Call of Duty Season 5 release date, guns, leaks, Warzone changes, and more

There isn't much time left in Season 4 of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. The new season, Season 5, set to arrive in the first week of August will be here very, very soon. But fret not: Here is everything you need to know, so far, about Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Season 5, from its release date to the new Operators, weapons, and other exciting changes coming to Verdansk.

When is the release date for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Season 5?

On July 30, Infinity Ward announced that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Season 5 will begin on August 5.

The announcement was made on a major Instagram post that not only announced the August 5 release date, but also a hint at some big pieces of new content.

What new guns and changes will Season 5 add to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare?

Generally speaking, a new season of Call of Duty includes a slew of new updates for players to enjoy. That means new Operators and Operator skins, new guns and weapons, new maps, changes to the wide-open Verdansk map in Warzone, and a slew of game patches to better balance the competitive gameplay.

In a blog post for Season 5, Infinity Ward introduced the Shadow Company, a new in-game faction within the Allegiance who represent the changing dynamics of the ongoing battle in Verdansk. Players will get to choose Shadow Company Operators in both multiplayer matches as well as the stand-alone battle royale game, Warzone.

What do you want to see from Call of Duty 2020 and future Warzone updates? Take our poll!

Some early leaks, based on what enterprising fans find in the game's files, may reveal what guns are coming to Modern Warfare. Based on several June 11 tweets from well-known leakers in the Call of Duty fan community, weapons like the Spas-12 shotgun (remembered from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 in 2009) and the Intervention, a sniper rifle also from Modern Warfare 2 may return to the series in Season 5.

How will Warzone change in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Season 5?

Late in Season 3, Infinity Ward introduced bunkers to the open field of Verdansk. These bunkers acted as ominous teasers for the 2020 Call of Duty game, rumored to be titled Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War.

Due to the inclusion of inactive nukes and several other uncovered secrets, fans started speculating Season 4 would cause some extreme changes to Verdansk. Like, blowing it up.

That hasn't happened, yet, so it's unknown just how much Warzone's map will change in Season 5 if at all. That being said, Video Games Chronicle claims from sources that the football (or rather, futbol) stadium, a key landmark in the game, will open its doors to have an interior space for players to bunker down, regroup, and find more loot. A moving supply train is also expected to appear on the map sometime during Season 5.

This isn't a big change to Warzone necessarily. But due to the sheer size of the stadium, it may be a big change for the map, as the open space may allow players to think of a new strategy as they drop into Verdansk with their crew.

Who are the new Operators for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Season 5?

Just as Season 4 introduced Captain "Mr. Mutton Chops" Price, Gaz, and Roze to the roster of playable multiplayer Operators, Season 5 is sure to add even more.

On a July 30 Activision blog, Infinity Ward revealed Shadow Company, a new group within the Allegiance. As Infinity Ward summarized, Shadow Company is a "splintger group" made up of "Allegiance Operators who have grown impatient with Coalition progress under the command of Captain Price."

"[F]ormed without compromise, ready to take the war directly to Mr. Z and into Verdansk and deal with terrorist threats directly," wrote Infinity Ward.

Shadow Company is made up of three characters:

• Roze, an already-released Operator formerly with the Jackals.
• Velikan, a mostly-unknown Operator who, like Krueger, prefers to hide his identity. "A shadow of a shadow."
• Marcus "Lerch" Ortega, a former U.S Marine who re-entered combat when civilian life bored him. He is considered the leader of Shadow Company.

One more character for Season 5 is rumored: A character named "Woods," which Call of Duty players theorize may be Frank Woods, a crossover character originating from the separate Call of Duty: Black Ops series. Because the Warzone bunkers are (again, theorized) teasers for the next Call of Duty game, fans believe Frank Woods is being kept prisoner somewhere in Verdansk. And there are two solid pieces of evidence that they may be right.

First, an Easter egg — part of a collection of "Intel" found in Warzone — was uncovered by a YouTuber, TheGamingRevolution. It is a printout of a brief conversation shared by two unknown speakers. The conversation discusses "prisoner" that one speaker decides to "Put him in the spire box. Let him rot."

The description sounds vaguely close to Frank Woods, a supporting (and sometimes leading/playable) character in the Black Ops series. First appearing in Call of Duty: Black Ops in 2010, Woods memorably had to be rescued from a shipping container containing rotten corpses in a story mission in 2012's Call of Duty: Black Ops II.

The second piece of evidence are leaked audio files, all identified as belonging to a "Woods." Little is known about these recordings except it was not done by original Frank Woods actor James C. Burns.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Season 5 is expected to begin in August 2020.