New Call of Duty operator Ronin is…real

Co D Ronin
Ronin is based on a real person. (Image credit: Activision)

The last update for Call of Duty not only brought a playlist change and new precautions against cheaters, but also a new operator – “One Man Army" Ronin. What makes him special? Let’s find out!

A new face

Ronin can be bought in the bundle of the same name in the Call of Duty Store. The bundle costs 2400 credits and contains the operator, two weapon blueprints and an axe as melee weapon as well as an emblem, spray, stickers and a calling card.

Here is the announcement trailer of Ronin and all contents of the bundle:

The new operator belongs to the Warcom faction within the coalition and is described as Ex-Special Forces. He is a saboteur and master of several combat techniques and unconventional warfare. He joins the other operators – Alex, Talon, Mara, Domino, Golem and Wyatt.

There have been rumors about a new operator named Ronin for quite some time because Dataminer discovered the name early and shared it on Reddit. With the teaser for Season 3, it became all the more clear that he would be coming soon. Now that Ronin’s been released, we know that he even appeared in the announcement picture.

Call of Duty Season 3
We didn't know it at the time, but we got a preview of Ronin with the Season 3 announcement. (Image credit: Call of Duty via Twitter)

More than meets the eye

But what is so special about this operator? Well, Ronin is actually real! The character is based on Tu Lam, a real war veteran, who was actually a member of the Special Forces. Originally from Vietnam, he had a 20-year military career in the US and rose to the highest ranks while serving with the Green Berets. This unit is the longest-serving Special Forces unit in the US Army and consists of about 10,000 soldiers.

Tu Lam was not only the visual model for the new operator but also provided the motion capturing and sound recording himself. Also, the name Ronin is no coincidence, as Lam currently runs a security company called Ronin Tactics Inc. which provides training and equipment for law enforcement officers as well as civilians.

The new operator fits perfectly into the world of Call of Duty and we are looking forward to trying him out for ourselves. Would you like more real world-based operators to make their way into Call of Duty? Who’s your prime candidate to be Infinity Ward’s next inspiration?