Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War was released on November 13 and takes the CoD franchise into the Cold War era. MeinMMO has gathered some key questions about the new shooter and provides answers.
With a new game, a few questions often arise concerning the small but significant details of the title. This FAQ at MeinMMO is here to address those important questions about Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War.
If your most pressing questions about the new CoD aren’t answered here, feel free to write them in the comments. We will try to answer them as well.
General Questions and Answers about Cold War
CoD 2020 has been online since the early morning hours of November 13. Here are the first reactions to the multiplayer.
Yes, but not at release. Cold War aims to replicate the great success of CoD MW with similar formulas and therefore relies on a season system that brings a fresh Battle Pass into play with each new season.
Like Modern Warfare, Cold War supports extensive crossplay features and you can play with all platforms together. If you link your accounts correctly, you can also switch platforms and use your progress from PlayStation on PC.
Questions and Answers on Cross Features of Cold War
How does Crossplay work? To use it, you need to connect your Activision account with Call of Duty or your console accounts. Then, your Activision friends will also be displayed in-game, allowing you to play together in a lobby. It works just like in CoD MW.
What is Black Ops Cold War Cross Gen? The new consoles, PS5 and Xbox Series, are covered by crossplay. This means you can theoretically form a squad of 6 players, with each player on a different platform/console – PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X or S, and PC (Battle.net).
Will the Cold War upgrade to PS5 / Xbox Series be free? No, you will have to pay a small fee for the upgrade to the next console generations. However, this upgrade is included in more expensive versions, such as the Ultimate Edition. The standard version does not offer it.
What about the upgrade from PS4 to PS5 and Xbox One to Xbox Series? If you’re sure you want the upgrade, get the digital “Cross-Gen Bundle”. For an additional fee of €5, you will receive the version for the old devices and also for the new consoles once they are released.
If you buy a digital version on PS4, you can purchase an upgrade later. Even if you get Cold War as a CD, an upgrade is possible. However, you will also need the PS5 with a drive, as the Blu-Ray is also required for playing.
- PS4 Digital can be upgraded to PS5
- PS4 Disc can be upgraded to PS5 (Disc required for playing)
For the digital version, the same applies for Xbox. Here you can easily switch to the new generation. But not with the disc version – there will be no upgrade to Series X|S for this.
- Xbox One Digital can be upgraded to Series X|S
- Xbox One Disc can not be upgraded to Series X|S
Can I play my PS4 / Xbox One version on next-gen? Yes, and this applies to both platforms. Thanks to the backward compatibility of next-gen consoles, you can fully use your old versions, but without the next-gen features like better graphics and the like. So you don’t have to upgrade to play Cold War on the new consoles.
When does the next-gen upgrade come out? There is currently no fixed date for the release. Activision Support mentions “later this year”. So a release shouldn’t take too long now.
Questions and Answers about the Content of Cold War
What modes does Cold War offer? The new Call of Duty comes with a total of 3 major modes: Solo campaign, PvP multiplayer, and PvE zombie mode. All 3 parts of the game offer completely different experiences and together form the new Cold War.
What can the campaign do? Here you play soldiers who are hunting a kind of super spy in the 1980s. You fight your way through scenes all over the world, including former East Berlin. Here you will find reviews from our colleagues:
- GamePro says it is the best CoD campaign in years
- GameStar thinks that CoD has finally dared to do something with the story
What can the multiplayer do? For many, the highlight of a CoD and the most important content to keep players motivated for months. Therefore, Cold War this year offers weapons and locations from the 1980s, more about that below in “Questions and Answers about the Multiplayer of Cold War”.
What can the zombie mode do? In the PvE mode, you fight with your team against hordes of undead and try to somehow survive and get to safety. The mode comes with its own perks, weapons, and mechanics, as well as one map at launch: The Machine. You can find more about the zombie mode here.
Questions and Answers about the Future of Cold War
What does the Battle Pass of Cold War offer? With each new season, a fresh Battle Pass starts, which can reward you with more than 100 cosmetic items in exchange for experience points (Battle Pass Tiers). You have the entire season to level up the pass.
How much does the Battle Pass of Cold War cost? To unlock the premium path, you need to invest 1,000 CoD Points, which is about €10. You level up the pass regardless of whether you buy it or not. However, if you complete it, the purchase is definitely worth it. Because you will receive more CoD Points than you invest.
Some levels are also free, and you receive the items without the premium path.
When does the first season start? The release of the first season is set for December 10. Here you can find the first roadmap for it.
Is new content available before that? The first small content supply will be on November 24: The Chaos Map Nuketown ’84 will come into play.
Does new content cost anything? Gameplay-relevant content will be completely free again. New weapons, maps, modes – everything important here will be available without having to pay extra coins. Only cosmetic items cost extra.
