades to Xbox Series X version of Cold War are “currently being evaluated,” according to Activision, and if they do become available, they will upgrade via the Microsoft Store. Xbox One physical editions of Cold War cannot be upgraded to the Series X version.
The PlayStation 5 physical edition will not work with the PS4, though the Series X physical edition will be compatible with the Xbox One.
Both current-gen versions of Cold War will work on next-gen systems, though they will not take advantage of the technology in either platform.
The game is currently up for pre-order, and of course, there will be a battle pass. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is developed by Treyarch and Raven Software. The game’s November release marks a return to form for the series, which previously saw 12 of its 17 games launch sometime during the month. Stay tuned to GameSkinny for more on the latest CoD as we learn it.
