| Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 | |
| Publisher: | Activision |
| Series: | Call of Duty |
| Engine: | IW |
| Genre: | First-person shooter |
| Released: | October 25, 2024 |
| Modes: | Single-player, multiplayer |
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is an upcoming first-person shooter game co-developed by Treyarch and Raven Software and published by Activision. It will be the twenty-first installment of the Call of Duty series and the seventh entry in the Black Ops sub-series, following (2020). The game is scheduled for release on October 25, 2024, for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, and is set to be available to Xbox Game Pass subscribers on release day.
Set during the early 1990s, Black Ops 6 single-player campaign—described as a "dynamic and intense spy thriller"—will act as a continuation of Black Ops Cold War story. Its multiplayer component will contain sixteen brand-new maps at launch and restore several features from previous Call of Duty titles, such as the "Prestige" leveling system. Additionally, the game will feature a new iteration of the cooperative round-based Zombies mode, with two all-new maps being set for inclusion at launch, and include omnidirectional movement mechanics, allowing players to sprint, dive, and slide in any direction.
Black Ops 6 boasts the longest development cycle in Call of Duty history, spanning four years; some Treyarch employees stated that they have been play-testing the title since 2022. Marketing for the game began in May 2024, through the publishing of fictional advertisements on the front pages of multiple newspaper outlets and the release of several live-action teaser trailers; a full reveal debuted following the airing of the 2024 Xbox Games Showcase event on June 9.
Like previous entries in the Call of Duty series, Black Ops 6 will be a first-person shooter, featuring a single-player campaign, a multiplayer component, and the cooperative round-based Zombies mode. New gameplay mechanics in Black Ops 6 include omnidirectional movement, which allows players to sprint, dive, and slide in any direction; the game also offers various "Intelligent Movement" settings, which automate certain player actions, including sprinting and mantling. Players will also be able to choose between a selection of established presets that alter the game's heads-up display (HUD); this includes a "Legacy" preset for the Zombies HUD that more closely matches the layout for the HUD in (2015).
The campaign will feature multiple ways to approach its missions and include dialogue trees for its cast of non-player characters (NPCs). In-between missions, players will be able to access a safe house, where they will be able to plan out missions via an evidence board, apply player upgrades, and interact with NPCs. Black Ops 6 multiplayer is set to include sixteen brand-new maps at launch; twelve of these maps are designed for the game's core six-versus-six (6v6) game modes, and are supplemented by four "Strike" maps, which are designed for both the core 6v6 modes and a selection of two-versus-two (2v2) modes. Returning multiplayer-specific features from previous Call of Duty games include the traditional "Prestige" leveling system, which allows players who have reached the maximum player level to reset it up to ten times, and the "Theater" mode, enabling players to rewatch multiplayer matches from the perspective of any player.
In Zombies, one to four players fight endless hordes of zombies, which increase in both number and difficulty with every completed round. Zombies will feature two all-new maps—"Terminus" and "Liberty Falls"—at launch; both maps will include a main quest that players must solve on their own, along with a number of side quests. A guided mode will also be included post-launch, allowing players to complete main quests with in-game assistance. The mode features two primary currencies for players to manage: Essence and Salvage; the former is used to purchase doors in order to unlock new parts of the maps and to acquire various player upgrades, including "Perk-a-Cola" cans and upgrades for the player's weapon loadout from the "Pack-a-Punch" machine, while the latter is used to acquire ammo modifications for the player's weapons and build various pieces of lethal and tactical equipment. Players are also able to obtain "GobbleGums", which are single-use consumables that grant the player various in-game effects and abilities, and unlock "Augments"—a set of minor and major upgrades to perks, field upgrades and ammo mods. Each gameplay item features up to three minor and major Augments, with one of each type being equippable at the same time, allowing players to customize and experiment with different play styles.
Black Ops 6 campaign is set to take place during the early 1990s, following the events of (2020) and the flashbacks to the 1980s in (2012). Its story is described as a "dynamic and intense spy thriller", in which players are "never sure who to trust, and what is real". The campaign will also explore the aftermath of the Cold War and feature a depiction of the Gulf War. During this time, the CIA has been infiltrated by a new mysterious force, known as the Pantheon, and many operatives have been forced to go rogue after being branded traitors, including Russell Adler (Bruce Thomas) and Frank Woods (Damon Victor Allen). While Adler's true allegiance and motivation remain unknown, Woods assembles a team of rogue agents, consisting of: field operative Troy Marshall (Y'lan Noel), CIA handler Jane Harrow (Dawn Olivieri), technical genius Felix Neumann (Seamus Dever), and assassination specialist Sevati "Sev" Dumas (Karen David), to assist him in discovering the truth. Players take on the role of "Case", a key member of Woods' team.
