Everything we know about Call of Duty: Cold War and Warzone Season 3

What's on the horizon for Call of Duty: Cold War and Warzone Season 3? Well, it's finally happening, 'the end’ is coming to Warzone next week. After months of patiently waiting, we'll get to see how the greatly anticipated nuke event pans out so we can hopefully stomp around a new map, even if it turns out to just be a 1980s version of Verdansk.

We're expecting Activision to reveal more details over the next week, so we'll be updating this article often. For now, we have several rumours and leaks to dissect, along with some interesting items found by data miners. Here's everything we know about Call of Duty: Cold War and Warzone Season 3, including the release date, what on earth is going on with Warzone's map, and more.

Release date

When is the Call of Duty: Cold War and Warzone Season 3 release date?

The Call of Duty: Cold War and Warzone Season 3 release date is April 22. This launch date has been an ongoing rumour for months now, and it also happens to be the day the current battle pass expires. 

Following an announcement on Twitter yesterday, it looks as though the in-game nuke event is scheduled to kick off the day before, on April 21 at 12pm PT/ 3pm ET/ 8pm BST. We're expecting the zombies' advances to finally coax those in the know to make a drastic decision, which will presumably see the original Verdansk map go out with a bang.

Warzone map

Warzone Season 3 new map: What's happening to Verdansk?

After months of waiting, the end is nigh for Verdansk. It's been a long time coming, but we have a good idea of what to expect thanks to recent leaks. At the end of March, VGC reported that the new Warzone map will be a 1980s version of Verdansk.

The leak included a short trailer showing popular POIs like Stadium, Dam, and Downtown appearing to have received a Cold War-era lick of paint. The clip briefly shows a familiar structure from Cold War's campaign, and an underground tunnel or mineshaft. It's plausible that this new underground system could replace the existing subway stations, but we'll have to wait to find out.

To add fuel to the rumours, players have also stumbled on a Moscow 1980 Olympics sign tucked away in Warzone's Superstore. This makes the 1980s theory all the more persuasive as it slots perfectly into Cold War's setting and timeline.

There’s a Season 3 Teaser in Superstore. 1980 Moscow Olympics from r/CODWarzone

Interestingly, images are still surfacing that seem to imply the existence of an entirely new Warzone map. We've been hearing about a map set in the Ural Mountains that effectively stitches together various Fireteam maps together since last year. 

The new battle royale map was believed to have been cancelled, and the few images we have seen of the map suggest it was originally designed for Blackout (Black Ops 4's battle royale). Reliable Call of Duty leaker @ZestyCODLeaks has recently shared images of the map in question, but there's still a lot of uncertainty as to whether it will ever be released in Warzone. Remember, we've already visited the Ural Mountains in Cold War's Outbreak mode.

A Verdansk makeover and a new map feels a bit too good to be true, so I think it's best to temper our expectations. Official teasers all point to the Verdansk zombie threat leading to a Warzone nuke event that'll destroy the map as we know it. It's nice to dream about a completely fresh map set elsewhere, but I think a 1980s re-skin of Verdansk is far more likely.

New modes and vehicles

What else is coming to Warzone in Season 3?

Dataminers have already found a 'Verdansk Goes Boom' Calling Card' which may be the reward for taking part in an in-game event, akin to the Know Your History mission last year. A selection of new vehicles have also been spotted in the game files, including a pickup truck, police car, and "big bird".

New modes may well be on the cards, too. Rebirth Island is rumoured to get a Night mode, potentially even before Season 3 starts. Dataminers also believe that we'll get a new 'Payload' mode which could split the server into two large teams that'll have to duke it out and try to contain each other on their respective sides of the map.

It wouldn't be a new season without some limited-time modes, and three were reportedly added to the game files as part of the Season 2 Reloaded patch. Details outlining what these modes actually are haven't been shared just yet, and we may have to wait a while to find out. Here are the names of the modes added in the update in the meantime:

• 'BRZ'
• 'Bodycount'
• 'Hunt'

Weapons

Are new Cold War & Warzone Season 3 weapons on the way?

Speaking of the Season 2 Reloaded update, Zesty also found three new weapons in the game files:

• 'Fast Burst': Assault Rifle
• 'Ballistic Knife'
• 'Spray: SMG

As Zesty mentions in the thread, "these files are usually only added when weapons are in the final stage before release". So, we could see these shortly. A new Baseball Bat was also found after a previous update, but it's unclear whether that will be released this season.

While a new assault rifle and SMG are pretty standard additions at this point, the Ballistic Knife would be a nice touch. This special weapon has been featured in most Black Ops games and it also appeared in Modern Warfare. Knives aren't always the best secondary to equip in Warzone, but the Ballistic Knife's ability to shoot a single, lethal bullet at enemies from mid ranges could make it a viable companion for our primaries. If this is introduced in Season 3, it'll be a lot of fun in Cold War's Multiplayer modes.

Operators

Cold War Season 3 Operators and maps

There's no word on Cold War's upcoming Multiplayer maps and Operators, but I'm expecting Activision to begin dropping more hints over the next few days. Karla Rivas just joined the NATO faction this week, so we can certainly afford to wait a bit longer for another new operator. Either way, we receive new Operators every season, and Cold War has stuck to a steady cadence of new maps since it launched in November.

Will we need a DeLorean fitted with a flux capacitor to get to 1980s Verdansk?

This would be very cool, especially since Cold War already has a Back to the Future-inspired map. However, I think the zombies/nuke event event will get us where we need to be without the help of Doc Brown's marvellous invention.

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