Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4 Is Coming This Year, And It's Being Teased By James Harden - Report

This year's Call of Duty game is indeed Black Ops 4. That's according to a report today from Kotaku, which follows on from an earlier report claiming that this would be the case. None of this is a surprise, given that Black Ops creator Treyarch is confirmed as developing this year's game. But as of yet, Activision has yet to formally announce the title. [Update: It's now done so, officially revealing Call of Duty: Black Ops 4.]

Lending even further credence to the speculation is that NBA star James Harden wore what looks like a Black Ops 4 hat tonight as he walked into his team's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Harden was also wearing a camo outfit, for what it's worth.

Two sources told Kotaku that Black Ops 4 is coming from Treyarch this year, and that it will take place in the near future. Activision has not yet commented. A source speaking to Kotaku added that Harden's hat is indeed the logo for Black Ops 4. It looks like the game won't use IV as the Roman numeral for four--instead, it uses IIII, which is most commonly seen on watches and clocks.

Historically, Activision announces new Call of Duty games in April or May, though given that Harden is already teasing it, that timeline could be moving up this year. We will report back with more details on this year's Call of Duty game as they are announced.

Treyarch also created the fan-favourite Zombies mode, so we expect an updated version to come with Black Ops 4. Treyarch's Black Ops III was released in 2015, so, given the three-year development cycle for Call of Duty games, it was expected that Treyarch would make this year's game. Call of Duty releases rotate between Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer, and Treyarch.

Despite being more than two years old, Black Ops III remains popular and continues to get new updates. Just today, Activision released a new map and mode for the game.