Activision confirms Rambo and Die Hard are coming to Call of Duty: Warzone next week

Call of Duty: Warzone
(Image credit: Activision)

After several days of heavy-handed teasers, Activision has finally confirmed that '80s action hero icons and fellow Johns Rambo and McClane will come to Call of Duty: Warzone as premium operator skins on May 20.

The fun began earlier this month, when the Call of Duty account tweeted stats for a player named Survivorjohn#1009062. It was cryptic, but Twitter user Eric Maynard cracked the code: There are five films in the Rambo series, and according to the Rambo Wiki (yes, there is a Rambo Wiki), our intrepid hero kills a total of 552 people across them. Wow!

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A few days later, a more on-the-nose tease appeared, this one in the form of a fake ad for Nakatomi Duct Cleaning, an obvious reference to Nakatomi Plaza, the building at the center of the original Die Hard. After that, the Call of Duty account tweeted stats for Cowboymcclane#0070030. John McClane was referred to as a "cowboy" several times over the course of the film.

Obviously there was something cooking, and now it's finally official: The action begins May 20.

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And what exactly is "the action?" The details haven't been completely filled in yet, but I would expect skins, some voice lines (I might actually pay real money for the opportunity to run around yelling "Schieß dem fenster" at everyone), and possibly some iconic guns, like Hans Gruber's P7M13 or Rambo's M60. Down the road, we might even see more of these characters turn up: Rambo and McClane are a solid start, but is it really a full-on 1980s-themed follow-up to Black Ops: Cold War without Chuck Norris and Dolph Lundgren? I don't think so.

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.