What happens with the first season? You could almost say that multiplayer really gets going with the first season:
- New maps and modes for the multiplayer of Cold War
- The 2vs2 gunfights from CoD MW return
- New weapons are added to the game
- New zombie modes
- A previously “secret” Warzone experience
- The first Battle Pass of Cold War starts
- Warzone, Cold War, and CoD MW share leveling progress and grow closer together
- The complete prestige system goes online
Questions and Answers about the Multiplayer of Cold War
How many maps does Cold War have at launch? The new CoD offers 10 maps at start:
- Miami, Moscow, Satellite, Garrison, Checkmate (pure 6vs6 maps)
- Cartel, Crossroads, Armada (12vs12, 6vs6)
- Alpine, Ruka (40vs40)
So there are 8 maps available for the standard 6vs6 modes. For comparison: CoD MW only had 6, but Black Ops 4 had 16.
Are there camos again? As in CoD usual, you can farm many camos over the next weeks and months. Find out here how to unlock the rarest weapon skins in multiplayer. In multiplayer, you can unlock a total of 38 camos for a weapon. In addition, there are another 38 in zombie mode. In total, therefore, 76 camo skins for each weapon.
Is there a prestige system? Cold War brought a prestige system back into play that is more extensive than anything CoD has offered before. You can only unlock a limited number of prestige ranks per season, but afterwards, there are “Season Master Ranks” that allow you to reach another 1,000 level tiers and reward you every 50 levels. You can find all details about the prestige system here.
What about SBMM? According to initial reports (via dailyesports.gg), CoD will return with the same matchmaking system as in Modern Warfare. However, this topic is rarely addressed by developers, so no concrete statement can be made here. It appears that Skill-Based Matchmaking is also a topic in Cold War.
Is there splitscreen in Cold War? Yes, you can start many modes in Cold War in splitscreen. To do this, connect a second input device and press the displayed button behind “Splitscreen” in the main menu of the modes (Multiplayer or Zombie). However, to play online, your teammate needs the full setup: Activision account and a multiplayer subscription on the consoles (PS-Plus / Xbox Live).
Questions and Answers about Warzone with Cold War
What happens to my cosmetics from Modern Warfare? You can use your cosmetic items in Warzone across two CoD generations, i.e., from CoD MW & Cold War. Everything you earn or buy in Modern Warfare and Cold War will also work in Warzone.
However, you cannot use cosmetics from CoD MW in Cold War and vice versa – this only works in the Battle Royale Warzone.
Does Warzone take over the engine from Cold War? No, Warzone retains the engine from CoD MW and the modified “Cold War” engine remains in the Cold War. However, Warzone will receive content in the “Cold War” style.
How does Warzone work with Cold War? More or less, everything remains the same. Warzone will receive new content inspired by the Cold War setting, but otherwise, everything stays as usual.
While Warzone does not take on the altered gameplay feel of Cold War, the two shooters do come together closely. All cosmetics and weapons from Cold War will eventually also be available in Warzone. Even the progression systems will be merged.
Here, CoD MW also comes into play. With the start of Cold War’s first season on December 10, it doesn’t matter which CoD part you play – you will level for the Battle Pass and your CoD progress across all 3 CoDs – CoD MW, Cold War & Warzone. For MeinMMO author Sven Galitzki, this is the best solution for all CoD players.
Is Warzone a threat to CoD: Cold War?
Listen to a discussion in the MeinMMO podcast about the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. Will the integration of Cold War into the successful Warzone succeed?
System Requirements of Cold War on PC
How many GB does Cold War consume? Expect around 80 GB on PC when you install all parts of the game, without downloading the enhanced textures. According to the developers, consumption can thus still rise to 125 GB.
What are the system requirements? Activision shows a total of 5 configurations under different requirements to run Cold War smoothly. We have compiled the recommended and minimum requirements for you. In the image under this paragraph, you can see the higher requirements if you want to use ray tracing or 4K resolution.
Minimum requirements – Low quality but it works
- Processor: Intel Core i3-4330 / AMD FX-6300
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- HDD (at release): Multiplayer – 50 GB / all game modes – 82 GB
- Graphics card: Nvidia Geforce GTX 670 / Geforce GTX 1650 / Radeon HD 7950
- Operating system: Windows 7 (64-bit) or Windows 10 (64-bit) (version 1803 or higher)
Recommended system requirements – Full HD with 60 FPS in most situations
- Processor: Intel Core i5-2500K / AMD Ryzen R5 1600X
- Memory: 12 GB RAM
- HDD (at release): 82 GB storage space
- Graphics card: Nvidia Geforce GTX 970 / GTX 1660 Super / Radeon R9 390 / AMD RX 580
- Operating system: Windows 10 (64-bit) (latest update)
If you have any questions left about Cold War, feel free to write them in the comments. We will try to answer them as quickly as possible. If you’re still unsure if Cold War is for you, check this out: 7 things you should know about CoD Cold War before buying.