The Zombies story for Black Ops 6 will act as a continuation of the "Dark Aether" Zombies story arc, picking up five years after the events of Black Ops Cold War Zombies mode. According to Kevin Drew, Treyarch's associate design director for the mode, Black Ops 6 Zombies narrative will cover within its first two maps "a simultaneous situation" that is unfolding at two locations at the same time. The first map, "Liberty Falls", will explore a Dark Aether incursion in a small West Virginian town nestled in the Appalachian Mountains, while the second map, "Terminus", will be centered on a "nighttime assault on a remote prison island in the Pacific Ocean". Returning characters from Black Ops Cold War are members of the classified CIA task force Requiem: Special Commander Grigori Weaver (Gene Farber), Doctor Elizabeth Grey (Amy Pemberton), Major Mackenzie Carver (Keston John), Doctor Oskar Strauss (Thure Riefenstein), and Captain Stoney "Raptor One" Maddox (Derek Phillips). They are joined by a new character, smuggler Maya Aguinaldo, as well as Doctor William Peck (Zeke Alton), a former Omega Group scientist who was previously working against Requiem.
Black Ops 6 is being co-developed by Treyarch and Raven Software, with Raven leading production on the game's single-player campaign and Treyarch developing the multiplayer and Zombies modes. The game boasts the longest development cycle in Call of Duty history, spanning four years. Some Treyarch employees stated that they have been play-testing the game since 2022. Details surrounding Black Ops 6 began to surface in November 2023, when Windows Central reported that the game would be set during the Gulf War and feature a story focused on the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard and its studios in 2023 marked the end of an exclusivity deal between Sony and Activision, which saw Call of Duty titles receive exclusive content and offers on PlayStation platforms. Though Microsoft had a similar deal with Activision for the Xbox consoles prior to 2015, Microsoft Gaming's CEO Phil Spencer has stated that moving forward, the franchise will have no exclusivity deals, with content parity across all supported platforms.
On May 22, 2024, a website titled "The Truth Lies" went live and was posted on Call of Dutys social media channels. The website featured several real-life video clips of global monuments, such as Mount Rushmore and Brandenburg Gate, being vandalized by a group of people, as well as fictional news reports on the vandalism. The clips featured a three-headed dog logo, which was first seen in Microsoft's announcement for the 2024 Xbox Games Showcase event, which stated that the event would be immediately followed by a "[REDACTED] Direct" presentation that would act as "a special deep dive into the next installment of a beloved franchise".
On May 23, several newspaper outlets, such as USA Today and The New York Post, featured "The Truth Lies" advertisements on their front pages. On the same day, Activision officially announced Black Ops 6 and confirmed that the [REDACTED] Direct would be centered on the game. The airing of the Black Ops 6 Direct presentation on June 9 featured a 25-minute long look at the title, offering insight into the game's storyline, its gameplay mechanics, and the Zombies mode.
Ahead of the Black Ops 6 Direct, Activision released two live-action teaser trailers for the game. The first teaser, titled "Open Your Eyes", was published on Call of Duty YouTube channel on May 27. It largely consists of footage from news shows and television adverts from the early 1990s, narrated by a distorted male voice, who directly speaks to the viewer, telling them to "stop being sheep and become wolves"; brief glimpses at gameplay footage from the title were also included in the teaser. The second teaser, which featured several real-world political leaders, including former U.S. presidents Bill Clinton and George H. W. Bush, former U.S. secretary of state Colin Powell, ex-UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher, and former Iraq president Saddam Hussein, was published the following day. Additionally, teasers for Black Ops 6 began to appear in Call of Duty: Warzone, including a cinematic featuring Black Ops character Frank Woods.
On August 1, Activision and Treyarch revealed a new version of "The Truth Lies" website, named "The Truth Dies", which featured teasers for the Zombies mode. On August 6, a cinematic trailer for the Zombies map "Terminus" was released, along with details on the Zombies storyline for Black Ops 6 and its cast of characters; a full breakdown of the mode's gameplay systems was published on the Call of Duty blog on August 8.
Black Ops 6 is scheduled for release on October 25, 2024, for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. It will also be available to Xbox Game Pass subscribers on release day. The game will require a continuous internet connection to play all of its modes, including the single-player campaign; Activision has stated that the requirement is to ensure the best possible visual quality via a texture streaming feature. Those who pre-order Black Ops 6 or have an active subscription to Xbox Game Pass will receive early access to the open beta test for the game's multiplayer component.