Call Of Duty's Season 5 Is Live Now

Call of Duty's Season 5 has arrived today, a day later than expected, in both Black Ops Cold War and Warzone. Following some teasers, the company shared the full details on what to expect in Black Ops Cold War and Warzone. The new season includes some major content additions and a major download size to go with it.

File Size

Black Ops Cold War's update arrived prior to Warzone's, with the file size weighing in at about 21GB on PS5. Across several platforms, Warzone's seems to be a little smaller, weighing in at about 13GB.

The Roadmap

Starting with the roadmap, the image below lays out all the new content Black Ops Cold War and Warzone at a glance. Ignore the August 12 date in the image, as this was before the release schedule was changed.

Double Agent

In this new mode, which is a first for Call of Duty, players designated as double agents are trying to sabotage a mission while keeping their roles a mystery. Matches begin with 10 players in a lobby, and they are assigned one of three roles. You can see a rundown of the roles and their missions below, as written by Activision:

• Double Agents, who must either eliminate everyone else or successfully set off explosive charges around the map.
• The Investigator, who can use clues to target suspected Double Agents as Wanted criminals.
• Operatives, who must work together to identify and eliminate the Double Agents before it’s too late.

Players begin with a pistol and can further flesh out their arsenal during the "Preparing Stage" of the match, where they can find weapons across the map. Double Agents can use gas mines, counter spy plans, combat bows, and attack helicopters, and they are impervious to radiation that emerges from charges they set. Investigators can use trophy systems, stimshots, and hand cannons; they also can see the footprints of a the person who killed their teammate. Investigators are also able to designate someone as "suspicious" and launch a Wanted order against them.

Regular Operative players need to then work together to suss out the Double Agents. Activision said voice chat is strongly encouraged. Double Agent is playable in matchmaking or by creating your own custom lobby.

Double Agent matches take place on existing maps and new ones (more on that below).

Another mode coming to Black Ops Cold War is Demolition, which makes its return after it rotated out previously. This mode challenges one team to set a charge and detonate it, with the other squad trying to stop them.

Multiplayer Maps

Five more multiplayer maps are coming to Black Ops Cold War in the Season 5 update, and many of them may be familiar to fans. Here is a rundown of the new maps:

• Echelon (6v6, launch) -- This is a new map that was first displayed in the Season 5 cinematic trailer. It is set in Berlin and takes place in the rain.
• Slums (6v6, launch) -- A new version of the Black Ops II map, Slums is set in Panama City and supports a variety of playstyles.
• Showroom (2v2 and 3v3, launch) -- This is a new Gunfight and Face Off map set in The Pines, which is a mall in New Jersey. Players will be ducking in and out of displays and kiosks.
• Drive-In (6v6, coming later) -- This map, originally seen in the first Black Ops, takes place in an abandoned drive-in theater. It's remastered for the first time following its original release 10 years ago in Black Ops' Annihilation DLC.
• Zoo (6v6, coming later) -- Another fan-favorite map, Zoo originally debuted in the first Black Ops. It takes place in a zoo and has players duking it out in places like a bear pit and gift shop.

Scorestreak

Season 5 also introduces a new Scorestreak in the form of the Flamethrower. A low-cost Scorestreak, the Flamethrower is exactly that--a gun that fires flames and is deadly at close range.

Zombies

Zombies is not being forgotten in Season 5, of course. The ninth perk, Death Perception, allows players to see hidden enemies better by giving them a shining outline. This perk, like the others, can be upgraded using Aetherium Crystals.

The new Field upgrade is Tesla Storm, and it shoots lightning at enemies. After it's been upgraded, it can also attack Special and Elite zombies, while it will also increase team movement speed. The Flamethrower weapon also comes to Zombies to do what it does best: Light zombies on fire.

More content is coming to Zombies throughout Season 5, including the Ikari EggXit map for Dead Ops Arcade 3 and new story elements that can be found in Outbreak and Onslaught.

For Outbreak specifically, a new region call Collateral will be available at launch. An "incredibly unstable area," Collateral has oil drills, rock structures, and a fallen satellite to avoid (or use for cover). There are multiple new objectives to complete on Collateral, the first of which is called Transport. This calls on players to drive a precious Requiem machine out of the Outbreak zone.

Outbreak also gets a new vehicle, the Tank, which features a mounted minigun to help you blast away at zombies. It is a well-armored vehicle but it is very slow, Activision said.

