Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War release date, trailer, multiplayer and pre-orders

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Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War brings the iconic series to the next-gen

Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War
(Image credit: Activision)

After months of leaks and teases, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is official. The next installment in Activision's wildly popular shooter series explores the Cold War of the early 1980s, with a new single-player campaign as well as the return of Black Ops' beloved multiplayer and zombies modes. 

Black Ops Cold War will also herald the series' arrival on PS5 and Xbox Series X, which could make it the most technically impressive Call of Duty yet. Here's everything we know so far about Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, including the game's release date, latest trailers and more.

  • PS5: Release date, price, specs, games and more
  • Xbox Series X release date, price, pre-order, controller and more

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War trailer

The debut Cold War trailer sets up the game's story, which has returning characters Woods, Mason and Hudson pursuing a mysterious villain named Perseus in the midst of the Cold War. We see lots of intense campaign action, a scarily lifelike Ronald Reagan, and a tease of what looks like some promising new multiplayer content.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War release date

(Image credit: Activision)

Black Ops Cold War will release on Nov. 13 for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and PC. 

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War pre-orders

Black Ops Cold War is currently available for pre-order on the Microsoft Store, PlayStation Store and Battle.net. The base game will cost $60, while a $70 cross-gen version will allow you to play the game across your PS4/PS5 or Xbox One/Xbox Series X.

There's also a $90 ultimate edition, which gets you the cross gen bundle, 3 operator skins, 3 vehicle skins, 3 weapon blueprints, a Battle Pass bundle and a confrontation weapons pack.

Pre-ordering will get you early access to the game's Open Beta, which will kick off at a to-be-determined time.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War multiplayer and zombies

The Black Ops Cold War multiplayer reveal trailer gives us our first look at player-vs-player action, which looks like it'll have a lot of vehicular combat. We can see motorcycles, helicopters and all manner of all-terrain-vehicles battle it out. 

Black Ops Cold War will offer distinct playable Operators with unique loadouts, and promises a return to pure gunplay after the more acrobatic future antics of recent Black Ops games. Classic modes such as Team Deathmatch, Domination, Hardpoint and Kill Confirmed will be present, as will Control from Black Ops 4.

New modes include VIP Escort, a 6 vs 6 gametype in which teams take turns to protect or kill a VIP player on the opposing team. Combined Arms ups the scale with 12 on 12 battles featuring lots of vehicles including snowmobiles and tanks. Finally, Fireteam will see 10 teams of four battle in large arenas.

Post-launch maps and modes will be free, and there will be a shared progression system with Call of Duty: Warzone that allows you to use items and unlocks in both games.

Black Ops Cold War will also bring back Call of Duty's beloved zombies co-op mode. We don't have many details just yet, but expect an evolved take on the game's usual 4-player co-operative action -- possibly with some celebrity guests like we've seen in the past.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War campaign

(Image credit: Activision)

Black Ops Cold War will thrust players into the geopolitical warfare of the Cold War in the 1980s. Players will pursue a mysterious villain named Perseus, who "is on a mission to destabilize the global balance of power and change the course of history."

Returning characters Woods, Mason and Hudson will be joined by new operatives, in a single-player story that spans such locales as East Berlin, Vietnam and the Soviet KBG headquarters.

Black Ops Cold War will thrust players into the geopolitical warfare of the Cold War in the 1980s. Players will pursue a mysterious villain named Perseus, who "is on a mission to destabilize the global balance of power and change the course of history."

Returning characters Woods, Mason and Hudson will be joined by new operatives, in a single-player story that spans such locales as East Berlin, Vietnam and the Soviet KBG headquarters.

Michael Andronico
Michael Andronico

Mike Andronico is Senior Writer at CNNUnderscored. He was formerly Managing Editor at Tom's Guide, where he wrote extensively on gaming, as well as running the show on the news front. When not at work, you can usually catch him playing Street Fighter, devouring Twitch streams and trying to convince people that Hawkeye is the best Avenger.