Everything you need to know about Call of Duty Season 3 Reloaded

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Season 3 has its big mid-season update due out very soon, and players on select platforms might already be able to preload it. Curious about what the 11 GB download brings to the game? Want to get the content as soon as humanly possible?

Here’s everything you need to know about the 1.17 update.

When is the Black Ops Cold War 1.17 update release time?

As indicated by those who are able to preload the upcoming patch, the Black Ops Cold War Season 3 mid-season update releases May 19 at 12 a.m. Eastern. If you are not able to preload the update yet, that’s when most people should be able to download it. As with all game updates, fans should allow 15-20 minutes beyond that time for deployment to fully complete.

However, even though the 1.17 update technically releases at that time, it’s worth noting the content won’t be fully unlocked in Black Ops Cold War itself until May 20 at 12 a.m. Eastern. Balance changes and the like may be implemented early, but new features will presumably be reserved for May 20.

Is there a Black Ops Cold War 1.17 update preload?

PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 users get special treatment when it comes to preloading the latest Call of Duty update. In order to see if you’re eligible for the preload, press the Options button on the Black Ops Cold War icon of your home screen and select “check for updates.”

The preload is live on PS4 and PS5 alike, so, if you don’t happen to see it, it may be because you’re not part of the select group the patch has been offered to. Typically the preloads are reserved for those who’ve played Black Ops Cold War recently, so you may have to wait a bit longer if you’re trying to update your game after a long break.

What to expect from Black Ops Cold War Season 3 Reloaded

The Season 3 Reloaded update is fairly substantial across Cold War and Warzone alike. Treyarch and Raven Software will likely make detailed patch notes available in the coming hours, but here’s what we know so far.

• Rambo and John McClane: ‘80s action heroes will soon invade Warzone, Black Ops Cold War and Call of Duty: Mobile. Rambo and John McClane will be sold May 20 through June 19 in their own respective Operator bundles.
• Die Hardpoint Mode: This is a high-stakes version of Hardpoint in which capturing an opponent’s point grants your team a speed boost but also starts a 30-second timer. Letting the timer reach zero triggers an explosion, so you must add time by capturing more Hardpoints and getting kills. You’ll also get additional stat buffs for eliminations as well.
• New Maps - Standoff and Duga: 6v6 Standoff returns from Black Ops II and Duga makes its debut. Duga is a portion of the current Outbreak map that has been sectioned off for Multi-Team Elimination play.
• Multi-Team Elimination: Players head to the Ural Mountains in groups of four to scavenge for supplies while avoiding gradually expanding radiation zones. In other words, this is battle royale on Fireteam maps. Win by being the first quad to exfil from the final zone.
• Baseball Bat and AMP63 Pistol: The pistol is the only real standout here, as it could be a legit challenger for the now-nerfed Sykov pistol. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like you’ll see this one on May 20, though.
• Outbreak main quest: In Zombies, Outbreak gets its first main Easter Egg quest that players will attempt to solve. The next full Zombies map is expected to release at the start of Season 4.
• New PoIs in Warzone: Nakatomi Plaza, Survival Camps, and CIA Outpost are being added to the retro Verdansk map.
• Power Grab mode in Warzone: 100 players parachute onto Verdansk, but they can’t be revived by the Gulag. Instead, teammates must collect Dog Tags from fallen enemies similar to the Kill Confirmed multiplayer mode. Dog Tags can be used to unlock a slew of rewards including UAVs, respawn tokens, Advanced Gas Masks, and more.
• Ballistic Knife and more in Warzone: Slay enemies with the Ballistic Knife melee weapon or Combat Bow Killstreak. If you’re looking to draw first blood, these are two new ways to do it.
• Balance: Snipers, LMGs, ARs, and pistols are expected to be tweaked, but Treyarch has yet to reveal how specific weapons will change.

That’s all we know about the mid-season update for now, but we’ll do our best to update this information further as new details arrive.