Call of Duty Warzone players are starting to see teasers of the next game, previously rumored to be a next-gen revisit for Black Ops.
According to numerous players and corroborated by videos, a brief screen glitch can be shown with the message “know your history” at random points during matches. The message also heavily suggests Call of Duty is going back in time, while its emergency broadcast-style layout fits a Cold War setting. Of course, game developer Treyarch are responsible for this year’s annual title while they brought players into the 1960s with characters such as Alex Mason, Jason Hudson and Frank Woods with the original Black Ops.
Previous reports found an alleged splash screen showing off Treyarch’s Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War as early as May 2020. Other sources also claimed the new game would see the return of its original characters in a new plot involving MK-ULTRA, and more untold historical conflicts during the 1960s. So far, the last game to touch on its lore was sequel Black Ops 2 which jumped through two timelines across the 1980s and 2025. It’s still unknown if future elements seen in later games would be added, following the series backtracking with Call of Duty: WWII.
According to Gamesradar, franchise owner Activision has already confirmed current games such as Warzone would tease future Call of Duty titles in interactive ways. Design Director Geoff Smith also stated even though Infinity Ward had kept Modern Warfare separate from other games, updates would add new elements to Verdansk and “become tied to other games in the Call of Duty universe.”
It’s also worth noting past hints for Black Ops: Cold War were also dropped with players in Warzone, including secret bunkers which could be opened with a combination of keycards and a correct password. Inside were assets that included Soviet drones, an old nuke and mysterious messages that dealt with number stations.
The latest tease only makes it more clear that Call of Duty is heading back into a familiar fan-favourite setting introduced by Treyarch. Another tease included unlocking a secret Stadium room via. a Zombies-style easter egg that required players to write down codes and translate them into passwords. Players were rewarded with am Enigma gun blueprint and some other mysterious documents lying around.