The Call of Duty: Black Ops series has spanned an entire decade, taking the world by storm when it first began in 2010. From the Cold War of the original game to the distant future of 2065 in Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, the series has touched on numerous wars, depicting real world events and fictional battles alike. As such, dozens of Black Ops multiplayer maps have been created, from icons like Firing Range and Summit to forgotten classics like Kowloon and Promenade. However, no map is quite as legendary as Nuketown.
Love or hate the chaotic, cramped gameplay of the map, a Nuketown map (or even two or three) is guaranteed with every release of a Call of Duty: Black Ops game. From the nuke that goes off to the end of the match to the two classic houses and buses in between, nearly every CoD fan knows the map by heart. Casual and experienced players alike have the map’s paths burned into their brains, both due to how much the map has appeared and how well it is designed. With the map’s continued appearances in the Black Ops series, a deep dive into the many unique versions of Nuketown is long overdue.
Many veteran Call of Duty fans would argue that the original appearance of Nuketown is the best, and nostalgia may not be the only motivation for that. There is something about the simplicity of the very first version of Nuketown that just feels right, whether it be the classic yellow and green houses or the empty desert around the area that players are fighting in. For any players that appreciate the 1950’s aesthetic or have an interest in the nuclear testing that went on at the time, the realistic nature of this fake town is incredibly interesting. The first version of the map even features a fun Rolling Stones easter egg as well, which can be triggered by shooting the map’s speakers in quick succession.
It is hard not to appreciate such a classic CoD location, and it would certainly seem that many players do based on the love that people have shown for the map over the many years since its inception. When people think Nuketown, often it is this first version of the map that comes to mind. It is the traditional version of Nuketown remade by Fortnite players, used in Call of Duty Mobile, and shown off in virtually every fan made “Best Of” list for CoD maps. With almost every adaptation of Nuketown playing the same and only being different aesthetically, it is hard to beat the classic Cold War vibes given off by the one that started it all.
The sequel to the original Black Ops also included a sequel to Nuketown, with the map looking quite different this time around. The addition of Nuketown 2025 saw the map donning a retro-futuristic style, with the map redesigned to look like a suburb from the 1960s. The map’s two houses were updated heavily to fit the new style, with a cleaner look to match the map’s new tone. Mannequins are equipped with a new attire straight out of Mad Men as well, with a city backdrop indicating a civilian population outside of Nuketown as opposed to an empty Desert like in most of its other appearances.
Despite Nuketown 2025 having a populated city around it, the nukes still hit whenever a match reaches its conclusion. The bomb drops behind Nuketown’s main sign, decimating the gorgeous recreation of a 1960s neighborhood. Perhaps the coolest thing about the Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 version of Nuketown is its retro game easter egg, which sees gamers using the map’s player counter to enjoy old school Atari games like Pitfall. With even the character model’s hands adopting a retro game texture as they hold a joystick, the easter egg completes the interesting recreation of Nuketown in Black Ops 2.
While Nuketown 2025 was well-received by players due to its unique style and an overall love for Black Ops 2’s multiplayer gameplay, the Zombies mode of the second Black Ops also saw a version of Nuketown. The Zombies bonus map was exclusive to Xbox 360 for a time, with Nuketown Zombies making its way to PC and PS3 a bit later. The map featured a unique mechanic of perks dropping in every five rounds, with the order being random and greatly changing the flow of a match depending on player luck. After all, getting Juggernog on round 5 is quite different from getting the coveted perk at round 20, giving the map a unique feel when compared to other Zombies maps.
The use of randomized perks combined with exclusive weaponry like the M27 assault rifle made for a solid bonus map that was appreciated by a fair bit of the Zombies community. While the map was far, far smaller than Black Ops 2 Zombies’ launch map TranZit, its tiny size made for a fun challenge — especially when playing with multiple people. Seeing the Zombies’ eye color change at round 25, due to the map taking place at the same time as Moon’s easter egg, was a neat touch as well. While this destroyed nighttime version of the original Nuketown is certainly not the greatest Zombies map ever made, it is a fun addition, nonetheless.
Another game, another Nuketown. Call of Duty: Black Ops 3’s version of the classic map incorporated the game’s extensive use of the number “3” within its title, with the map adopting the title of NUK3TOWN and taking place within a simulation. Perhaps the biggest visual redesign of Nuketown ever seen within the Black Ops series, NUK3TOWN certainly looks the part of a 2065 location. With the buses featuring unfinished data streams on their rooftops, technology-heavy buildings replacing the old-school houses, and even a deadly laser strike instead of a nuclear bomb, the map looks incredibly different from the Nuketown that inspired it.
