Reputable Call of Duty leaker ‘TheMW2Ghost’ has claimed that an in-game challenge in Black Ops Cold War shows that League Play will make a long-awaited return when the full game drops in November.
Despite it’s immense popularity in Black Ops 2, League Play has not yet returned in a Call of Duty game. While we’ve seen many Ranked modes – Black Ops 3’s Arena or Black Ops 4’s World League Play – the fan-favorite competitive mode has not featured in some games, including 2019’s Modern Warfare.
However, recent leaks from TheMW2Ghost suggest that an in-game challenge, similar to the one that was completed on October 17 to earn an extra day of the open Beta, will make way to reveal a League Play mode in the full game.
The leaker claimed that an in-game challenge, found in the files of Black Ops Cold War, is heavily indicative of a League Play mode featuring, either at launch or as post-launch content.
“There’s a Challenge in Black Ops Cold War which is for League Play,” they tweeted. “WTF, some weird/cool challenges for Zombies too.”
While this is not confirmed – or even unlocked – at the time of writing, the very reference to League Play in the game’s files is very good news for fans of the competitive mode.
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WTF, some weird/cool challenges for Zombies too👀
— MW2 OG (@TheMW2Ghost) October 18, 2020
It’s worth encouraging a degree of caution though. Past Call of Duty games have had Ranked modes confirmed as coming post-launch, only for the mode to never materialise. A number of CoD games, such as 2019’s Modern Warfare, have settled for a Call of Duty League playlist, rather than a fully fledged Ranked mode.
Treyarch on a Black Ops Cold War Ranked mode
Back in early October, David Vonderhaar was asked about the possibility of a Ranked Play mode. He responded: “Have you seen a Black Ops game without a competitive agenda?”
On an Xfinity stream today, @DavidVonderhaar was asked about Ranked.
He says “have you seen a Black Ops game without a competitive agenda?” More info to come soon. No ranked mode in beta.
— CharlieIntel (@charlieINTEL) October 8, 2020
What League Play would mean for SBMM is also up in the air. Many have criticized the seemingly high levels of skill-based matchmaking in the Beta, but believe a Ranked playlist could mean that SBMM is reduced in public matches. We’ll have to wait and see on all fronts.