The first teaser trailer forCall of Duty: Black Ops Cold Warhas arrived, a week ahead of the full reveal on August 26th. The trailer consists of real-world interview footage with Cold War KGB-defector Yuri Bezmenov, who has a dire warning of a growing threat to the USA. In fact, Bezmenov is talking about the actions of a Soviet spy, Perseus, who has infiltrated Western intelligence. It seems that it will be up toBlack Ops Cold War’s protagonist to stop Perseus before they can destabilize the nation.
While there isn’t much solid information in the trailer, and not a hint of gameplay, there are some things we can glean from it. The first is the most obvious: This newBlack Opswill mark a return to the Cold War setting that was last fully-explored inBlack Ops 2. All theWest vs. East imagery, hints of KGB agents, and sleeper-cell elements are very reminiscent of Alex Mason’s mis-adventures in previous titles. Likewise, fans may expect to see Alex Mason himself return in some fashion, even if he’s not the main protagonist, but that much remains to be seen. With a reveal set for August 26th, here’s what players should expect.
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A Return to the Cold War
WhileBlack Ops 2split its gameplay between 1980 and 2025, it seems more likely thatBlack Ops Cold Warwill focus entirely on the East vs. West struggle. According to Bezmenov in the"Know your History" trailer, Perseus plans to attack the USA through a series of Active Measures, espionage techniques designed to bring a nation down from the inside.
The first of these is Demoralization, breaking a nation’s spirit, then Destabilization, upsetting the balance of a nation’s economy, foreign relations, and defense systems. The third stage of Perseus' plan is Crisis, whereviolent uprising and crashing economiesthrow a nation into chaos. This is followed by Normalization, in which political corruption, deceit, and chaos become an accepted part of society.
Elements of this will likely appear in a new, in-game trailer ofCold Warvs. the string of teases in the last. This trailer is likely to show off the game’s cast, potential gameplay, and/or multiplayer elements. It may be a bit too much to ask for all of it, as it is also likely that this trailer ends with a release date, if it is aiming for a holiday 2020 release.
The Warzone Bunkers
As well as Perseus, theCold Warteaser trailer also mentions Verdansk in its description. This name will be familiar to players ofCall of Duty: Warzone,as it’s the region that the game is set in, indicating a real connection between the two titles. Reinforcing this idea isa recent ARGrun by Activision that challengedWarzoneplayers to uncover a series of secret codes.
The ARG involved plenty of real Cold War footage and interviews, and lead players through various means to unlock several of Verdansk’s sealed bunkers. In these bunkers, Warzone players discovered not only quality loot, but alsohints aboutBlack Ops Cold War, including enough to establish the game’s setting and theme before the teaser trailer launched. From has been shown, the newCoDwill cover a large swathe of the Cold War, from 1960 to 1980.
However, perhaps more importantly, fans should expect Warzone to be home to some newCold Warcontent in future updates. Whether it’s when it launches or before as marketing, it seems clear thatWarzonewill evolve as a BR aroundCold War, meaning fans shouldn’t expect a new BR on reveal.
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Inspired by Actual Events
Given just how far off the wall some of the previousCall of Dutytitles have gone, it’sinteresting to seeBlack Ops Cold Warlabel itself as “Inspired by actual events.: For example, Perseus was a real Soviet spy who allegedly infiltrated the Manhattan Project during WW2. The teaser hints that Perseus wasn’t caught, and may have entrenched deeply into the US Government by the Cold War.
What’s clear is that Treyarch and Raven Software are planning on leaning heavily on their Cold War source material, and fans may get a more in-depth glance into Perseus and this source material upon reveal. Interestingly,Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold Warwill be the firstBlack Opstitle to be co-developed, and fans are anxious to see how Raven Software will put their iton the game. While Treyarch is one of the big names inCoDdevelopment, its new co-developers have held a relatively minor role until recently. However, Raven Software’s remake ofCall of Duty 4: Modern Warfareand its work alongside Infinity Ward onCall of Duty: Warzonehave shown that it knows what makes aCoDgame tick.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold Warwill be revealed worldwide on August 26th.
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