The story so far: 16-5-18-19-5-21-19… 9-19… 8-5-18-5…

“16… 11… 1… 9… 21…”

Around the world, from the warzone of Verdansk to a Zoo in the Ural Mountains, there are reports of Operators on both sides hearing an unfamiliar voice reciting numbers in their earpieces.

A few have described seeing these “numbers” as a strange visual hallucination, leaving them questioning their own mental states.

These are only reports from the Operators who have returned to base. Others appear to have gone rogue, suddenly turning on their squadmates mid-battle.

Evidence is mounting that these rogue Operators are now only responding to orders from Perseus...

The numbers… what do they mean?

Officially launching next Thursday following updates to Black Ops Cold War on September 7 at 9 PM PT and Warzone on September 8 at 9 PM PT, Season Five Reloaded introduces a variety of free content in Multiplayer and Zombies, with the Numbers Event delivering content across both games later in the season. From a reimagined overhaul of Warzone Rumble known as Clash to a new functional Melee weapon, the fight rages on in the ‘80s as we prepare for the upcoming sixth season in Black Ops Cold War and Warzone.

Meanwhile in the Store, an Operator familiar to Black Ops veterans returns to bolster NATO’s forces, while the Warsaw Pact receives a new Bundle to help them lay down the law.

All this–and much more–arrives in Season Five Reloaded. Here’s what you need to know:

BLACK OPS COLD WAR CONTENT:

Unleash the beast within: Zoo arrives in Multiplayer

There’s no cage that can hold you from the fight ahead.

First seen in the original Black Ops’ Escalation DLC pack in 2011, Zoo is a medium-sized map specifically designed for 6v6 game modes in Black Ops Cold War, trimming the playable space down to its main animal exhibit and park area for Multiplayer.

Be sure to take a “ride” on the monorail to get an incredible vantage point on the action below, or head to the souvenir shop to dole out plenty of pain to your enemies. Jump into the action with the dedicated Zoo 24/7 Featured Playlist at the launch of Season Five Reloaded.

New to Black Ops Cold War: Demolition returns to Multiplayer

After a hiatus following Season Three of Modern Warfare in 2020, Demolition is back for Black Ops Cold War!

First introduced in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare™ 2 (2009), this game mode is akin to a respawn-enabled, amped-up Search and Destroy. In Demolition, one team of attackers attempts to destroy a pair of bombsites while defenders must prevent the detonations.

All-out chaos ensues when time is extended after the first bomb site is destroyed, and both teams have a chance to play offense and defense before the match ends. If there is a tie, expect even more madness: a single neutral bomb site becomes active, with the first team to detonate it winning the match.

Learn more about Demolition through our Mode Recon on it here.

New Zombies Outbreak Region: Armada

Agents of Requiem have even more to explore once Season Five Reloaded arrives, including a new Outbreak Region in previously uncharted waters for Zombies.

Located in the North Atlantic Ocean, Armada was the site of NATO and Warsaw Pact skirmishes over a sunken prototype nuclear submarine. With the Dark Aether spreading into the Atlantic, it seems nuclear armaments weren’t the only volatile element in the area. A dimensional rift has caused an intense energy spike, making the area rich in Aetherium Crystals, Essence... and the ravenous undead.

Expect to encounter numerous objectives on the high seas in this new Region custom-tailored for Outbreak, including a new World Event for those looking to bolster their loadouts.

New World Event in Outbreak

Across the Outbreak Zones, Requiem is reporting the presence of a new chest type alongside the usual small, medium, large, and golden varieties: the mysterious Black Chest.

Much like previous World Events found throughout the Regions, the exact details of this event are for Requiem agents to discover. Once they do, they may find the reward far outweighs the risk…

Rampage Inducer in round-based maps

Operators heading back into round-based experiences to complete those Season Five Challenges will also find a new feature to ramp up the action from the very start: the Rampage Inducer.

Appearing as an orange Essence canister in the starting area, the Rampage Inducer will temporarily ramp up the difficulty to Cranked-level proportions if all members of a squad agree to take on the challenge. Once activated, this canister will speed up zombie spawn rates and cause all zombies to sprint endlessly until Round 20, turning up the action until the second major round milestone is reached… or a total squad wipe long before then.

WARZONE CONTENT:

New Warzone mode: Clash

50v50 combat is back in Warzone.

Building off Warzone Rumble, a deathmatch based in Verdansk, Clash takes select areas from this massive map and pits two teams of 50 against each other in an unlimited respawn fight to 500 points. Whether it’s Downtown, the Boneyard, or even the popular-drop zone of the Factory, your mission in these Clash areas remains the same: earn points by eliminating enemies and completing Contracts for in-match rewards and collect powerups from defeated enemies that give gaming-changing abilities.

This is Team Deathmatch on an epic scale, with all your loadouts accessible, along with the Ping and Armor systems, Cash, Buy Stations, and vehicles from the regular Battle Royale and Plunder modes.

Get ready for the biggest team fights in Warzone and consider updating those Loadouts–you’ll have access to them right off the drop, allowing you to use those go-to armaments or level up and complete camo challenges for weapons from Black Ops Cold War and Modern Warfare®.

