Recent leaks from the ProtoWarehouse Discord channel, as well as data helpfully extracted from data miners, suggest the AN-94 assault rifle could be coming to Call of Duty soon. Found prior to the season 4 release, the AN-94 files have not yet yielded a new assault rifle in-game.

Historically, this actually matches patterns of the franchise, which often tease players with in-game items that would more accurately be found in the next title. The arrival of the AN-94 would seem a huge nod to the anticipated Call of Duty 2020 installment, which is largely expected to be a Black Ops: Cold War title.

Files for the AN-94 were found well prior to season 4, as can be seen above. Additionally, new rumors started popping up again this week as shown below, with popular content creator @ModernWarzone sharing both the AN-94 confirmation, as well as the rumored weapon inspect feature coming soon. With the next title yet to be announced, this rumor and these files may be more exciting than the new weapon themselves, in that they suggest the next title will be coming, and hopefully, sooner rather than later.

Related: Rumor: Next Call of Duty Will Be Black Ops: Cold War 

The AN-94 first appeared in the franchise in Black Ops 2, and historically was positioned as the heir apparent to the AK-74 rifle. It remains to be seen how Infinity Ward will develop the weapon, but in reality, the weapon had a unique two-shot burst, which would vary significantly from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s current stable of single, triple burst, and automatic fire variants of weapons. If the damage happened to be higher than 50 to the chest or head with this weapon, a double burst firing mode could potentially topple the FAL as the current single click kill champion.

Given recent tweaks to the meta loadout of most professional streamers, the Grau and the MP5 have recently been the recipient of game-balancing nerfs. The weapons remain viable, thus, compliments to Infinity Ward are in order for not breaking the weapons. That said, more variants of weapons are hitting the battlefield in both Warzone and Modern Warfare multiplayer, perhaps the AN-94 can be launched as a viable new companion to the newly released Fennec SMG and its incredibly high rate of fire.

Source: Twitter, Gfinity

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