Treyarch was the studio to introduce Call of Duty fans to the original Nazi Zombies mode, and they've had a knack for creating a little slice of horror in every title since then. This trend is set to continue with their next title in the franchise, Black Ops 4, which teased the mode's return earlier today on Twitter.

The Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 tweet shows a terrifying image of a zombie removing a carved mask from its face. Loose, rotten flesh dangles from their hands and a mysterious line of symbols runs down the left side of the image. Near the center, a circle of similar symbols hovers above the figure's eye. The image is captioned, somewhat forebodingly, with "So it begins...".

It's incredibly likely that the image has some sort of secret meaning to it, with the symbols almost certainly being some type of code that can be translated, similar to the runic language recently translated on God of War's Collector Edition map. What exactly that translation will reveal is a mystery for the massive audience of Call of Duty fans to unravel leading up to the game's launch in October.

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The Zombies mode has been one of the most interesting aspects of the franchise since its debut back in World at War. Since then, it's blossomed into a fascinating piece of Call of Duty, with a massive amount of lore and enigmatic story tidbits for those dedicated enough to seek them out.

Black Ops 4 has been a particularly odd case for the Call of Duty franchise. Rumor has it that Treyarch and Activision will be omitting a campaign in favor of a Battle Royale mode, and the game's multiplayer may be a hero shooter in the style of Overwatch. Even the game's October release date is an interesting one, as Call of Duty has typically released in November every year since the annualized series' conception.

Oddities aside, this teaser image is certainly a fun one. Adding a layer of mystery is a great way to keep marketing engaging, and it does an excellent job of generating hype for a game's release. There still aren't many details on what Black Ops 4 will actually be, but Treyarch will be doing a full reveal of the game on May 17th at 10 am PST.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 releases October 12, 2018 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.