During the long wait beforeCall of Duty: Black Ops Cold Warwas finally announced,Modern WarfareandWarzonewas still relishing in its continued success. With an unprecedented silence from Activision throughout the majority of this year,Modern WarfareandWarzonehas received a ton of support from fans, more so than any previousCall of Dutyrelease in the subsequent year. So to many fans' surprise, whenBlack Ops Cold Warwas finally unveiled, the similarities between it andModern Warfarewere plentiful.
Treyarch’sCall of Dutyseems to have learned and iterated on a lot of what 2019’sModern Warfarepioneered. AsCall of Dutymoves on to an interconnected development platform, it’s clear thatModern Warfare’s innovations have helped inspireBlack Ops Cold War’s concepts and mechanics in numerous ways. Whether it’s the return of singleplayer from its lack thereof inBlack Ops 4, or the more traditional multiplayer customization instead of the “Pick 10” systems from before, it’s clearBlack Ops Cold Warborrows a lot fromModern Warfare.
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Melding Modern Warfare’s Tone With Black Ops Storytelling
While the firstBlack Opsgame was praised for its highly innovative story, over subsequent entries, it was clear that the overarching narrative had begun to fade.Call of Duty: Black Opsbrought the game to a never-before-seen Cold War setting for the franchise, whilst also managing to tell a thrilling and unusual story throughout its campaign. Sure, it wasn’t exactly the most riveting or revolutionary storytelling in a video game period, but it was certainlya far cry from previousCall of Dutycampaigns, which largely played out with the emotional weight of aFast and Furiousfilm.
Now, after quite a few sequels and evenBlack Ops 4eschewing a singleplayer story entirely, it seemsBlack Ops Cold Waris returning to roots and iterating off the originalBlack Opsstory. From what’s been revealed so far, it seemsModern Warfare’s approach to a more grounded military story is being mixed with the storytelling prowess of Treyarch. Where the originalBlack Opswas fueled by Cold War brainwashing conspiracy theories,Black Ops Cold Waris taking a more realistic story approach andbasing the game around the real-life Perseus Cold War myth.
Iterating on Modern Warfare’s Concise Multiplayer
In terms of systems,Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold Waris borrowing a surprising amount fromModern Warfare’s offering. For one thing, the previous “Pick 10” Create-A-Class variant seen in several previousBlack Opsgames has beenreplaced with the typical class customization seen inModern Warfare, likely to keep the experience in line withWarzoneas well. In an effort to differentiate the two, Wildcards return as an added customization for each class.Modern Warfare’s Gunsmith weapon customization is also returning, which frankly isn’t a surprise considering how well received the original system was.
Mechanically, the game also resemblesModern Warfarequite a bit, though there are some minor defining differences that makesBlack Ops Cold War’s multiplayer unique. Already there’sa pretty huge change with visible health meterson both opponents and players' selves, something other shooters have implemented before but never inCall of Duty. Additional sprinting is taken out in favor of one continuous sprint speed, simplifying the seemingly unnecessary two sprint speeds. That being said, a lot of what madeModern Warfare’s multiplayer enjoyable and satisfying to play is largely returning inCall of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, for good reason.
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A More Unified, Better Call of Duty Experience
In a lot of ways this is perfect forBlack Ops Cold War, and to some extent futureCall of Dutygames as well. ConsideringWarzoneis meant to persist between futureCall of Dutygames(for now), this is the perfect way to justify annual releases each year. It used to be every yearCall of Dutyfans would need time to adjust to the major differences in mechanics, weapon balance, and various other factors between games. Now, betweenModern WarfareandBlack Ops Cold War, the differences aren’t vastly different to the point where the carryover/readjustment period won’t be as long.
Plus, a lot of the changes that do makeBlack Ops Cold Wardifferent fromModern Warfareare largely beneficial. There are some exceptions, likethe killstreak to scorestreak controversythat a lot of players didn’t agree with. However, things like one unified sprint, the familiar and streamlined Create-A-Class system alongside Wildcards, these changes are all in service to making a betterCall of Dutymultiplayer experience.Black Ops Cold War’s singleplayer mode is taking on the similar mature tones thatModern Warfaredid and was praised for. Overall,Black Ops Cold Warshould be a worthy successor toModern Warfarethis holiday.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold Warreleases on August 09, 2025, for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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