Though Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has not even released yet, there have already been a few significant leaks about the Call of Duty game that will be making its debut in 2024. While there were initially rumors about Treyarch’s next Call of Duty title being set in the near future, the latest reports indicate that a Gulf War setting could actually be the game’s focus.
While there is always a chance for rumors to be proven false, the fact that the latest leak seemingly features multiplayer map art straight from Call of Duty 2024 makes it hard to argue against. With an F-117 present in the image for the multiplayer map Stealth, fans have become convinced that the game will focus primarily on the Gulf War. If this turns out to be true, there are a few things that gamers can expect from the game.
A New Cast of Characters For The Black Ops Series
Based on some older leaks for Treyarch’s next Call of Duty game, the developer’s 2024 release will apparently be a part of the Black Ops series. While this will surely be exciting for longtime fans of the subseries, players may want to expect something similar to the Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 campaign where an entirely new cast of characters is focused on. This is because, by this point in the timeline, Frank Woods is out of commission and Jason Hudson is dead.
During the Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 campaign, players flash back to 1989 to witness Raul Menendez’ revenge on Frank Woods. After manipulating Woods into killing Alex Mason, Menendez cripples him using a shotgun, leaving him paralyzed for the rest of his life. He then goes on to kill Jason Hudson for organizing the mission that got his sister killed, leaving all of Black Ops’ iconic characters dead or out of action.
Perhaps Treyarch will canonize the ending where Frank Woods fails to kill Alex Mason, letting players control a 57-year-old version of Mason during the Gulf War. The return of Russel Adler is also a possibility, as he survives the events of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. Still, while it would be nice to see this gap in Mason’s history explored, or have Adler’s story continued, it seems more likely for Treyarch to focus on a younger cast of never-before-seen soldiers instead. With Hudson gone in 1990 and Woods sidelined, new characters would be necessary even if Mason or Adler did return, as some key figures are out of the picture.
Weapons That Could Feature in a Gulf War Call of Duty
Fortunately for Call of Duty fans, a Gulf War game would feature a variety of weapons that includes all the classic guns they have come to expect from the Black Ops series. Not only did Iraq wield guns like the FAL, AK-47, AK-74u, and PKM, but it also used older weapons like the PPSh-41. Further, the sheer size of the Coalition means that Treyarch could include weapons used by militaries from all over the world.
The United States’ lineup of weapons includes plenty of guns that the Call of Duty community would recognize instantly and be happy to see included. The M14 and M16 played major roles, as did the M60. The M1911 also featured prominently as a sidearm, meaning that Call of Duty Zombies' legendary starting pistol could be made available. The L85A1 used by the UK could absolutely appear, as could the MP5K. France’s FAMAS also seems like a must, especially when thinking about its legacy as an overpowered weapon in the first Black Ops game.
All of these weapons seem likely to be included in a Gulf War Call of Duty game at some point during its life span, especially with Call of Duty’s seasonal approach consistently adding new weapons to the mix. With Rocket Launchers like the RPG-7 used during this war, too, Treyarch should have no problem delivering the impressive weapon variety that fans have come to expect from the Call of Duty series.
A New Setting and a Different Kind of Warfare
Given the current state of the world and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, moving on to a new antagonist would make sense. Iraq seems like a strong candidate, and considering that the Gulf War took place at the very end of the Cold War, Treyarch could smoothly weave its events into other parts of the Black Ops timeline. If Iraq is introduced as the main foe, gamers can expect the concept of chemical weapons to be touched on.
Sarin gas and its impact on the lives of those that served in the Gulf War is a serious topic, but if Treyarch wants to touch on it, a powerful story could be told. From a gameplay perspective, gas masks could be worn by protagonists during some missions, allowing them to combat the gas effectively. Seeing as gas masks are already a feature in Call of Duty: Warzone, this would not be hard to introduce. Alongside chemical weapons, there was a massive variety of vehicles used in Operation Desert Storm, so gamers can expect many Tanks, Jets, and other vehicle types to appear in the campaign.
A Gulf War setting means that players should expect several desert-focused maps, with fighting also likely to happen throughout Kuwait’s buildings. The Persian Gulf should provide some visually impressive maps, and players can expect a few play spaces in Iraq and Saudi Arabia as well. Given all the snowy areas seen in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, and the prevalence of Russian and American architecture, some sandy maps and different-looking buildings could make for a welcome change of pace. While Call of Duty fans should absolutely take the Gulf War rumors with a grain of salt until some official information is released, the setting would be entirely new for the franchise, something that has become increasingly rare in recent years. With Treyarch excelling when it comes to authenticity, the studio potentially exploring a fresh historical setting is promising.