2020’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 5 will reportedly plunge players into Cold War

By Aaron Mamiit Published August 11, 2019

Call of Duty: Black Ops 5, which is set to launch in 2020, will reportedly be “even more gritty and gruesome” than this year’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, from developer Infinity Ward, is an aggressively familiar reboot of the series that presents players with “the morally complex realities of modern war.” Set to launch on October 25 for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, the new Call of Duty promises a “raw, gritty, and provocative” story that will not shy away from controversy.

Developer Treyarch, however, will apparently try to make an even bigger splash with Call of Duty: Black Ops 5.

YouTuber LongSensation, who is regarded as a reliable source after leaking the title of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare before its official announcement, provided information regarding next year’s Call of Duty through Twitter.

https://twitter.com/LongSensationYT/status/1159077570912096261

It appears that there is a chance for Black Ops to follow the footsteps of Modern Warfare by dropping the number in its title to signal a return to the grounded roots of the series. In that sense, next year’s Call of Duty certainly has the potential to upstage this year’s edition in the “gritty and gruesome” department, especially with Treyarch at the helm.

The Cold War and Vietnam War have been featured in the previous Call of Duty games, but Call of Duty: Black Ops 5 would be the first to cover the Korean Wars of the early 1950s if the rumor is true. Unfortunately, it will be a long time before Activision reveals any information regarding next year’s Call of Duty, especially as this year’s edition has not even been released yet.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 5 will roll out next year, just two years after Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. Activision switched things up for the 2020 Call of Duty by assigning support studio Raven Software to lead the project alongside Call of Duty: WWII developer Sledgehammer Games. The two studios, however, reportedly got into frequent arguments, triggering the decision to make Treyarch in charge, with Raven and Sledgehammer to continue as support studios. The work that Raven and Sledgehammer have done so far will be incorporated into the game’s single-player story mode though.

Topics

Contributor

Aaron received a NES and a copy of Super Mario Bros. for Christmas when he was 4 years old, and he has been fascinated with…

Gaming

The best Call of Duty games, ranked

Soldier holding weapon in Modern Warfare II.

Few video game series are as influential and popular as Call of Duty. The annualized franchise throws players into fast-paced battles across various historical time periods -- along with fictional eras, as well. Call of Duty has taken us to World War II, the Cold War, a modern setting, and even to the future.

Although it's one of the most successful video game franchises out there, Call of Duty's quality varies significantly, with some fantastic entries in the series, but many mediocre ones as well. But which Call of Duty games are worth your time and which ones should you skip? To answer that question, we've ranked all the mainline entries in the series, with details about why you should or shouldn't play that particular game.

Gaming

These 6 Call of Duty: Warzone Season 5 changes are a step in the right direction

Main character of Warzone Season 5.

The recent Call of Duty: Warzone Season 5 update included a slew of great changes, many of which were highly requested features. While the game still needs a bit of work, the changes introduced during Season 5 are certainly a step in the right direction.

There are a lot of little Season 5 changes to dig into. Some are subtle, but each one is doing its part to fix up the base game, which still struggles to reach the heights of its predecessor. From movement tweaks to perk changes, these are some of the best and most impactful changes introduced during Warzone Season 5.
Movement speed adjustments

Gaming

You can get Call of Duty and Alan Wake with PS Plus in July

Key art for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War season 2.

Sony has confirmed the three PS4 and PS5 games PlayStation Plus Essential subscribers will receive this July, and it's actually the best lineup the service has seen in a while. It features one of the best Call of Duty games from recent years, a cult classic that needs to be played before its sequel launches next year, and an overlooked 2022 indie.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War was first released in 2020 and, as its title suggests, is set in the 1980s during the Cold War. It features one of the most creative Call of Duty campaigns since Modern Warfare 2 and makes excellent use of DualSense's haptic feedback and adaptive triggers. The multiplayer and zombie modes are good fun too. Next up is Alan Wake Remastered, a remaster of an excellent 2010 horror-thriller from Control developer Remedy Entertainment. It's an experience best played unspoiled, so I'll simply recommend you go and play this. Its PS Plus addition is timed well, too, as Alan Wake II is set to release and continue the story this October.
Finally, Endling - Extinction is Forever is available this month. This 2022 indie game follows a mother fox as she tries to protect her cubs in a forest continuously getting ravaged by humans. It's a chilling, staunchly harrowing adventure that clearly displays the negative effects of deforestation, pollution, and environmental exploitation. You might have missed this game last year, as it came out on the same day as Stray, so definitely give it a shot now if you haven't yet.
This lineup of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Cross-Gen Bundle, Alan Wake Remastered, and Endling - Extinction is Forever is one of the best lineups PS Plus Essential has seen in months, so definitely pick up these games when they are available between July 4 and July 31. Make sure you download June's titles before July 4 as well.