Despite Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War no longer being the active Call of Duty game, Treyarch has recognized that many are still playing its Zombies mode due to the poorly received Call of Duty: Vanguard Zombies. As such, the developer has added a special reward to the game for those that completed all six main quests in Zombies, with this Super Easter egg going live yesterday.
Unfortunately, despite this Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War update providing several rewards, many were quick to criticize Treyarch due to the contents of the Super Easter egg. Some felt that the actual process of accessing the rewards was not in depth enough, while others criticized the quality of the rewards themselves. Some players have been extremely negative about the update, though this is odd for a few reasons.
Treyarch Did Not Need To Add a Super Easter Egg To Black Ops Cold War
As pointed out by Associate Director at Treyarch Kevin Drew, this Super Easter egg was meant as a swan song for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. A way to thank the community for keeping up with the story and completing every main quest, this was a neat move on the part of Treyarch - especially because there was no need to add it into the game at all.
While Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is still getting some new multiplayer content in the form of a Jungle remaster and fresh bundles, the proper support for Zombies came to an end with the launch of Forsaken. Not only is Treyarch making Call of Duty: Vanguard Zombies content now, but it is working on Call of Duty 2024 and, if rumors are to be believed, a standalone Zombies game for 2023. With this in mind, nobody was expecting a Super Easter egg to be added months after Forsaken’s launch, but Treyarch went out of its way to reward the community anyway. As such, responding harshly to content that was completely unexpected is odd.
The Rewards Are a Step Up From Treyarch’s Previous Super Easter Egg
Some players are let down that this Super Easter egg lacked a hidden boss fight or Director’s Cut mode like Infinite Warfare Zombies, but there was no reason to expect something of that magnitude. Treyarch made it very clear what this Super Easter egg would include in its blog post, telling players that they would need to find an area and collect some bonus rewards. Anybody expecting more was a victim of overhype, as there was no reason to believe a Director’s Cut-level update was imminent. Treyarch also did not hype up this bonus Easter egg through trailers or massive, dedicated posts, making it clear that it was a small but welcome addition from the start.
Players have also been critical of the rewards the Super Easter egg provides, but once again, there was nothing to suggest that players would be getting more than emblems, Calling Cards, and a watch. These are fine enough bonuses, and while Treyarch absolutely could have been clearer on what the rewards would be, the community’s anger about free content is odd. Due to this update, players received a bonus batch of cosmetics that they would not have gotten otherwise.
Lastly, it’s worth pointing out that the main reward is far better than what players received in Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 Zombies. For completing all that game’s main quests, gamers would start all their matches with an RK5, a 500-point wall weapon. For completing the Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War quest, players will start all future matches with a purple rarity weapon - saving on salvage that would have cost them several rounds to gather. This greatly speeds up matches in both Outbreak and regular Zombies. While it may not be as great as the Infinite Warfare Zombies rewards, this Super Easter egg still provides a very useful upgrade.
For the record, there is nothing wrong with being disappointed and wanting something more like a Director’s Cut mode or a Richtofen Operator bundle. However, there was nothing suggesting that content of that size was coming, so the overwhelming negativity around this update makes little sense. At the end of the day, this Super Easter egg was a gift from Treyarch that provides bonus rewards that players would not have had otherwise. It may not be game changing, but it is a great gesture and should be treated as such. While giving Treyarch feedback and asking for better rewards from a future Super Easter egg is completely fine, toxicity is not. Hopefully, this update is a learning experience for fans that had unrealistic expectations, as what should have been a moment of positivity is becoming yet another source of controversy in the Zombies community.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
