Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Zombies is seeing lots of content added for Season 2, though one reveal has not been given much attention by Treyarch thus far. In an image on the blog post detailing Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War's Season 2 content, an image depicting the mode’s next mini-boss can be seen.
The image is taken from a match of Zombies Outbreak, the new open-world game mode that sees players fighting the undead in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s Fireteam maps. Introducing set objectives as opposed to round-based gameplay, the mode certainly sounds intriguing, with the addition of vehicles only adding to Outbreak’s uniqueness. Players can be seen driving one of these vehicles in an official screenshot, though they are about to run into a large obstacle.
Call of Duty Zombies fans can easily see a mini-boss standing to the right of the car, and while confirmation of mini-bosses inside Outbreak would be intriguing enough on its own, there is more to see here. Rather than the mini-boss being a Mangler, Mimic, or Megaton, it is an entirely new type of foe. Sat inside a worn down mech of some kind, the imposing foe can be seen wielding a flamethrower — shooting the flames in the direction of the Operators in the car.
Intriguingly, this appears to be a returning enemy type with a bold new look. Though the armor is rusted, it boasts the same design as the Panzer Soldat enemy type. First introduced in the beloved map Origins, Panzers are one of the toughest foes Zombies players have ever faced. With the flamethrower weapon, light on the helmet, and core on the chest piece, it certainly looks as if the armored Zombies have made a return in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War.
It will be interesting to see how the Panzers are worked into the new narrative, though the rust on their armor suggests they could have been stuck in the Dark Aether for some time. With their last appearances coming in Der Eisendrache and Revelations from Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, it has been a few years since Zombies fans faced this boss inside a new map. Regardless, it seems like players will want to have their weapons upgraded and keep their distance whenever they are playing Outbreak.
It will be intriguing to see if the Panzer stays exclusive to Outbreak or appears in traditional Zombies as well. With the Ural Mountains map teased heavily and a Berlin map rumored as well, there will be plenty more opportunities for this mini-boss to give players trouble.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.