Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Warzone Season 3 roadmap revealed

News by Dom Peppiatt Editor-in-chief

Published on April 19, 2021

Activision has revealed the Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Warzone Season 3 roadmap – and there's a lot to take in when it comes to the games' next few months.

Ahead of the big nuke event that's set to make some big changes to the map in Call of Duty: Warzone on April 21, Activision has announced an overview of what we can expect from the latest Season of the game from April 22 onwards.

There's going to be a big change-up to the Verdansk map, which is going to get more 80's themed (in line with Black Ops Cold War) and we're going to get a new LTM called Hunt For Adler, which will introduce the Black Ops Cold War cast into the Warzone map as the crew searches for the eponymous US agent.

For a bit of grounding in these high-concept events, check out the new trailer below.

Operation Rapid Sunder is going to be live on April 21 and will set the scene for the upcoming events that'll polish off the zombie events in Verdansk and pave the way for the upcoming events instead.

"The situation in Verdansk has hit a critical level," reads a description of the event. "It seems the combat zone has become too dangerous for even a Tier 1 Operator to survive in. Is a conflagration imminent? The answer is still unknown, though it is recommended you clear your schedule for the week and ready yourself for a crescendo of utter chaos within the Warzone."

Armistice Central Command will be "communicating directly to all Operators with further instructions, starting at 12 PM Pacific Time on April 21", so take that as your kick-off time for the event.

The new Season will also introduce three new operators for players to unlock and enjoy in both Black Ops and Warzone. They are:

Wraith: Ex-Norwegian Intelligence Services alpine warfare specialist (andPerseus agent), Wraith is available at tier zero of the Season 3 battle pass, and will be available from the first week of the new Season.
Roman "Knight" Gray: Premium DLC. Knight is an Irish operator and M16 wetworks agent that will arrive mid-season.
Antonov: Premium DLC. An ex-hitman, Antonov joined the military in lieu of serving extended jailtime for his crimes. Distrusted by the Warsaw Pact because of his criminal past, he finds himself assigned duties no one else wants: bomb defusal and hazmat work.

Captain Price will also join in the fun this Season, who will be "propelled into the Cold War era and outfitted in tactical gear suited for the most clandestine of wetwork operations".

Those who purchase any version of Black Ops Cold War at the start of Season Three will receive the Captain Price Operator for use in Black Ops Cold War and Warzone. Plus, anyone who already owns Black Ops Cold War will automatically receive the Captain Price Operator at the start of Season 3 – you'll need to boot up Black Ops Cold War first in order to register him as a playable agent in Warzone, though.

Six new weapons are coming to the games as part of Season 3, too:

PPSh-41: SMG (Launch Week) – Obtain the PPSh-41 for free, ready to use in Black Ops Cold War and Warzone at Tier 15 of the Season Three Battle Pass.
Swiss K31: Sniper Rifle (Launch Week) – Aggressive sharpshooters will be in their element with this new rifle, whether it’s sniping out in the wilds of Warzone or pushing forward on objectives in Black Ops Cold War.
Ballistic Knife: Melee (Launch Week) – Available in Black Ops Cold War at the launch of Season Three and in Warzone mid-season.
CARV.2: Tactical Rifle (In-Season) – Boasting moderate firepower with solid recoil control and a large ammo pool, the CARV.2 cuts the deepest when used for mid- to long-range engagements.
AMP63: Pistol (In-Season) – Expect this weapon to output high amounts of damage in a short period of time thanks to its full-auto nature, which makes it highly effective in close quarters.
Baseball Bat: Melee (In-Season) – Obtain the Ballistic Knife, CARV.2, AMP63, and Baseball Bat during Season Three in one of two ways: complete an in-game challenge to obtain the free base weapon, or pick up a bundle with a Blueprint version when it appears in the Store.

More about each of these weapons can be learned here.

Black Ops Cold War is set to get four new multiplayer maps, too. These are: Yamantau (6v6, launch week); Diesel (6v6/2v2/3v3, launch week); Standoff (6v6, in-season); and Duga (multi-team, in-season).

Sticks and Stones mode wil make a return, too, right at the beginning of the Season. "It’s every Operator for themselves, with each player deploying with the R1 Shadowhunter crossbow, Ballistic Knife, and a Tomahawk," says a blurb. "Earn score with crossbow and Ballistic Knife kills, and eliminate enemies with the Tomahawk to bankrupt their score to zero. The first player to reach the score limit or the player with the highest score when the timer expires wins."

The upcoming Multi-Team Elimination mode will also arrive in-season, and brings the last-team-standing experience to Black Ops Cold War’s biggest maps, where multiple teams of four will fight to survive ever-expanding radiation zones. Redeploys will be limited and loadouts will be restricted, so you need to make sure you play strategically and reservedly.

Finally, here are the sizes of the updates you can expect each of the games to require in order to allow Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Warzone Season 3 to boot up:

Black Ops Cold War: