While a few notable Call of Duty streamers have received teaser videos hinting at what’s coming in Call of Duty Modern Warfare and Warzone Season Five, Activision and Infinity Ward have finally released an official teaser trailer for the upcoming season themselves, offering a few vague hints about what’s coming next and confirming the Season Five release date of August 5th.
The trailer’s primary focus is the addition of Shadow Company, a new faction aligning with the Allegiance “in name only” and bringing new operators to the battlefield (Fans of Modern Warfare 2 should recognize the name “Shadow Company”). As the fight on the ground continues to evolve, “Shadow Company arrives without pretense – they operate on their own terms.” But the devil’s in the details. Many of the shots seem to show flashes of light that could be explosions or just interesting camera effects. There are also a number of shots of burning wreckage of buildings and the battlefield of Verdansk, but it’s unclear if those are existing parts of the environment or the aftermath of an impending disaster.
At one point there’s a shot of a nuke shell opening, showing the core. A couple other scenes focus on the mysterious bunkers that have been at the center of theories for a few Seasons now. And, of course, it wouldn’t be a complete Season Five tease without shots of Stadium, a location many are assuming will be opening somehow in Season Five. Whether it simply opens up, or gets blown open as the result of a bomb isn’t entirely clear at this point, but most evidence seems to point to the latter. You can check out the trailer for yourself below to try to suss out any additional details:
The Activision Blog offers a few additional bits of intel about Shadow Company, including the three initial Operators who will make up that force: Rozlin “Roze” Helms (formerly Jackals), Velikan, and Marcus “Lerch” Ortega. Roze is currently available in the game as a premium purchase, brought midway through Season Four. Velikan and Lerch appear to be all-new Operators coming next season, and it seems Velikan may hold some kind of secret, as his identity is completely and intentionally hidden behind full armor. Could Velikan end up having a connection to Call of Duty 2020 (which leaks confirm to be Black Ops Cold War)? After all, speculation has pointed to this year’s Call of Duty game being revealed/transitioned into via the free-to-play Warzone.
Activision and Infinity Ward (and arguably, Treyarch) are playing their cards close to the vest on this one. It seems that a lot of Season Five’s biggest secrets will be left for players to discover when it launches on August 5th. Will we be getting a massive map change, as has been heavily rumored? Will Stadium indeed open up? Will Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War get a reveal somehow? All we know for certain is that Shadow Company is joining the fight and things in Verdansk are evolving as the Armistice falls apart. For now, enjoy double experience this weekend to finish up your battle passes, and get ready for Season Five to launch next week.