COD 2020: What Can Black Ops Cold War Learn From Modern Warfare?

Call of Duty 2020, widely reported to be known as Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, is expected later this year.

With the popular franchise almost certain to make its debut on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X this year, we could potentially see big changes in graphical fidelity if nothing else. With the game predicted to be a Black Ops reboot, there are plenty of similarities to last year's game.

What else do we want to see from Call of Duty 2020, and what can it learn from last year's reboot of Modern Warfare?

Recycled Maps Are Not New Maps

In fact, our main gripes come with the game's multiplayer - ironic given that the previous entry (Black Ops 4) made that a priority, jettisoning single-player entirely.

The launch maps for Modern Warfare were, largely, disappointing. Full of opportunities to camp, it felt all too easy to stumble into a cycle of death and respawns.

While Infinity Ward deserves a lot of credit for adding more and more maps, many of them are remade from the original Modern Warfare trilogy. We love Rust, Shipment, Vacant, and more as much as the next virtual soldier, but we'd like to see more originality.

Black Ops 4 was guilty of the same, launching with almost half of its maps being remakes. While the Black Ops series has no shortage of iconic maps (expect Nuketown to be there), we'd love some fresh arenas to battle in.

Keep Zombies

Zombies has become the part of Call of Duty that is wholly unpredictable. Giving the development team a chance to cut loose and try out all kinds of crazy new ideas, Zombies constantly impresses with its originality.

Simply put, Zombies has to be a part of a rebooted Black Ops – although with it being something of a calling card for Treyarch, we expect it will be here. And considering how tepid the reception was to the new version of Spec Ops mode, I think many players would much prefer Zombies.

Gunfight

While Black Ops often experiments with game modes (one in the chamber and gun game spring to mind), Modern Warfare's addition of Gunfight is one of the most inspired modes we've seen in the franchise in the last few years.

Pitting two teams of two against each other, it offers the white knuckle thrill of knowing you only have one life to live per round but in a condensed match type that relies upon skill, positioning, and communication.

Treyarch would be mad to throw it out for CoD 2020.

Blackout Or Warzone, Battle Royale Is A Must

We can't help but feel a little bit sorry for Blackout. The franchise's first foray into the battle royale space was much better than people give it credit for, adding elements like Zombies, the rapid attaching of weapons, and a map made up of trademark Black Ops locations.

While Warzone might have eaten Blackout's lunch somewhat, it's clear that this year's Call of Duty needs a battle royale mode at launch.

By launching Warzone in March (quite successfully, we might add), Activision left players to dig for info for it in the months leading up to release – we'd rather have the full, bullet-ridden course available at once, instead of adding arguably the most entertaining mode months after launch.

Ok, we know, it's a lot to ask. We want new maps, but we also want zombies, and gunfight, and battle royale. But, with the template that has been refined by Treyarch and Infinity Ward for well over a decade, we reckon the team could pull it off – and make Call of Duty 2020 the finest entry yet.