New Warzone mode: Iron Trials ’84

Do you consider yourself a Tier One Operator of the highest caliber? Now’s the chance to prove it. Only the strongest survive in the toughest Battle Royale mode that has ever come to Verdansk! Flex your mastery of an entire arsenal of weapons, prove you can handle any firefight with any type of armament, and earn an exclusive Calling Card to prove your mettle. The rules have changed. Here how the mode works:

Health and Regeneration: An iron will and a serious constitution is needed to survive, so expect your base health to be increased, and your health regen rate to be changed, too. This is set to affect the feel of combat, time to kill, weapon, Perk, and Equipment viability as the entire game is effectively altered.

Loadouts: There are no free passes in this mode. Complementary Loadout Drops have been removed, meaning you’ll need to purchase your preferred weaponry. The cost at a Buy Station has risen, too.

Gulag: The Gulag is open, but the emphasis is on a one-on-one skillful takedown against your opponent. No akimbo. No semi-auto or fully-auto shotguns. Almost no tactical equipment. The only thing standing between you and redeployment is the agility of your trigger finger. Win the Gulag? Then you can drop back into Verdansk… with whatever weapon and equipment you were carrying at the end of your Gulag bout.

Supplemental: Also expect additional changes to environmental elements and a variety of important aspects that impact your Warzone experience. More expansive intel will be available soon.

Classified weapons: Be certain you [[REDACTED]] as these can [[REDACTED]], critical information we hope won’t get [[REDACTED]].

There’s no participation trophy for this mode, soldier: only those placing first will receive the exclusive Calling Card!

WARZONE AND BLACK OPS COLD WAR CONTENT:

The Numbers Event: Embrace Perseus’ broadcast and get rewarded (In-Season)

Initially installed at the start of the season, the Mobile Broadcast Stations around Verdansk will soon begin amplifying the “Dragovich Program” tapes–A.K.A. the Numbers broadcasts–across the region.

These are the focus of the Numbers Event, an upcoming limited-time reward stream for Operators brave enough to investigate these trucks placed by Perseus. This limited-time event will begin on September 21 at 10 AM PT. Although Operators have recently reported odd noises and sights when near them, there are two incentives for anyone willing to interact with these Mobile Broadcast Stations.

The first is an instant $2,000 Cash bonus in the current match, more than enough for a set of Armor Plates at a Buy Station. The second is directly tied to the limited-time Numbers Event: for each unique Mobile Broadcast Station activated during the event, you will receive an exclusive reward such as a Sticker, Calling Card, or Charm, in addition to some XP.

In addition to the nine challenges in Warzone centered around the Mobile Broadcast Stations, the Numbers Event also includes a set of nine challenges within Black Ops Cold War based around new maps and modes for Season Five Reloaded. Through these challenges, you can unlock even more cosmetic rewards, as well as another arcade cabinet game for your Black Ops Cold War collection. While this prize is a secret, here’s our key hint: there are no Billy Club patches for those who play this retro arcade classic and hit 35,000 score or more.

The Sai: Unlock a new melee weapon through the Numbers Event

Those who complete all nine challenges within Warzone OR Black Ops Cold War during the event will receive a new functional melee weapon: the Sai.

This dual-wield Melee weapon, often used in stealthy martial arts, is the first ever functional weapon to be awarded via limited-time event. Hundreds of years ago, it was introduced to the island of Okinawa and eventually became adopted by the local police to aid in arresting criminals. For an outlaw like Kitsune, who grew up nearly 1,200 kilometers away in Kobe, wielding one is an irony she relishes.

Its lightweight design allows for improved agility and fast attacks, which is great for taking out zombies or the competition in Multiplayer and Warzone.

New limited-time Outbreak mode for hardcore Agents: Survival (In-Season)

While the Black Chest and Rampage Inducer are both set to test Requiem’s most elite Operators, the most hardcore zombie slayers looking for a serious challenge can test their abilities in Outbreak Survival when the Numbers Event launches.

This limited-time Outbreak mode amps up the survival horror aspect of the Zombies experience, fundamentally changing Outbreak to make it a truly punishing – yet rewarding –challenge.

Operators will only bring in the Field Upgrade from their starting Loadout, with their primary weapon being replaced with a single 1911 handgun. Once boots hit the ground in a random Region, more modifiers become clear: the mini-map and overhead map are disabled, music is turned off, and the HUD displays little intel.

Whenever an Operator takes damage, there is no auto-regeneration to save them. Instead, they must find a brand-new item–food–to heal.

These food items have four rarity levels:

• Uncommon (e.g. Canned Corn) – Heals 50 HP
• Rare (e.g. Chocolate Chip Cookies) – Heals for 100 HP
• Epic (e.g. Chicken Soup) – Heals for 150 HP
• Legendary (e.g. an entire Pizza) – Heals for 200 HP AND heals 1 HP per second for 60 seconds

Other than these modifiers, the mission remains the same: survive the Outbreak Zone, complete the main Objective, and either Exfiltrate before the horde rips you limb-from-limb, or Warp to another region to continue the fight.

