Cold War leak suggests ‘Barebones’ mode from BO4 will return

Hamza Khalid

Black Ops Cold War is slowly filling up with new content as its first season draws near. A new leak has hinted that some of that content is from Black Ops 4. The Barebones mode might be coming back, and here’s what we know so far.

Season 1 of Black Ops Cold War is just around the corner. When it arrives on December 10, we’re going to see some brand new maps, weapons, and other content. It seems that some of that new Call of Duty content will be Black Ops 4 related.

Some recent tweets from Call of Duty Leaks hinted that we’d see the return of fan-favorite multiplayer mode from Black Ops 4 as part of the post-launch update. This is referring to the Barebones mode that gained immense popularity among COD fans back in the day.

What is Barebones mode?

In normal Black Ops 4 multiplayer matches, you’d have to pick between Specialists and standard gear. Specialist soldiers had unique abilities that would make them powerhouses in battle. This would make the match feel unbalanced, so it didn’t go over well with fans.

The Barebones mode would even the game out by placing class restrictions on Specialists’ abilities. It would also remove gear, body armor and operator mods, and gear. Equipment would be limited to one use per life and no recharge. Manual healing and fog of war would be in place as well.

This mode was widely praised for making the matches feel like classic Call of Duty, so its potential return is bound to excite many Black Ops fans.

Is Barebones going to be in BOCW?

The leaker was rummaging through the BOCW’s game files and found a few references to Barebones there. Mainly, some audio files of the announcer speaking the mode’s name. You can hear it for yourself below:

If this mode made its return in Cold War Season 1, these restrictions would adapt to the new game. The changes would be minimal, and the Barebones experience would be similar to how it was in the last Black Ops game.

https://twitter.com/CODColdWarNewz/status/1333503666444259340?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1333503666444259340%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcomicbook.com%2Fgaming%2Fnews%2Fcall-of-duty-cold-war-black-ops-4-dlc-mode%2F

We haven’t heard about any other Black Ops 4 content making their return BOCW Season 1, but we might soon. Such news would ease the minds of fans who complained about the low number of multiplayer maps that were available at launch.

Since these are just leaks, it’s worth considering that the files might be leftover from when Specialists were in Black Ops Cold War. At this time, we haven’t heard anything official from Treyarch or Activision that confirms this information. Once we do, we’ll be sure to update you.

About The Author

Hamza is a Content Creator & Publisher at Charlie INTEL, who graduated from Bahria University with a Bachelors degree in Business Administration. He's spent the past few years covering news and guides for various video games, including Call of Duty and Apex Legends. He loves digital art, movies, and comic books. You can contact Hamza at [email protected].