Treyarch Developing New Call of Duty?

For those who aren't in the loop, the past few years have been back and forth with the Call of Duty series. We know that Infinity Ward is working on Modern Warfare 3 but what about Treyarch?

Several new job listings have been spotted on the Treyarch official site and Gamasutra. All the job listings have the following at the end of the listing:

“With a successful track record, extensive infrastructure, and strong management, Treyarch has the solid foundation it needs to pioneer the Call of Duty franchise in the future.“

My guess, November 11th 2012 will be the release date for this new CoD game. But, only time will tell.

Possible Modern Warfare 3 Debut & Its Rumored Details, Subtle Project Beachhead Info Emerges

Call of Duty, Activision's powerhouse of a franchise, seems to be alive and kicking as we expected, but the possible rumors of Modern Warfare 3 hasn't stopped since a couple of months ago, it was reported that Sledghammer Games, Raven Software, and Infinity Ward themselves have all been working on it together. Not to mention that the whole Infinity Ward + EA + Respawn Entertainment Vs. Activision fiasco (which is still on-going, by the way) has stopped development of any Call of Duty game since.

Over the weekend, there was a leaked picture from the Official Playstation Magazine, from its UK Division, teasing us with a big 3, which will be available on June 8th. Right below it it says, "The biggest game in the world returns." Since then, all eyes and hears have perked up and ready to hear if anything Call of Duty related even pops up. We haven't heard much up until yesterday at least.

Yesterday, Destructoid discovered that Eurogamer would then report something very unusual and of course very intriguing. Tresco, a UK retail store was caught by surprise that in their own database, "Call of Duty: Project Colossus" appeared and is dated for November 8th, which is always the same window that any and every Call of Duty game releases in.

The other set of info actually came about today, which  are rumored to be Modern Warfare 3 details. According to Kotaku, who has been in contact with an anonymous source has said that the 3rd installment is set to be the biggest one for the Modern Warfare franchise. Like stated before, Sledghammer, Raven, and Infinity Ward are all working on it together and with Jason West and Vincent Zampella gone, there are obviously new heads over there now.

What Kotaku says, from its sources is that the story still continues from where Modern Warfare 2 left off with the war still on-going in the States. No setting has been revealed yet, but everyone is imaging that it will definitely take places in enviroments today; like streets and cities. We may have returning characters as well, like "Soap" and Price, along with a new Russian informant that helps you out. Kotaku also says that Modern Warfare 3 will explore what other big name franchise, Battlefield, is trying to do; making things at a bigger scale and the ability of having destructible enviroments.

The next thing that came up was Project Beachhead, which has had nothing, but speculation. There has been nothing except the fact that "it will on an intergrated online platform for the Call of Duty franchise, providing a "best in class online community" with services that would "supercharge the series like never before". Today, though, Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg and Activision CEO Bobby Kotick in their conference call stated that "it is the response to the passion people have for the game, the amount that people want to engage one another in a connected way. We want to create an experience that was amplifying enough... to be able to be monetized. A lot of new capabilities and services provided free of charge to our customers."

With the fiasco still going between EA, Infinity Ward, Respawn Entertainment, and Activision still going, nothing's stopping the powerhouse of a franchise, Call of Duty from selling itself. Plus, with more on the way, there's no telling when it'll stop, which, in my opinion, is starting to dry out for me.

First Look: Call of Duty: Black Ops' - "Call of the Dead" Escalation DLC Map

We all know that Escalation, the next DLC Map Pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops, is coming within a few weeks. With 4 maps already showcased to us in a trailer, we have yet to see what the 5th map in the DLC entailed, besides knowing the fact that it's for the zombies mode in the game. Well, we didn't know until now.

Opening up, much like and old grindhouse films, we are shown an abandoned boat swarmed with the living dead. Not too long after that, the action kicks in, including the 4 characters that we'll all be all be playing as, unexpectedly too! Pictured above and as seen in the trailer, Danny Trejo, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Robert Englund, and Michael Rooker are kicking some zombie ass. Of course, the father of zombie horror himself, George Romero makes an appearance as well as one of the undead.

"This is Treyarch's tribute to the legendary George Romero, who truly defined the zombie genre and whose incredible work has been such an inspiration to our team. It was an absolute honor to work with such an amazing and talented cast whose passion and energy brought their characters instantly to life.  Fans are going to love this," says Dave Anthony of Treyarch Studios.

With pop culture stepping in with the already awesome zombies mode that Treyarch is known for, since their last Call of Duty game, World at War, it's hard not to pass this off if you're willing to spend 1200 Microsoft Points ($15). I might have to pick up Black Ops again, heh!

Escalation, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2nd DLC Map Pack is set to release on May 3rd for the Xbox 360, as a timed exclusive. No release date has been set for PC or Playstation 3.

First Look: Call of Duty: Black Ops "First Strike" DLC

With Call of Duty: Black Ops having been released only 2 months ago, the first DLC pack will be released in only just 1 more month; on February 1, 2011.

Just today, Treyarch has released the first preview on what's in store for us in the new "First Strike" DLC.

We'll be seeing 5 different maps; Kowloon, Discovery, Berlin Wall, Stadium and Ascension. Ascension will be the only map that will only be used for Nazi Zombies. Although details are almost nowhere mentioned in the video, but it's good to hear that Treyarch will most definitely support Zombies again, just like they did with World at War, since that mode became a multiplayer hit.

Here's some details on these new maps from Treyarch themselves:

Kowloon - "Is inspired by the single-player campaign level...The only map that has ziplines, which will allow players to quickly get Point A to Point B. The trade-off ito that is that you're completely exposed while you're on the zipline...there's also the risk that you're going to get shot..."

Discovery - "An Antarctic research outpost that was a German outpost leftover from World War II...the 2 sides of the map are divided...You might be on a snowbridge and somebody throws a grenade, which collapses the floor around you.

Berlin Wall - "This focuses on the checkpoint Charlie area of Berlin that puts you fighting on the 2 different sides of the wall. So you got East Berlin Vs. West Berlin kind of thing going...if you use [the map] right, you're going to have the competitive edge over your opponent....it's a really great map for snipers."

Stadium - "It's going to provide those close quarters players tight, adrenaline action packed experiences...always be checking your corners and realize these engaging distances are going to be really small, so use that to your advantage"

That's all the details on Black Ops' first DLC that, as mentioned, will be available on February 1, 2011. As far as pricing goes, it'll cost 1200 Microsoft Points ($15). "First Strike" will release first on Xbox 360. As far as we know, there's no date on when it will be released on PSN for Playstation 3, or PC owners of the game.

Call of Duty: Black Ops was developed by Treyach and Published by Activision. The game launched on November 9, 2010