Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is announcing details surrounding its latest Zombies map. Not only is new information being released ahead of schedule, but the Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War map itself will be playable much earlier than expected.
Developer Treyarch's sixth entry in its Black Ops series officially launched on November 13. The game has since received mixed reviews, with some praising its innovative campaign while others are critical of multiplayer's lack of depth. While those directly involved with Black Ops Cold War have been posting tidbits of information the past few days, most players were expecting big reveals to come on 115 Day.
Detailed in a blog on Treyarch's official website, the post confirms when and where the Dark Aether storyline will continue next. After destroying the "Projekt Endstation" site in the first map Die Maschine, players are heading next to the latest Dark Aether outbreak site: Outpost 25, better known as "Firebase Z." This confirms the longstanding rumors of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Zombies DLC Map 1 being the Vietnamese base. Originally set to release with the start of Season Two, the game's developers have advanced the map's launch by several weeks.
Treyarch is promising more details of the new location for 115 Day, January 15, along with additional updates to expect when the map launches. In addition to Firebase Z being completely free for all players (a significant departure from previous Black Ops titles), Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War kicks off its Zombies free access week today. This means players who have yet to purchase the base game can get their hands on the storied Call of Duty mode without any real investment.
While its unclear exactly what the reasoning is behind Treyarch recent charitable disposition, it likely could be due to frequent leaks, glitches, or both. Before and even after its integration with Call of Duty: Warzone, Black Ops Cold War has suffered from numerous gameplay bugs. In addition to multiplayer lobby and major hit detection issues, the Zombies mode didn't even have a split-screen feature until recently. Once the expected feature was added, many fans complained that the mode was broken or otherwise nearly unplayable. The early and free Zombies content could certainly be Treyarch's way of apologizing.
Whatever the case may be, the news of a new Zombies map coming sooner than expected is surely a pleasant surprise for Call of Duty fans everywhere. While it appears a majority of CoD fans are on board with the new content, there are still plenty of Warzone diehards who prefer going up against real, not-undead people. Warzone players looking for a new challenge can always try to recreate getting a Gulag kill by playing the recorder.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
Source: Treyarch