ROGUE TRANSMISSION INCOMING…

As this announcement was drafted, HQ has received the preceding image (above). Perhaps Raven Software will help make sense of this in their incoming patch notes...

This is not the only intel we received–here’s what another source, who is deeply embedded within NATO, sent us:

As the Numbers Event goes online, intel suggests that [[REDACTED]] are under Verdansk and that [[REDACTED]] has gone AWOL–their position is reportedly related to coordinates for these [[REDACTED]]. This has led NATO to send in Special Agent [[REDACTED]] to stop this unauthorized operation, as it could jeopardize the agency in discovering and stopping [[REDACTED]].

Hudson returns: New Operator

Although NATO’s redaction system has left their intelligence and future all but unintelligible, our best spies have figured out one piece of the puzzle: they’re sending in Special Agent Jason Hudson to aid in their current and upcoming operations, including a search and rescue of a fellow NATO Operator gone missing.

Hudson: NATO (In-Season)

Born and raised in Washington, D.C. with dreams that he would serve his country like his older brother did in World War II, Hudson saw action in Korea before earning magna cum laude honors in one of D.C.’s top research universities and entering the CIA.

From there, he pushed Operation 40 member Alex Mason to his limits to neutralize Major General Dragovich… but nearly 20 years later, Dragovich’s tapes have ended up in Perseus’ hands.

After having Adler and Woods handle the dirty work against Perseus up until this point, Special Agent Jason Hudson is ready to finish the fight once and for all, even if it means taking a detour into the Dark Aether.

Get Hudson as part of an upcoming Store Bundle along with three Legendary Weapon Blueprints and more, to be released following the launch of Season Five Reloaded.

He is the LAW: Judge Dredd Operator skins for Beck available for a limited time (In-Season)

Ingo Beck of the Warsaw Pact has been known to be a tactical operator who is calm and dependable when it comes to demolitions and bomb disposal… but in Season Five Reloaded, a side to him unknown to us will come alive. When it comes to laying down the law–even when discussing comic books with squadmates in his downtime–he can be the judge, jury, and executioner.

Later in the season, the limited-time Tracer Pack: Judge Dredd Store Bundle will become available to purchase. The Bundle includes two new Legendary Operator Skins for Beck: “Judge Dredd” and “Comic Strip,” a black-and-white cel-shaded variant of the lawful bringer of justice.

These are both based around Joe Dredd, a man cloned from the founder of the Judges, the “Father of Justice” Eustace Fargo. Uncompromising and unwavering his commitment to the Law, Judge Dredd’s mere presence is enough to strike terror in the hearts of any criminal. Beck wears this very uniform as the conduit for Dredd in Black Ops Cold War and Warzone.

In addition to these two Skins, the Bundle includes three Weapon Blueprints: the “Quick Judgement” SMG, the “Arbitrator Rifle” Assault Rifle, and the “Lawgiver” Pistol, based on the standard-issue weapon given to all Judges (note: no palm print needed to operate). It also has the “Incendiary” Finishing Move, “Book of Law” Weapon Charm, “Judge’s Watch” Wrist Accessory, and an Animated Calling Card and Emblem.

More in Store: New Pro Pack, Mastercrafts, and Tracer Packs

These aren’t the only Bundles coming with Season Five Reloaded…

Kicking off the mid-season update is the Tracer Pack: Ghost Ship Mastercraft Store Bundle, which includes the Ultra-rarity, spectral inspired “Flying Dutchman” Tactical Rifle Weapon Blueprint. Haunt the seven seas with this new armament or use the “Keelhaul” SMG to make your enemies walk the plank.

Beer and cheer are alive and well in Call of Duty with the Tracer Pack: Oktoberfest Store Bundle available later this season.

From the “Lederhosen” Operator Skin for Beck to two Weapon Blueprints featuring the new Beer Tracer Fire effect, this Bundle can help you “pop off” in your next Multiplayer, Zombies, or Warzone match.

Plus, for the first time ever in a Bundle, you can earn back COD Points for completing specific challenges tied to this pack–look to the Bundle in-game when it releases for more details.

Plenty of other Bundles will be available before the end of Season Five, but it’s not a new season of Store Bundles without a brand-new Pro Pack.

The Chemical Reaction Pro Pack, available later this season for $19.99 USD (or your regional equivalent) is a seven-item Bundle built for those looking for a better bond with victory. Its most notable item is a new “Diabolical” Ultra Operator Skin for Stone and also includes two Weapon Blueprints–the “Primary Injection” Assault Rifle and “Tactical Syringe” Sniper Rifle–which can both make a loadout go nuclear.

Plus, purchasing this Pro Pack gives you 2,400 in COD Points, allowing you to pick up another Store Bundle, get the Season Five Battle Pass before the end of the Season, or gift those Bundles or the Battle Pass to a friend or squadmate.

Now that you know the arsenal, personnel, and the operation at hand via the Numbers Event, you have your exact mission parameters in Warzone and Black Ops Cold War.

Heed the call and execute the mission.

For more information on Call of Duty®: Black Ops Cold War, check out: www.callofduty.com and www.youtube.com/callofduty and follow @Treyarch, @RavenSoftware, and @CallofDuty on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. 

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