Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Officially Announced

The next Call of Duty game is Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. It was officially announced via a new teaser video, which uses the same "Know Your History" language as previous in-game teasers. The video promises a worldwide reveal on August 26 within Verdansk--the setting of Call of Duty: Warzone. This official reveal confirms rumors of the Cold War setting based on previous leaks.

The majority of the trailer focuses on real-life KGB defector Yuri Bezmenov, who delivered a famous warning about tactics that are used to undermine governments--tactics (or "active measures") that include demoralization, destabilization, crisis, and normalization. Most of the video is Bezmenov's actual recorded statement. While he explains the mechanics of each step, real historical footage plays in the background. Images from the Vietnam War and anti-war protests punctuate "demoralization," while later stages like "crisis" and "normalization" depict what appears to be footage of more civil unrest, police brutality, the New York Stock Exchange, politicians, and various military technology.

"The time bomb is ticking," Bezmenov warns. "With every second, the disaster is coming closer and closer. The danger is real."

The video comes from Pawn Takes Pawn, a site fans uncovered by participating in the promotional ARG. The site itself updated several times before the official unveiling, containing videos and clues that allowed fans to uncover even more details in Call of Duty: Warzone. John F. Kennedy was also featured in the footage, and it was heavily implied the protagonist of the original Black Ops was responsible for his assassination. It's unclear if that game takes place in the same universe as this one.

The end of the video flashes a title card (again listing Treyarch and Raven as its developers) and teases the full reveal of the new Call of Duty to come next week. Rumors have suggested that Activision would use Warzone to make its next Call of Duty announcement, which was seemingly supported by recent comments from company president Rob Kostich. Kostich said Warzone caused the company to "rethink how, when, and even where we reveal our upcoming title."

Black Ops Cold War wasn't exactly a well-kept secret, though. The name leaked months ago in June, and Activision has been slowly dropping teasers since then. Most recently Activision has been dropping mystery boxes as part of an ARG surrounding the game. Warzone players have also found a nuke, causing some to speculate that it could level some or all of the familiar map in favor of a new one that reflects the Cold War campaign. In any event, it was believed that Warzone would be used to reveal the next game in the series, and that will indeed be the case. Warzone itself will continue to operate, and while we don't know how Black Ops Cold War will connect to it yet, we do know the battle royale game will eventually feature content from new Call of Duty games.

Black Ops Cold War teaser art has also been revealed. This art features a character wearing a Soviet insignia on the left and an American on the right, presumably to show how the two major powers were essentially equals during the height of the conflict. It's unclear if these characters are part of the story.

Although the name of the game doesn't come as a surprise, its official announcement has led to some jokes about the game's title, which tacks an additional subtitle onto a sub-series that already has one. Let us know what you think in the comments below.