Skip to main content

Long read: The beauty and drama of video games and their clouds

"It's a little bit hard to work out without knowing the altitude of that dragon..."

If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.

Dataminers are knocking on The Red Door

What's inside Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War's leaked internal alpha?

Dataminers are knocking on The Red Door, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War's leaked internal alpha - with interesting results.

Dataminer Prototype Warehouse managed to unearth some interesting phrases in the files of the internal alpha, which appeared up on the Microsoft Store this week.

Apparent names or codenames for multiplayer maps include "Black Sea", "KGB", "Miami", "Moscow", and "Tank".

(Of note: what looked like pre-alpha gameplay of a Call of Duty map called Tank emerged in June.)

There are apparent campaign mission names or codenames, too, including "Stakeout", "Armada", "Prisoner" and "Revolution". These words are prefaced by the likes of "nam" and "nic". Current speculation suggests "nam" is short for Vietnam, and "nic" is short for "Nicaragua". Previous Black Ops games have seen campaign missions set in both Vietnam and Nacaragua.

Then there are words linked to Warzone, the free-to-download battle royale: "Duga", "Forest", "Russia", and "Ski slopes". As we've reported, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is currently being teased within Warzone via various Black Ops and Cold War-themed Easter eggs.

And there's a solitary mention of something zombies relater: silver. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is a Treyarch game, so of course there will be zombies mode.

So, how did dataminers dig into a file that's supposed to be impossible to download? Well, it looks like some people have managed to download The Red Door from the Microsoft Store. Those who have claim it allows users to access a splash screen but progress no further. It's listed as a demo titled Call of Duty: Black Ops CIA. Closed Internal Alpha? Or perhaps a nod to the CIA's involvement in the campaign? Perhaps both, if Treyarch is having a bit of fun.

We're starting to get a clearer picture now of what Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is, potential information about the campaign and a rough idea of what is being planned for Warzone. The launch of season five in early August is expected to bring with it even more revelations - and hopefully, finally, an official announcement.