After the numerous rumors and leaks from the last year and a half, finally 2020's Call of Duty has been unveiled. Not only is Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War promising to be more historically inclined, but it's also a direct sequel to the first Black Ops game. Call of Duty's next adventure returns to iconic characters like Woods and Mason, but they'll be facing a very new threat in 1981. They took down the USSR's Dragovich last time, but now they'll be taking on the infamous Perseus.
For those that may not know, Perseus is a real-life rumor/myth from the Cold War that was whispered among the US intelligence personnel throughout the war. It was never explicitly stated if Perseus was a Russian person, a group, an organization, or whatnot, other than it was some kind of special ops boogie man who supposedly infiltrated the Manhattan Project. In Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Perseus is personified as an actual agent of the USSR and the main antagonist of the single-player campaign.
Perseus, the Elusive Atomic Spy
Perseus was something of a Soviet boogie man throughout the Cold War, an infamous atomic spy who supposedly leaked information from the Manhattan Project in 1943. Atomic spies were a collective of Russian intelligence officers who had infiltrated various facets of the US military, but more specifically the nuclear weapons programs. Notable informants like Klaus Fuchs or Morris Cohen were instrumental in providing nuclear technical documentation to the Soviet Union, but Perseus was always the sole anomaly. Several de-classified documents from US intelligence seemed to state the existence of Perseus, but they were never publicly identified.
Black Ops Cold War's campaign is playing directly into these conspiracies but backing them with genuine historical documents. Some believe Perseus never existed either, or that it was never in direct relation to a person. Perseus could've very well been a single person, or a network of atomic spies working in the US. That being said, a US intelligence effort known as the Venona project had transmitted messages with the codename "PERS," likely in reference to Perseus. Much of this information was made public by the US just a few years after the USSR disbanded in 1991.
Black Ops Cold War's Main Antagonist(s)
Now in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Perseus is personified as the main antagonist of the game's story. Based on the gameplay teasers alone, the game seems to be teasing Perseus as one particular person, but there is still the possibility it could be multiple people. Based on the game's canon, it appears Perseus is confirmed as the sole leaker of nuclear information from the Manhattan Project. Black Ops Cold War seems to also be teasing Perseus' involvement in an attempted theft of a nuclear weapon in Vietnam.
This particular event is a bit more fictional, but does seem to be in reference to the declassified messages in 2014 where US Joint Chiefs of Staff considered the use of nuclear weapons during the Vietnam War. Overall it seems that Perseus is becoming a global threat, which means the moments of 1968 Vietnam shown in the Black Ops Cold War trailer will be flashbacks in-game. There's also moments in the gameplay trailer in Germany near the Berlin Wall, areas in what appears to be "Mexico" or at least near the US/Mexico border, as well as some undeterminable locations in Russia.
Iterating On the Best Call of Duty Story
Overall, it appears Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is going to be a global affair. Players will be joining the iconic Black Ops characters as they chase Perseus across the world during the Cold War. Activision and Treyarch are shrouding Perseus in plenty of mystery at the moment, so their identity (or identities) are still completely unknown, for obvious reasons. Black Ops Cold War seems to be returning to the psychological thriller tone established in the first game, appropriate considering the majority of the game takes place in the 80s. The original Black Ops storyline was one of the best campaigns in a Call of Duty game to date, and still holds up well today.
Chasing Perseus across the Cold War should be an intriguingly fun romp. There's a clear focus from Treyarch and Raven Software on enhancing the storytelling in this upcoming Call of Duty, with choices affecting the story with multiple endings. So long as the storytelling is, at bare minimum, on par with the first Black Ops, Cold War should mark an exciting story mode.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War launches on November 13, 2020, for PC, PS4, and Xbox One. PS5 and Xbox Series X versions are coming "Holiday 2020."