“Call of Duty: Ghosts” DLC Includes Playable Michael Myers: ‘Onslaught’ Release Date Announcement Video Shows Map Packs, Weapons And ‘Halloween’ Surprise

Activision (NASDAQ:ATVI) has announced the release date for the first set of new map packs and other downloadable content for “Call of Duty: Ghosts.” The DLC is called “Onslaught,” and “COD” fans can download it on Jan. 28 for the Microsoft Xbox One and Xbox 360.

The release of “Onslaught” will offer players four multiplayer maps, a new weapon that can be used as an assault or sniper rifle, and a new “Extinction” level.

One surprise from Activision’s “Onslaught” announcement video is that “Ghosts” players who successfully complete a field order on the horror film-influenced level “Fog” map can actually play as psychopathic murderer Michael Myers. The character, from the “Halloween” film franchise, makes an appearance as the first licensed character from outside of the “Call of Duty” series to be included in the game.

Michael Myers will wield an ax, and according to “Call of Duty: Ghosts” multiplayer designer Joseph Cecot, “You don the mask… the soundscape changes, everyone knows you’re coming, and you just tear them up.” The “Fog” map also features three key areas, including an area with tall grass for cover, cabins in the woods, and a barn with clear view of both.

There are four multiplayer maps in the “Onslaught” DLC that are smaller than the ones that players are used to in “Call of Duty: Ghosts,” according to Mark Rubin, executive producer. “What we’ve done is create four small to medium maps; they have a very classic Call of Duty play style,” Rubin says in the “Onslaught” map pack release video.

The “Ghosts” DLC release will also feature the Maverick, a new weapon that can be used as either an assault rifle, or an A2 sniper rifle. According to Rubin, the Maverick is actually “two weapons based on the same receiver and stock.”

Cecot adds that the Maverick is a “highly accurate, very dependable rifle. [It] comes with a sniper kit, and it has a really cool teched-out sniper scope.”

All four new maps for “Call of Duty: Ghosts” will feature special field orders. On “Bayview,” a seaside tourist town, players will be able to call in an artillery strike. Cecot notes that players can actually place sentry guns inside of the map’s movable trolleys to take out enemies.

“Containment” sees a Mexican town separated by a river, allowing players to fight across the sides with multiple entry and exit points down below. The map also features a mortar strike field order that detonates a radioactive missile on the map, destroying anyone in the area.

“Ignition”, a remake of “Scrapyard” from “Modern Warfare 2,” is a U.S. spacecraft launch facility in Florida – much like NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. A field order ignites the spaceship’s test engine to incinerate players below it.

The “Onslaught” map pack offers a new, survival-based “Extinction” level that also kicks off a five-part miniseries that tells the story of why the “Cryptid” aliens have come to Earth. “Extinction” also features weapons derived from the game’s scorpions, along with two new aliens: the “Phantom,” a jumping alien that becomes invisible during leaps, and the massive “Breeder.”

The “Onslaught” map pack is the first DLC release for “Call of Duty: Ghosts,” and it will appear on Xbox 360 and Xbox One before Playstation 4 (PS4) and PS3. Activision has not announced a release date for the Sony consoles or PC.

Follow Thomas Halleck on Twitter @tommylikey