Big Call Of Duty Update Adding New Cold War Maps, Plus Die Hard And Rambo Content

The big Season 3 Reloaded update for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is arriving on May 20, and it includes a lot of new content for the shooter games. This covers new maps and modes, along with the heavily hyped Die Hard and Rambo DLC.

In this story we're running through all the new content headed to Black Ops Cold War. For more on the update in general, check out our roundups for what's new in Season 3 Reloaded for Warzone and Call of Duty: Mobile, both of which are getting substantial updates.

Rambo And Die Hard's John McClane

Rambo and John McClane will be available to buy from the Black Ops Cold War and Warzone stores starting on May 19 at 9 PM PT, and they will be available for a month. You have until June 18 at 9 PM PT to buy them.

The Rambo bundle includes Rambo himself, modeled after Sylvester Stallone, along with two finishing moves, three legendary weapon blueprints--an assault rifle, an LMG, and a knife blueprint--as well as a legendary calling card and emblem, and an epic watch and charm.

McClane, meanwhile, can be purchased through the Die Hard bundle that goes live at the same time and for the same month-long duration. The bundle includes McClane's look, based on Bruce Willis, as well as a finishing move, three legendary weapon blueprints--a tactical rifle, two SMG, and an assault rifle--as well as a legendary calling card and emblem, an epic watch, and an epic weapon charm.

Rambo and McClane are new Operators; they are not skins for other characters. Pricing was not announced for the Rambo and Die Hard bundles, but we should find out soon.

New Multiplayer Maps

Black Ops Cold War is getting two new multiplayer maps, the first of which is Standoff. A new version of the original that was released in Black Ops II, Standoff is a 6v6 map that Black Ops fans are no doubt very familiar with. The exploding van on the map makes a return as well.

The other new map is Duga, and it's a larger, multi-team map set in the Ural Mountains. The location may be familiar to Zombies players, as it's been featured in the Outbreak mode.

Activision said of Duga, "Duga offers something for every playstyle, whether you prefer to move through the central admin offices for close-range battles or work your way around the perimeter through the bus depot to the chemical processing plant for long-range battles."

Both Standoff and Duga will be available at launch on May 20.

New Multiplayer Modes

Black Ops Cold War's new game modes, meanwhile, are focused around Die Hard and Rambo. The new Die Hardpoint mode, which will be available at launch, is Hardpoint with a twist.

Capturing a hard point gives you a speed boost, but this triggers a 30-second timer. You can extend the timer but getting kills and playing the objective; standing on your team's Hardpoint pauses the timer, while getting a kill adds 15 seconds to your timer (for a max of 30 seconds). When the timer runs out, you explode. When you get successive kills, you'll also receive improved weapon handling, ADS speed, slide speed, and a bigger explosion when you die.

Activision also teased that there will be some kind of special animation that plays when an Operator is eliminated. "Since this is an action-movie inspired playlist, expect the Operators to put on their best acting chops upon being eliminated, as they are more than prepared to do their own stunts after their health reaches zero," Activision said.

The other new mode, Rambo's Gun Game, launches next week. This is the same Gun Game you know, but with a twist. The rotation of 20 weapons will now have more powerful weapons to fit Rambo's skillset, including the combat bow, the War Machine, the RPG-7, and the Death Machine. To balance things out, all players get a Stimshot.

Another new mode, Multi-Team Elimination, is coming at launch for Season 3 Reloaded. Set on Black Ops Cold War's biggest maps, this mode puts 10 teams of four into battle. This battle royale-style mode challenges teams to be the last ones to survive. Players can redeploy after they are killed, but only in a "limited" way, Activision said. Additionally, loadouts are not available, so you need to find weapons and everything else on the map.

Black Ops Cold War is getting new action movie-inspired medals. These will include nods to Die Hard and Rambo. Some of the new medals include "Light Em Up" (for achievements with miniguns) and "Have A Blast" (for success with explosives).

New Zombies Main Quest, Fishing, And More

The fan-favorite Zombies mode is getting special attention in the Season 3 Reloaded update, too. The biggest thing is that the Outbreak mode is adding its first-ever main quest.

Activision is keeping quiet about what to expect, as part of the appeal of Zombies is discovering things for yourself. That said, the publisher said the events that happen in this quest will "set the stage" for the next round-based map coming to Zombies in season 4 and beyond.

A new World Event is coming to Outbreak as well. Giant "Orda" monsters can now be found across the Ural Mountains, and players who successfully defeat these beasts will earn "powerful rewards," Activision said.

Season 3 Reloaded also adds … fishing. Fishing poles are now available on the map around places with water. You can catch all manner of things, including salvage, armor, perks, or a "special surprise," Activision said.

"And as always, there are other secrets waiting in Outbreak for players to find on their own," Activision said. "Beware the new dangers that lurk in the Outbreak Zone, and keep your eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary…"

Gallery

Cranked 2: No Time To Crank

The Cranked mode for Zombies is getting a special twist on the Firebase Z and Die Maschine maps. This new version of Cranked gives players a knife with the power switched on to start. However, wall buys are disabled and crafting tables are gone. Mystery boxes are still online and they will have new weapons and items; there will be more support-type items than usual. Zombies will now drop lethal explosive equipment in No Time To Crank.

"Just like in the hit prequel to Cranked 2, eliminating your first zombie starts a Cranked Timer. Keep it ticking with each elimination, as the timer’s duration decreases as rounds progress," reads a line from its description.

Custom Mod Support, Weapon Buffs, And More

Custom Mod support is being added to the Apply Blueprint feature so you can save custom blueprints and take them into the Zombies mode.

Additionally, previous-season weapons like the Groza, MAC-10, Streetsweeper, R1 Shadowhunter, and Sledgehammer are now available in mystery boxes and trials rewards.

There are weapon balance changes, too, that are specific to Zombies. Activision separately published the details for these changes on the Treyarch Blog.

The update that adds the new content for Black Ops Cold War goes live today, May 18, at 9 PM PT / 12 AM ET on May 19.

File Sizes

Activision also released details on the file sizes for the updates; the Warzone update is bigger due to optimization efforts.

Black Ops Cold War Update Sizes

• PlayStation 5: 10.3 GB
• PlayStation 4: 7.1 GB
• Xbox One Series X / Xbox One Series S: 13.1 GB
• Xbox One: 8.3 GB
• PC: 10.3 GB

Warzone Update Sizes

• PlayStation 5: 14.6 GB
• PlayStation 4: 14.6 GB
• Xbox One Series X / Xbox One Series S: 15.2 GB
• Xbox One: 15.2 GB
• PC: 14.9 GB (Warzone Only) / 18.1 GB (Warzone and Modern Warfare)