New Warzone map ‘Rebirth Island’ teased in Black Ops Cold War roadmap

With Black Ops Cold War fast approaching, Warzone players have just been given their first hint at an entirely new map coming soon and it appears as though we’ll be returning to a familiar location: Rebirth Island.

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Activision unloaded a huge pile of Warzone intel on November 5. From how Modern Warfare and Black Ops Cold War will sync up, to a new unified progression system, and even the Season One roadmap, there was a ton to digest. However, one hugely important detail was subtly slipped in among the info dump.

While the community gravitated towards the return of Nuketown and a new Prestige system, Warzone also featured in the first seasonal breakdown as well. Referred to as a ‘Classified Warzone Experience,’ something new is on the horizon when Season One launches on December 10.

But what exactly is this new experience?

Taking a closer look at the image shows chunks of obscured text. One line, in particular, is cut off, only revealing ‘eniya Island.’ This can only mean one thing, Vozrozhdeniya Island, or ‘Rebirth Island’ when translated into English.

This particular island will ring a few bells for veterans of the CoD franchise, as well as those brushed up on their Soviet history. Vozrozhdeniya Island was used as a secret bioweapons testing site throughout much of the 20th century. From Anthrax to weaponized smallpox, scientists on the island manufactured and studied lethal diseases.

Not all went according to plan, however, as a number of researchers on the island were infected by weapons of their own creation. In the CoD series, players visited this very same island in the ‘Rebirth’ mission in the original Black Ops. Instead of real-world diseases, scientists in this fictional take were developing Nova 6.

This lethal concoction seems to have overrun the island based on wording in the new Warzone teaser. “Effects are instantaneous. Violent coughing, vomiting,” and “[bleeding?] from the eyes,” are just some of the symptoms outlined. This horrific outbreak sets the stage for a new Warzone experience.

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The island itself was once positioned in the Aral Sea, which can clearly be made out in the accompanying image.

Obviously, there’s no telling exactly how this new experience might play out. It could be as simple as Rebirth Island becoming a fully-fledged second map in Warzone. Though there’s also every chance this plot of land serves as host for something entirely new.

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With deadly diseases infecting its inhabitants, perhaps we’ll see some new enemy types in a unique mode. Biochemical weapons could be scattered across the area. Only time will tell how this classified experience unfolds.

We won’t have to wait long to find out though; Black Ops Cold War Season One kicks off on December 10.