Recent reports have added more weight to the rumors that the 2024 installment of Call of Duty will belong to the Black Ops series and will be set in the Gulf War.

Speculation about Call of Duty 2024 being a Black Ops title first arose in February, with suggestions that Treyarch was working on the game under the codename Cerberus. Further support for this came in July when actor and singer Luke Charles Stafford hinted at his involvement in the game through a Facebook post referencing Black Ops and mentioning his character, “Ratcliff”.

According to a new report from Windows Central, multiple sources familiar with Activision’s plans have confirmed that next year’s Call of Duty will indeed be another Black Ops game. The report also suggests that the game will delve into a nuanced narrative of the Gulf War, focusing on various participants in the conflict.

The storyline is expected to segue into the end of the Cold War era and explore its aftermath. In terms of gameplay, the early 90s setting will result in a return to traditional military combat technology and familiar Black Ops gadgetry, as opposed to current and near-future tech.

Furthermore, Windows Central states that Treyarch has allotted the longest development time ever for a Call of Duty title and is aiming for a late fall or early winter 2024 release. There are also rumors of a substantial pre-order early access bonus, providing several days’ access to the base game and potentially weeks for other game modes.

Given that the latest Call of Duty, Modern Warfare 3, has only been out for a short while, it is unlikely that any official information about the 2024 installment will be shared for quite some time. Eurogamer’s Chris Tapsell has been critical of Modern Warfare 3, describing it as an attempt to extract value from players rather than provide it in his review.