New Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War Zombies Reveal Breakdown

Treyarch has revealed the first look at Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War zombies. You can see the full reveal down below:

We’re going to break down everything from the first look video and a separate blog post from the development team detailing what fans can expect from Black Ops Cold War Zombies.

New Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War Zombies Storyline Is Keeping Remnants Of What Made It Beloved

The new zombie storyline runs through the campaign of Black Ops Cold War.

Taking place in the early 1980s, you’ll play as various operators available in the multiplayer and others who star in the campaign (Woods, specifically, is seen a few times in the trailer). You’re apart of a CIA team called Requiem. The team is led by Grigori Weaver, who appeared in the Black Ops 1 campaign. There’s another Soviet-led organization called the Omega Group. This rival organization has a “keen interest in studying and harnessing the unexplained events and anomalies manifesting around the globe.” We’ll go over what’s going on with Requiem and the Omega Group more in the next section.

Treyarch was clear that the old Aether storyline has finished. As Lead Writer at Treyarch Craig Houston said, “canon is canon and we’ve put a story to rest.” Primis and Ultimis’ sacrifice in Black Ops 4 was successful. The crews destroyed the multiverse in favor of creating one singular universe. But, it seems that they failed at keeping the zombies at bay. Remnants of what looks to be the Dark Aether appear to be creeping back into the new universe Primis and Ultimis created. And although this isn’t necessarily outright stated, you could look at the old zombie storyline as a canonical reason behind this soft reboot for Black Ops.

Despite this being a new storyline for zombies, we could see some familiar faces or foes return. In the first look video, a dark-haired German woman, is speaking on the phone with Weaver about what’s going on at an old World War II bunker. Weaver refers to this woman as “Sam.” This could be a new version of Samantha Maxis, who played a monumental role in the old Aether storyline. Even if this is the case, you shouldn’t expect to see Primis or Ultimis appear in Black Ops Cold War Zombies. And if we do see them, they’ll probably be completely new versions of the characters.

Die Maschine Is An Updated And Much Larger Version Of Nacht der Untoten

Black Ops Cold War Zombies will bring the mode back to the map that started it all, Nacht der Untoten. This reimagined and updated version of the map is now called Die Maschine. From the first look, Nacht will be an integral part of Die Maschine but, it only appears to be one part of a larger map.

Weaver sends Requiem to Die Maschine to investigate the World War II bunker and what lies beneath. If they succeed, “Requiem may uncover a cache of decades-old secrets that upend the global order.”

Despite rumors claiming that more maps would be available on day 1, the only map shown today was Die Maschine. Of course, Treyarch could always unveil those rumored maps at a later date.

Being a CoD Zombies fan usually affects your wallet in a big way with various DLC Packs throughout a game’s life-cycle. Thankfully, Treyarch announced that all DLC zombie maps in Black Ops Cold War will be free for every platform.

Black Ops Cold War Zombies Gameplay Makes Some Major Changes

With Black Ops Cold War, there’s an emphasis on creating the classic zombies feel while making some major changes to the old formula. Here are some of those changes:

• Scorestreaks like the Chopper Gunner are available in zombies!
• You can also use Field Upgrades
• Weapon Rarities
  • “In addition to the return of the Pack-a-Punch machine to transform your weapon, all weapons will now have a rarity associated with them. The higher the rarity, the greater the damage output and attachments for the weapon. For the first time, this will allow any weapon in the game to be sustainable in later rounds. This also adds more variety and fun to finding new weapons through Wall Buys and the Mystery Box.”
• Changes to Equipment
  • “Lethal and tactical equipment are similar to the equipment found in Multiplayer, like Frag Grenades, while support equipment is home to high-powered offensive weaponry. This slot could be where you deploy Grenade Launchers, Sentry Turrets, Explosive Bows and even Chopper Gunners – all tools that can deliver a massive power spike when your squad needs it most.”
• Everything is unified in Black Ops Cold War from multiplayer to campaign to zombies. You can bring in your own customized weapons into zombies starting in Round 1. So, no more starting a game of zombies with a pistol if you don’t want to.
  • This has been a controversial topic since the reveal with many divided on this creative decision. While it is unfortunate that you could start out with a fully-kitted weapon from the Gunsmith, Weapon Rarities may keep this mechanic in check. Purely speculation but if your loadout is a common rarity, it will become obsolete over time and force you to either find a way to upgrade or trade out weapons. 
• Exfil
  • “Instead of perishing to the horde, Black Ops Cold War Zombies provides a new option to escape with your life when you’re feeling overrun… if you dare.”
  • “If the whole squad is in trouble, you can opt to exfiltrate the undead combat zone via helicopter. Although zombie spawns will be dialed up to 11, you should expect to earn some rewards if your squad completes this final push to survive.”

Some Things Just Don’t Change

You can shift around a lot in zombies but there are some mechanics that will never change. Let’s take a look at what’s returning in Black Ops Cold War Zombies:

• The mystery box is back! There is a small twist though. Instead of a teddy bear on the mystery box locations, it’s a blood-soaked rabbit. 
• To the surprise of no one, there are wall buys seen throughout Die Maschine.
• Pack-A-Punch is returning and it can actually be seen in the first look video.

And with us talking about what’s coming back to zombies, we would be remiss not to talk about what Perks are available in Black Ops Cold War.

Classic Perks And Power Ups Return In Black Ops Cold War Zombies

While there were fans of it, many were disappointed with the perk system in Black Ops 4 and how it chucked the old beloved perks aside. Black Ops Cold War brings back many of the mode’s most iconic perks including:

• Juggernog
• Deadshot Daquiri
• Speed Cola
• Quick Revive

There’s also a new Perk in Black Ops Cold War called Elemental Pop. What Elemental Pop actually does is really anyone’s guess though.

The classic Perks are getting a fresh look as well. Instead of a bottle, they appear in the form of cans. All of the Perks can be upgraded too!

Power ups such as the nuke, double points, and insta-kill have also been spotted in today’s reveal!

Dead Ops Arcade Is Back

As first reported by TGR, Dead Arcade is coming back! After the reveal, Treyarch announced the return of the cult-classic mode:

Cross-Play, Cross-Gen, And Cross-Progression

For the first time ever, Black Ops Zombies will be a cross-play experience. Additionally, you’ll be able to play the game with cross-gen support. So if you have a friend who won’t be upgrading their system this holiday season, you can still yell at them over not picking you up during an intense round of Black Ops Cold War Zombies.

Finally, it was announced that you can progress through the battle pass in Black Ops Cold War Zombies.

That’s all we know about Black Ops Cold War Zombies (for now). Treyarch will surely continue to drop more information leading up to Black Ops Cold War’s release date later this year.

Black Ops Cold War releases on November 13th on Xbox One, PS4, and PC. It will also release on next-gen platforms on November 13th as well.

What were your thoughts on this reveal? Was it a W? Or an L? Let us know in the comments below! Also, be sure to follow ModernWarzone on Twitter for the latest Call of Duty news.