Leaked Black Ops character returning to Warzone fuels CoD 2020 rumors

As the focus of the next Call of Duty remains shrouded in mystery, a leaked return of iconic Black Ops character Frank Woods could paint the picture of what lies ahead.

We have now entered July without an official reveal of Treyarch’s upcoming Call of Duty release. This marks the longest stretch into any year in franchise history without any indication of what’s coming next. Typically, most CoD titles are teased much earlier into the year, with full gameplay blowouts coming around the time of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in June.

Developers at Treyarch have been particularly quiet in 2020. Though a litany of leaks through Infinity Ward’s Warzone, may have uncovered their ambitious plans. Rumors have circulated for months around this year’s title being a “soft reboot” of the popular Black Ops series. This would coincide with Warzone’s ongoing seasonal storyline that will supposedly tie everything together.

A brand new set of leaked voice lines have now reaffirmed this theory. Iconic Black Ops character Frank Woods could be dropping in as a future Operator in the hugely popular battle royale.

Woods served an integral role in the narrative of the Black Ops series, spanning four entries across decades of interwoven stories. As Treyarch seemingly prepares for a reboot of the series, Woods appears to be making his way to Warzone as a playable Operator.

Various lines of code have been dug up from the June 29 update. These lines refer to Woods by name and outline various quotes from the character in certain states of combat. Not only that, but dataminers have also been able to pluck the audio for some of these voice lines as well.

A new voice actor seemingly portrays Woods in this iteration as 10 new lines of dialogue have been leaked. All stemming from quotes of the character while executing others in the battle royale.

• Read more: 10 guns to avoid using in Modern Warfare & Warzone

There’s no telling just when Woods may be playable. As more and more historic Call of Duty characters join the fight against Imran Zakhaev in Verdansk, it’s likely that Woods serves as the center-piece of a future season. No different to the likes of Ghost in Season 2, Alex in Season 3, and Captain Price in Season 4.

How everything comes together and transitions into the future release remains unknown. However, Infinity Ward has confirmed that support for Warzone will be continuing well into the future. With rumors of Blackout making a return this year, perhaps the two will even merge down the line.

Without word from Treyarch, everything remains speculative for the time being. In the meantime, here’s an in-depth look at every scrap of information we have on the 2020 Call of Duty release.