Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War unleashes free Zombies week

The Call of Duty franchise's Zombies mode has been around for more than a decade, so it's hard to imagine there being many "firsts" that can be tied to it. With that in mind, Treyarch wants to give those who have never experienced it a chance to check it out in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. For the first time in franchise history, Zombies mode is getting a special free trial, starting later this week.

The news comes from the Call of Duty website. Two different Zombie modes will be available to all users, while a third one will be available to PlayStation users only. Here's what players can expect to see:

Die Maschine: This game mode plays out like a traditional rounds-based Zombies mode, allowing for up to four players. Teams must work together and utilize various weapons, equipment, Scorestreaks, and Field Upgrades to run through the vast Poland map, partially inspired by the original Zombies map from Call of Duty: World at War. Players will also be able to bring along weapons earned through the Black Ops Cold War Battle Pass.
Cranked: Inspired by an old Jason Statham classic, players are on a timer and must kill zombies before that timer runs out. If the timer expires, the player explodes.
Onslaught (PS5 & PS4 only): This is a two-player Zombies mode where duos are confined to a piece of the map until they can charge up a Dark Aether Orb. Once the Orb is charged, they can move to a different area of the map, where more powerful enemies await.

Those who try out Zombies are welcome to keep their progress and carry it over to the full Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War package upon purchase. The free Zombies trial will be available on PC (via the Blizzard app), PlayStation, and Xbox from January 14-21. It will drop alongside the upcoming mid-season update, which is set to add new content to the game's multiplayer.