Black Ops III: What We Know So Far

With the official Call of Duty®: Black Ops III Reveal trailer coming out today, a significant amount of confirmed and unconfirmed intelligence has been released. So what do we know so far heading into the reveal? All that information can be found right here in one place.

Game’s Description

Black Ops III’s description was revealed through the official website’s source code:

Call of Duty®: Black Ops 3 is the first title for next-gen hardware in the critically acclaimed Black Ops series. Developed by Treyarch, the award-winning creator of the two most-played games in Call of Duty® history. Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 deploys players into a dark, twisted future where a new breed of Black Ops soldiers emerges and the lines are blurred between our own humanity and the technology we created to stay ahead, in a world where cutting-edge military robotics define warfare. With three unique game modes: Campaign, Multiplayer, and Zombies, providing fans with the deepest and most ambitious Call of Duty ever.

Marketing Tease Review

Black Ops II Clues

After it was confirmed that Treyarch Studios would be making the next installment in the Call of Duty franchise, the “Message of the Day” on Call of Duty: Black Ops II was updated to state, “and so it begins…” The image located beside this message depicted the a lone tree.

A popular gaming YouTuber, “LiamFTWinter” revealed that a hidden trident logo was fixed behind the lone tree. It appears to be a possible faction logo for Black Ops III.

https://twitter.com/LiamFTWinter/status/585866763528757248

Snapchat Stories

Call of Duty’s Snapchat account became active and changed its username to “Dr. Salim.” It released a multitude of stories, teasing in preparation towards their next installment. Minor details were released within these snaps, including Dr. Salim’s comments on his subjects, references to the past Black Ops’ titles, and snippets teasing at the next title, Black Ops III.

Trevor “TmarTn” Martin has released analysis videos on all the snapchat stories released by Call of Duty over at his main YouTube channel. Here is his latest video on the snaps:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGLY88MXKU8

Mysterious Twitter Affiliates

Two new Twitter accounts, @TheUnmarkedMan and @JaxiPlanet appeared that seemed to be related to Black Ops III. They teased some details, and gained popularity very quickly. It aroused even more attention seeing that “TheUnmarkedMan” was being followed by Treyarch.

TheUnmarkedMan tweeted out a statement similar to that of the Black Ops II – Message of the Day. Later, this account shared JaxiPlanet’s link to a Soundcloud audio clip, which was related to Black Ops III.

https://twitter.com/Jaxiplanet/status/591031028199751680

https://twitter.com/Jaxiplanet/status/591324674216230914

Official Teaser Trailer Recap

Reveal Tease / “Ember” Tease

Two teaser trailers have been officially released so far for Black Ops III.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7Tx9k0C7Ic

The Reveal teaser was the announcement that Call of Duty: Black Ops III was the next game in the series for 2015. It contained spirling numbers, hidden clues, and comments from past Black Ops’ titles. The numbers formed into the Black Ops crouching soldier, that was used for box art.

It also included a new comment from an unknown man stating, “Our greatest barrier is our own fear. Our own doubts. The only thing holding us back is how far we are willing to go.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bfr053KdD6w

The Ember tease revealed a huge amount of information. The majority of the video showed technology advancement. It happened to reveal the primary time period, which will be 2065. It also released the basis of the game’s background, focusing on future warfare against the United States’ newest super soldiers.

Hidden Clues

Small snippets of hidden clues were placed throughout both videos.

• The number “115” appeared throughout the Reveal teaser in reference to element 115 within Zombies.

• Coordinates: 1.300° N, 103.8° E – New Town Primary School, Queenstown, Singapore.
• Coordinates: 30.0500° N, 31.2333° E – 6 October Bridge, Cairo, Egypt.
• Coordinates: 47.3667° N, 8.5500° E – Gefängnis prison, Zürich, Switzerland.

• Trident Logo reappears within the Reveal tease.

• Unknown Zombies (faction) logo

Release Date

Non-Traditional Friday Release

A retail poster for Black Ops III at Gamestop was revealed, showing that the game’s release date would be on “11.6.15,” which is Friday, November, 2015. This is unusual, because Activision favors Tuesday release dates, not only for games, but for reveals and other Call of Duty related material.

Pre Order – Beta Access

The leaked poster’s headline also stated “Beta Access” at the top. Beta will be available through Black Ops III preorder. Beta will only be available for current-gen consoles (PC, Xbox One, Playstation 4), but this does not confirm whether or not the game will be made available for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. It has been unannounced as to when the beta starts/ends.

At the bottom of the poster, it stated:

Beta will be available only on the following platforms: PlayStation® 4, Xbox One, and PC. Actual platform availability and launch date(s) to be determined. See www.callofduty.com/beta for more details and Beta launch dates for each platform. Limited time only, while Beta codes last, at participating retailers.

Poster, Box Art, and Screenshot Leaks

https://twitter.com/Long_Sensation/status/591721347610443776

Campaign / Co-Op Campaign / Multiplayer / Zombies

Campaign / Co-Op Campaign Descriptions

A Call of Duty Campaign unlike anything before it.

Co-Op Campaign

Treyarch elevates the Call of Duty social gaming experience by delivering a campaign with the ability to play cooperatively with up to four players online, using same battle-tested network infrastructure and social systems that support the world-class Multiplayer and Zombies game modes.

Cinematic Arena-Style Play

Designed for co-op and re-playability, players encounter all the epic cinematic gameplay moments Call of Duty is known for delivering as well as new open area arena-style gameplay elements designed to allow players to approach the game with a different strategy each time the play.

Character Progression

And now, every player is completely customizable: from weapons and loadouts, to abilities and outfits, all with full progression systems and a personalized armory to show accomplishments, providing a constantly-evolving campaign experience.

Multiplayer Description

Prepare for a leveled-up multiplayer

New movement system

With Black Ops III, Treyarch premieres a new momentum-based chained-movement system, allowing players to fluidly move through the environment with finesse, using controlled thrust jumps, slides, and mantling abilities in a multitude of combinations, all while maintaining complete control over your weapon at all times.

Tailored Map Design

Maps are designed from the ground-up for the new movement system, allowing players to be successful with traditional movement, as well as advanced tactics and maneuvers.

Specialist Characters

Black Ops III multiplayer also introduces the new Specialist character system, which allows players to rank up and master each specific character’s battle-hardened capabilities and weapons. With this addition to Traditional and Weapons XP progressions systems, Black Ops III multiplayer gives players three different ways to rank up.

Zombies Description

Fight the Undead in an all-new horror story

All-new Narrative

No Treyarch title would be complete without its signature Zombies offering – a full-game experience with its own distinct storyline right out of the box.

XP Progression System

Black Ops III Zombies is the most immersive and ambitious Call of Duty Zombies to date, with a full XP-based progression system for players that adds depth and re-playability to engaging gameplay Zombies fans have come to expect.

Be sure to be on the lookout for the Call of Duty®: Black Ops III Reveal Trailer releasing sometime today. Stay up-to-date with all #BlackOps3 news over at our Twitter – @eSportsNation.