Everyone who is anyone in the first-person shooter space knows about Black Ops. The Call of Duty subseries is arguably the most iconic portion of the franchise, having spawned a whopping seven games since the first one debuted in 2010. It has the most diverse, mixy range of games going, and it trumps even Modern Warfare in terms of popularity, some would argue.
In new and reportedly rare images that surfaced online recently, it seems that Black Ops could have been branded very differently, had things worked out another way. The series that we know and love almost started life with a completely different name.
Black Ops Could Have Been Cold Warriors
In a series of images posted on social media by ‘ForwardLeaks’ (originally taken from TheSpoopatron), it was revealed that Call of Duty: Black Ops could have been named Cold Warriors. Bizarrely, this reference comes 16 years later, and from an unlikely source… Nintendo DS game files.
Thanks to the information posted online, several more references were unveiled, including cut features, campaign segments, and even weapons that were scrapped ahead of Black Ops’ subsequent rebrand to that name and the game’s 2010 launch.
In particular, ‘TheSpoopatron’ went wild on socials, uploading a string of images for early designs of Nuketown, amongst other things.
ForwardLeaks then showcased images of the combat record, multiplayer menu, a multiplayer lobby, and a top screen for Call of Duty: Cold Warriors, along with some early concept art.
It’s hardly unheard of for games to undergo such sizeable changes through development. Recently, we exclusively reported on a massive alteration to a developing Far Cry title, which has had its identity completely flipped.
Ultimately, I think ‘Black Ops’ ended up being a much stronger name than ‘Cold Warriors’. Would we have seen seven releases of Call of Duty: Cold Warriors? Probably not.
Do you think Cold Warriors was a good name or not? Let us know on the Insider Gaming Discord server.
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Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
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