CALL of Duty fans may finally get their first look at the next instalment of the massively popular game series next week.
Social media influencers have received mystery packages from the game’s US developer Activision, with instructions to open them on August 10.
The large wooden boxes are secured with padlocks and are accompanied by a letter from Activision.
Crates have been sent to the owners of popular fan-run Call of Duty (CoD) social media accounts, YouTubers and members of the media, IGN reports.
“This just arrived from Activision,” Twitter account CharlieIntel, which covers CoD news and leaks, posted to its 1.6million followers on Thursday.
“There is a small letter that came with the box that says we have to send a text to a number on Monday, August 10 to get the code to unlock the box.”
It’s not clear why Activision sent out the boxes, though it’s safe to assume they’re linked to a big CoD announcement.
The developer hasn’t said much about the latest entry to the franchise, but one Activision exec recently confirmed a game is in the works.
Rumours suggest the game will be named Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War and will release in October or November.
Activision told CharlieIntel their box should not be opened until August 10 at 12pm ET (5pm BST).
Gamers can expect a big announcement from Activision around then. Whether that’s about a new game or an update to Warzone, Call of Duty’s battle royale mode released in March, is not clear
Call of Duty games come out just before Christmas each year, and 2020 is unlikely to be any different.
Developers will be putting the game through its paces to ensure it launches in the best possible shape – with as few bugs as possible.
The game is expected to run on the PS4, Xbox One, PC and the upcoming PS5 and Xbox Series X.
Sadly, we don’t have an exact release date beyond “2020” for the new Call of Duty game.
According to Activision, this is despite the ongoing global health crisis – which has created “challenges” for developers.
“The shift to remote working does add complexity in some areas of the game development process,” Activision’s COO Daniel Alegre said.
“We are implementing mitigation measures to address each of these areas.