Third Black Ops map pack to launch on June 28?

A promotional (but blurry) flyer for what appears to be the third DLC pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops has jumped the gun on any official announcement and made its way onto the internet.

Judging from the screenshot, which made its way onto an unofficial Black Ops forum, the map pack – rumoured to be titled Retaliation – looks like it’s sticking to the established formula: four competitive maps and one zombies map.

The post also claims that the map pack will be released on June 28, although the cropped image does not show the date.

The flyer, which appears to be originating from US retailer GameStop, shows that the competitive maps are titled Hangar 18, Hazard, Silo, and Drive-In.

Silo is reported to have already been spotted by eagle-eyed players in the Black Ops source code.

The fifth map – for Zombies mode – is shown, but the blurry photo means you can’t make out the text.

We’ve approached Activision for clarification.

If true, the Retaliation map pack will be released a few weeks before the Call of Duty: Elite beta, which begins on July 14. Over two million people have already applied to take part in the Elite beta.

Map packs for Black Ops have proven hugely lucrative for Activision in the past – First Strike sold 1.4 million in its first 24 hours.

But are they worth such fiscal success? “If you like Black Ops – and I assume you do, to be honest – then First Strike will quickly get its hooks into you,” I wrote in VideoGamer.com’s 8/10 First Strike review.

But what of the 8/10 Escalation review? “The quintet of new competitive maps will slot extremely nicely into the broader rotation,” I said. And they have!