A new craftable item is coming to Outbreak, too. The Grapple Gun lets players dash across the map with speed, not unlike how the Grappleshot works in Halo Infinite, it seems.

Onslaught

Activision's exclusivity deal with Sony continues with Season 5, as PlayStation users are getting a new map, Echelon, to face off against hordes of increasingly difficult undead enemies. Later in Season 5, Activision will add a new limited-time mode, another weapon blueprint, and some surprises.

Warzone

Moving to Warzone, two new perks are coming to the game to keep the meta fresh. These new perks, Combat Scout and Tempered, are exclusive to Warzone--they are the first perks to date to be exclusive to the battle royale game, as the rest are shared with Modern Warfare.

Combat Scot helps players by briefly highlighting where an enemy is after they've damaged them; this enemy also will show up briefly on your mini-map. The second new perk is Tempered, which promises to "fundamentally change armor values" in Warzone. Armor plates become stronger, so they only need two to become "fully armored" instead of three.

"In other words, Tempered allows each Armor Plate to absorb 75 points of damage instead of the standard 50, but an Operator will only be able to wear two at a time instead of three," Activision said. "This unique change also comes at the sacrifice of your Perk 2 slot, so choose your perk setup wisely before bulking up with those reinforced plates."

A new point of interest type is being added to Verdansk, too. Multiple mobile broadcast stations will appear on the map, and they'll show up in different places from match to match. Players will find special rewards by visiting these stations. The stations are also emitting a strange broadcast, apparently. Activision's blog post contained several redacted comments about them.

"NATO is aware of these recent Perseus efforts and has decided to [[REDACTED]]. Operators should look for [[REDACTED]] when it arrives on [[REDACTED]] within Verdansk, as a highly important [[REDACTED]]," the developer said.

It's widely believed that Call of Duty's 2021 game, which is rumored to be a WWII game called Vanguard, will be revealed in Warzone, at least in part. With the game expected to be announced in August, according to reports, Season 5 seems to be a likely time for these teasers to begin.

Warzone also gets a new Gulag in Season 5. The Black Ops II map Rush is becoming the new Gulag--specifically, its main paintball area. Rush is also available in Black Ops Cold War as a new multiplayer map, so players can practice there until it's released in Warzone.

Warzone will welcome a new mode, too, in the form of Clash. It's described as a "spiritual successor" to the popular large-scale Warzone Rumble, and like that mode, it'll feature two teams of 50 players in a deathmatch. Clash features a number of systems familiar to battle royale players, including buy stations, vehicles, the ping system, and armor plate drops. Players can also choose their starting loadout, and damage profiles of weapons are consistent with Warzone's other modes.

Mid-Season Event

Something involving Warzone's Red Doors is happening, and more will be revealed during Season 5. "Whatever broadcast Perseus set up is causing the Red Doors to become more volatile than ever before, as Operators are now reporting [[REDACTED]] in their post-mission briefings," reads a line from Activision's description. "Beware of these doors sending you to locations other than the main room we all thought to be its lone destination point, and above all else, keep your head."

This event is connected to the new Mobile Broadcast stations that are set to appear across Verdansk.

New Operators And Weapons

Three new Operators were added to Black Ops Cold War and Warzone in Season 5, including Kitsune (launch), Stryker (later), and Hudson (later). Kitsune is featured in the key art for Season 5, and she can be unlocked instantly by purchasing the Season 5 battle pass.

Stryker is a futuristic soldier who came out a so-called Future Warfare program. He is described as an "ultimate one-man army" and a soldier who "offers a glimpse of the battlefield of tomorrow."

Hudson, meanwhile, comes from Black Ops Cold War's campaign, so he may be familiar to players. Stryker and Hudson will be available for purchase through DLC bundles.

Four new weapons were included in Black Ops Cold War and Warzone as well. These include the EM2 assault rifle, the TEC-9 SMG, cane melee weapon, and a powerful pistol called the Marshal.

Finally, four new Prestige levels came to Black Ops Cold War and Warzone, bringing the total number of potential Prestige levels across the entire game to 23.

Beyond Activision's games, parent company Activision Blizzard is embroiled in a lawsuit from the state of California over the company's reported "frat boy" culture and discrimination against women. During an earnings call, CEO Bobby Kotick responded to the suit and said, "There is no place at our company where discrimination, harassment, or unequal treatment of any kind will be tolerated." He also promised to fire employees and managers who have run afoul of Activision Blizzard's policies.