What could be the first official sign of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4's forthcoming announcement may have appeared courtside at tonight's Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder NBA game. As Rockets star James Harden walked down the tunnel into Chesapeake Energy Arena, he was photographed in a hat with what many believe is Black Ops 4's logo on the front. However, given that no one knows what Black Ops 4's official logo looks like yet, nothing is certain.

In the photo, Harden is wearing a hat with a logo featuring "IIII" on the front. The faux-Roman numerals are stylized with the same indentation on the far right and left sides as the Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 logo, as well as featuring the now-familiar orange coloring. While IV is the traditional Roman numeral for 4, writing it as a continuation of I, II, III, and now IIII seems very much like a video game way of standing out.

Along with the hat, Harden was also wearing sweatpants, a sweater, and even headphones that were camouflage colored. If James Harden isn't the first example of a viral advertising campaign for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, he's pulling off an outstanding troll of the gaming media.

Supporting the argument that this is the start of a Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 marketing campaign are reports from both Eurogamer and Kotaku that 2018's iteration of Call of Duty is indeed Black Ops 4. Overall, the news shouldn't be much of a surprise given that it's Treyarch's year to put out a Call of Duty title and Black Ops has grown into the franchise's most popular sub-series. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4's announcement has been inevitable.

Rumors so far point to Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 being set in modern times and featuring "boots on the ground" action. The sequel is also rumored to be coming to the Nintendo Switch in addition to standard platforms: PC, PS4, and Xbox One. This would be the first Call of Duty on a Nintendo platform since 2013's Call of Duty: Ghosts.

Expect further details on the 2018 iteration of Call of Duty, Black Ops 4 or otherwise, in the days or weeks to come.