Moth

A quick note to start off; as König speaks a Standard High German in game I will be focusing primarily on that. ( For further context on why German sounds the way it does I may make a future post about German and Austrian Speech with some examples and context - I will link it when I do.) Just know the German alphabet is pronounced slightly differently than English and varies from dialect to dialect.

Lets start with the most important - König (kö·nich)

Ö - being pronounced somewhere between spoon and flute.

Ch - being similar an extended h- .

Know that peoples accents will vary depending on their proficiency and origins. From his voice lines his accent and phonetics -

His English is clear on his D and W. I know that D = Z/S and W = V are common confusions for some German-English speakers and I understand that they're an easier way to convey such an accent in writing but they don't apply here.

Notable accent quirks he does exhibit are;

Over annunciation of H like in "veHicle'

"DZ Marked" - 'Dae Zet Markt' - this should only come up when pronouncing these letters individually.

The German R is pronounced as a trill made at the back of the throat and he does this often.

Occasionally he will drop and -er to a lighter -ah and a th- to a more natural d-.

"Giergah Here" - " Enemies in die AO"

He does frequently use short/voiceless endings where words ending in D/ED get dropped short and sound closer to a T.

"Enemy Downt" - "Enemy Markt"

Though he does not seem to do this for voiced S endings: EYES = ICE.

Contractions (words like "We're" and "It's") are just as common in German as in English but do not have any common forms for "I am" or "it is" and this usually will carry over to English where some German speakers will not use "I'm" or "it's"

König does use 'is' contractions like "the door's jammed".

He switches between "I'll take the armour" "I Will take the key-card" in casual language so either works.

Any other German Dialect speakers feel free to contribute or reach out to me if you have any insight or would like me to add or adjust anything. I would also love to hear your insight and experiences for a German - Austrian Language and Culture post I've been working on.

QP Multiplayer Voicelines

Assumptions based on available or previously available in-game sources;

Previous Affiliations König was originally listed as a German Citizen and a member of the KSK. (German Special Forces - Commandos). This was then changed to match his uniform's flag and he was listed as an Austrian Citizen and a member of the Jagdkommandos. (Austrian Special Forces - Commandos). This was then changed again to remove all mention of real world affiliations. Though as it's been previously stated It's reasonable to assume he's ex-Jagdkommandos as he was an Austrian Insertion Specialist working in Counter Terrorist operations. Side Note - In the Beta König was originally a SpecGru Operator.

Height; While there is no confirmed canon height for könig yet we can make some educated assumptions. He's too tall to be a sniper. Ghost is a sniper (his only confirmed height being 6'2 1/2") so he is likely taller than 6'3". Average height for Central/Eastern European men is 5'10"** we could reasonably assume being described as "the size of a mountain" before the age of 17 would imply he is noticeably taller. I would guess anywhere from 6'4" to 6'10".*

Know that the taller you go the more health problems and inconveniences you find, I would try and keep it reasonable as being over 7ft would incur too many health risk and would probably not pass medical admission. *As much as I dissuade using TikTok - LeeThe4th is a good example of this kind of height. **A local anecdote "I think 6'1" is pretty average personally. 6'4"+ people are not an uncommon sight here"

Age and Rank;

König's rank as a colonel comes from one of two loading screens: Bad Brothers and Bad Brothers 5: Colonel König. Given the gap I'd assume it's more for the sake of parody instead of lore. (Parodying films like 'Brothers', 'Saving Private Ryan' and 'Dirty Dozen' ect) Colonel may have been chosen for the sake of alliteration - I wouldn't discount it but I'm not wholly convinced.

The Loading Screen in question -

If he is a Colonel we can make a few assumptions about his age: General online consensus seems to be that it takes around 20-25 years of service to reach the rank of colonel. However, exceptional officers may be promoted more quickly and promotion to colonel requires a combination of experience, education, and leadership skills. "Officers must also pass a promotion board and meet specific eligibility requirements."

If we want to get country specific:

German Bundeswehr: "- promotion requires a minimum of 17 years of officer's service, i.e. 20 years of service overall"

Austria: Though I can't find a precise number I would assume it's closer to Germany's. He joined at 17 that puts him at 34/37+ which does line up well with other in-game operators.

As a Colonel some of his responsibilities and skills would be; Regiment commander, Brigade commander, field experience, highly educated (Referring to in army training, not standard education) , and strong leadership skills.

TL-DR: Height; 6'4" - 6'10" Age; 34-37+ Rank; Colonel Previous Affiliations; German or Austrian Special Forces Commando

" Better luck next time " - Kill

" Target Down " - Kill

" URGh Took a round " - Being Shot

" Feindes Tot " - Kill (Enemy Dead)

" Got One " - Kill

" Got Another " - Kill

" Hostile Marked " - Pinging Enemy

" Quiet " - Silence Ping

" HEILIGE SCHEIßE, That was close" - Living on low health (Holy Shit/Fuck)

" Counter UAV Deployed "

" DDOS Active "

" Popping DDOS "

" Sentery Deployed "

" Changing Mags " - Reloading

" Taking affective fire " - Being Shot

" DZ Marked, Send it " - Calling in Airdrop Crates

" This place has been ransacked " - Pinging looted areas

" Someone beat us to the area " - ^

" Moving to my mark " - Moving ping

"Moving here " - ^

" Keep it down " - Silence Ping

" Loading Fresh Mag " - Reloading

Kodachi Inspection

Knife Idle

Shotgun Shell Inspection

Grenade Aim

Confirmed Canon

An Austrian KorTac Operator; In a direct rivalry with SpecGru and by extension Task-force 141.

Blood Type: AB-.

Languages - English, High/Standard German and as an Austrian citizen presumably Austrian German.

( Note; Though they are in opposition, KorTac is a private military contractor and we have seen the 141 work with private armies before (Chimera - with Nikolai and Shadow Company - with Graves). So collaboration between the two isn't outside the realm of possibility. König was also originally a SpecGru operator in the Beta release of the game though that is no longer canon. )

Appearance

Eyes - Light Grey Blue with off-white and noticeably redden sclera.

Skin - Pinkish Orange with very light ephelides/freckles along sun exposed skin like the arms that are very likely seasonal.

Hair (Speculative) - Black eyelashes and his sparsely visible portions of eyebrow we can see he most likely has dark or dusty brown hair as eyelashes do not usually vary by more than a few shades.

Some great visual artists for references are @ave661 here on tumblr and _XWX_ (@XWX_WW) on twt.

I will also add - there has been some clips of König's preview animation around where the animations of other Operators are mapped onto his model. Some of these are a little unusual as their model anatomies don't line up properly and each Operator's personalities are different.

His Canon weapon of choice also seems to be a SO-14 Battle Rifle with a 50 Round Drum Magazine Modification.

Official Preview Animation:

Dubious Canon

I personally am not inclined to believe the "unmasked glitch" screenshot is accurate as König's model not only wears a ski mask under the hood he doesn't actually have a face. Do with this what you will.

See cursed model clip photos below;

Man's just eyeballs and mask.

All images, characters and writing belong to Infinity Ward and Activision. I've simply edited them down to full cards for the sake of accessibility. Enjoy <3.

All images, characters and writing belong to Infinity Ward and Activision. I've simply edited them down to full cards for the sake of accessibility. Enjoy <3.