Call of Duty: Black Ops is still giving up secrets 16 years after it launched. Newly uncovered Nintendo DS files reveal that Treyarch originally developed the shooter under the working title Call of Duty: Cold Warriors. Alongside the alternate name, the files uncover cut features, early multiplayer concepts, and campaign ideas that never made it into the final game.
The leaks, which we have to thank 'ForwardLeaks' and 'TheSpoopatron' for finding, also include a design document outlining multiplayer map briefs for Call of Duty: Cold Warriors. According to the files, Treyarch planned battles across Cairo, North Vietnam, Antarctica, Russia, an underwater Soviet facility off the coast of Cuba, and an unnamed African nation.
The briefs outline objectives centered on escorting defectors, recovering a lost American nuclear weapon, rescuing POWs, sabotaging Soviet infrastructure, and gathering intelligence behind enemy lines. All elements that made their way into Black Ops in some form.
A mysterious project known as Apophus also appears throughout several of the mission outlines. Call of Duty developers aren't afraid to embrace history for its codenames, so it's possible this could be a reference to the Egyptian God of Destruction, Apophis/Apep. Speculatively, Apophus could be an early form of the Nova Six gas seen in the Black Ops story. It also spawned the creation of the Nova Crawlers in COD Zombies, first seen in Kino Der Toten.
That's reinforced further, as the documents reference everything from a suspected Soviet supervirus to secret research facilities. One mission in the scrapped FPS game even suggests Treyarch considered a hub-style choice system, hinting that players may have been able to tackle objectives in different ways before the idea was scrapped. One of the more surprising discoveries is an early concept for tracking your Call of Duty stats through a dedicated website.
While the feature didn't make the cut for Black Ops, Activision clearly didn't abandon the idea, as it eventually resurfaced with Call of Duty: ELITE when Modern Warfare 3 launched the following year. It's a small detail, but it shows Treyarch was already considering keeping players engaged outside the game itself. For me, the coolest aspects of this leak are the early iterations of the UI for Cold Warriors. It still retains the CIA interrogation aspect from Black Ops, but with a wholly different color scheme, typography, and vibe.
However, I think the result in Black Ops is far more effective. The COD Zombies menu still gives me chills to this day. There's no way of knowing how much of Call of Duty: Cold Warriors ultimately evolved into Black Ops, but this is a fascinating new chapter in the series's history. The next entry arrives later this year, as the Modern Warfare 4 release date draws closer.