While liking NUK3TOWN’s visuals connects directly to opinions on futuristic Call of Duty games in general, it is worth noting that this is the only version of a multiplayer Nuketown map to slightly adjust the gameplay. Though it is a small addition, a ramp was added to accommodate Black Ops 3’s wall-running, a change to the map design that worked well for this specific version of the map. The real star of NUK3TOWN is the mannequin easter eggs, however, as players can bring the white dummies to life through two complicated easter egg. One mannequin easter egg turns the bots into hordes of Zombies, while a second NUK3TOWN mannequin easter egg makes them move like Doctor Who’s weeping angels — only chasing the player when not being watched. Love or hate this version of the map, it once again knocks it out of the park in the easter egg department.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4’s Nuketown map was initially teased on Twitter, with a sign that teased snow and Russian involvement. Set in the appropriate location of Chernobyl, this version of the map re-adopted the plain Nuketown name. While it too got a visual redesign, including Soviet Stars littered everywhere, some new statues, and Russian clothing on the map’s mannequins, it took things back to the basics and looked much more like a colder version of the very first Nuketown than anything else. Classic Nuketown features remained as well, such as the hidden RC-XD path, with the sneaky killstreak route providing an inside view of a nuclear missile silo.
Black Ops 4’s Nuketown released first on PS4 before arriving to other platforms shortly after, and its biggest change was that it saw a nuke launching from the map at the end of the game as opposed to a nuke hitting the location. While it may have lacked the punch of a nuke hitting the map as the final scoreboard appears, seeing the missile launch from Nuketown was still a neat change of scenery. The map’s main easter egg saw a continuation of NUK3TOWN’s mannequin zombie tradition, with hordes of the clothing dummies falling from a purple rift in the sky.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 featured another version of Nuketown within Blackout, the CoD series’ first foray into battle royale modes. While Nuketown was originally used to show Blackout’s size and the scale of the map, the iconic location was explorable in Blackout as well. With an expanded version of the cul-de-sac from the original Nuketown and the addition of an underground bunker to the map, Nuketown Island was complete and became a hotspot for player activity in Blackout.
With Call of Duty: Warzone set to see an island added soon, Nuketown joins Alcatraz as a potential candidate for a Warzone addition. Regardless of whether it comes, though, the Blackout version was special. Not only did it provide a consistent place for players to drop if they wanted to get into a gunfight quick, but it was the first chance players had to explore the bunkers that had been teased within Nuketown maps for years. Seeing the other houses in the town was also a welcome addition, and while a nuke may not have gone off in-game at the location, it was still a good use of the Nuketown name.
As if two versions of Nuketown were not enough, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 tripled down on reimaginings of the classic map. First teased by Treyarch via Twitter, the Black Ops 4 version of Nuketown Zombies went by the name of Alpha Omega. Much like Nuketown Island, this map saw the addition of bunkers and new buildings from the Nuketown cul-de-sac — though some players noticed the re-used assets and shared displeasure with the map upon its release. Plenty players still found enjoyment in Black Ops 4’s third Zombies DLC map, however, as the expanded map felt entirely different from the Nuketown bonus map that had appeared in Black Ops 2 Zombies.
While this triple dose of Nuketown was certainly divisive for Black Ops 4 fans, and Alpha Omega was part of a major Black Ops 4 mistake that Black Ops Cold War is repeating, the map did do some things right. The map’s story, for example, answered lore questions fans had pondered over for years by reintroducing factions like Broken Arrow and characters like T.E.D.D. Having four elemental Ray Gun Mark 2’s to build was a blast, and the bunker’s design, while partially made of reused assets, was a fun changeup from the previous Nuketown Zombies map. Having 8 randomized characters to play as led to dozens of unique combos and conversations that made every match feel fresh. While the map was a weak link in BO4’s DLC season that clearly lacked a big budget, it was still a decent Zombies offering overall.
Originally teased through an easter egg in Black Ops Cold War’s beta, Nuketown has been confirmed to feature in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. The latest version of Nuketown is titled Nuketown ‘84, and once again, it seems to be a version of the map with heavy visual redesigns. With only a small image teasing its latest appearance, players are left to guess as to what setting the updated map will have. However, with a graffiti-covered bus and more sand than ever before, a beach setting or post-apocalyptic Mad Max style desert seems likely. With Nuketown having over a half-dozen different looks over the years, it will be interesting to see what players think of the new design when the DLC map arrives to Black Ops Cold War on November 24.
While some players are likely tired of seeing Nuketown appear in every game, it is hard to argue against re-additions of the map when most CoD fans still love to play on it. With Nuketown 24/7 playlists constantly populated by players whenever they get added to a Black Ops game, Black Ops Cold War’s Nuketown ‘84 is sure to be just as popular as all the versions releases before it — regardless of the visual style that the classic map adopts. Nuketown has had a storied history within the Call of Duty franchise, and for as long as the Black Ops series continues, it is a safe bet that Nuketown will live on as well.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War will be available November 13 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
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