Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is on shelves—or at least digital shelves—now, following up the series re-defining Call of Duty: Modern Warfare with its own take on the CIA machinations of the 1980s. But that’s mostly the campaign, which is best understood as an appetizer the main dish: multiplayer. With a side of zombies I guess. And that train really gets moving when Season 1 begins and Black Ops Cold War starts up the live service portion of the proceedings. Here’s when that happens and what to expect.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Season 1 will begin on December 10, 2020. When that happens, Warzone will also make its transition from Modern Warfare to Cold War, though you’ll still be able to use your stuff from the Modern Warfare era. Progression will now also be unified between Modern Warfare, Warzone and Cold War, so you’ll have one rank for the whole franchise. Except mobile I guess.
Season 1 will also bring all the stuff you’d expect: new maps and modes, new weapons, new cosmetics, and so on. We’re also getting the return of Gunfight, more modes for Zombies and some mysteries in Warzone. It is a little complicated, but should likely sort itself out when things go live.
It’s undeniably complex, however. For years now, Call of Duty has had a foot in basically every form of video game monetization possible. Outside of sports, it’s the only major game franchise that gets away with selling a $60 (or $70) box every year. But what started as selling map packs throughout the year has blossomed into a full-on game-as-service seasonal system that could be pulled right out of Fortnite, which heavily ties into the free-to-play Warzone which continues its own seasons no matter which retail release it’s tying into. There are also, naturally, premium items, which transition from premium games to Warzone. It’s a lot!
Regardless, we’ll see how it all works out once Black Ops Cold War gets rolling. The addition of Warzone marked a major complicating factor in the whole Call of Duty equation, so in a lot of ways this transition is setting the tone for what the yearly release is going to look like for…at least 2 years, I suppose? Maybe longer than that, but more change could always be coming.
