According to unconfirmed reports from Windows Central, the next instalment in the Call of Duty franchise will return to the Black Ops series and be set during the Gulf War of the early 1990s. The game is reportedly being developed under the codename 'Cerebus', with a likely final title of 'Black Ops: Gulf War'.
The Gulf War, fought between 1990 and 1991, involved a coalition of 42 nations against Iraq. The new game is said to focus on traditional military combat, a shift from the high-tech gadgetry of recent Modern Warfare titles, and will centre on CIA operations.
Unverified leaks suggest a release window of autumn or early winter, consistent with historical launch patterns. Activision may also offer early access to the game's Zombie mode for pre-order customers, a tactic used by other publishers such as Bethesda with Starfield.
Rumours of a Gulf War setting first emerged last year when actor Luke Charles Stafford posted on Facebook about a soldier named Ratcliffe, potentially referencing British SAS veteran Peter Ratcliffe, who served in the conflict and authored the memoir 'Eye of the Storm'.
