Microsoft has finally properly unveiled Treyarch’s Black Ops 6 as part of its Xbox Showcase event and subsequent Call of Duty Direct.
As rumored, Black Ops 6’s campaign is set in the early 1990s. Co-Call of Duty developer Raven Software has taken the lead on the campaign, which is set after the events of 2020’s Black Ops Cold War and tied to the 1980s flashbacks in 2012’s Black Ops 2. Publisher Activision described Black Ops 6’s single-player campaign as a spy thriller that revolves around unraveling a government conspiracy. Expect stealth gameplay mixed with the blockbuster action Call of Duty campaigns are known for, set in environments such as Russian Tundra, Middle Eastern desert, Southern Europe, and the U.S.
As we’ve seen from a recently added Warzone cutscene, Frank Woods returns for Black Ops 6, although he’s now confined to a wheelchair following the events of Black Ops 2. Russell Adler from Black Ops Cold War also returns alongside new characters Troy Marshall and Jane Harrow. Crucially, Black Ops 6 makes the death of Alex Mason and Jason Hudson in Black Ops 2 canon.
Like Black Ops Cold War, Black Ops 6 has a new safehouse, an abandoned manor and KGB black site that acts as an expanded campaign hub where players can choose to learn about allies, explore and solve puzzles, gather lore and upgrades or go to the evidence board to select missions.
Multiplayer launches with 16 new maps, including 12 core 6v6 maps, and four smaller Strike maps that can be played 2v2 or 6v6.
Black Ops 6 sees the return of Round-Based Zombies in a crowd-pleasing move away from the Zombies experience found in Modern Warfare 3. RBZ, which sees players take down increasingly difficult waves of the undead, has two brand-new maps at launch (Liberty Falls and Terminus), with more maps set to come after the October launch. Liberty Falls was recently predicted as the first Zombies map for Black Ops 6 by a Call of Duty YouTuber who went down a remarkable rabbit hole following breadcrumbs left by the developers.
Other fan-favorite features set to return include Classic Prestige and Theater mode. But it’s the new movement system, dubbed Omnimovement, that is perhaps the biggest game-changer here. This lets players sprint, dive, and slide in any direction, as well as rotate 360 degrees while prone. Call of Duty has never had this kind of movement before, and rekindles memories of Remedy’s much-loved Max Payne. Activision said the hope is Omnimovement lets players move more realistically and seamlessly chain movements “like a real action hero.” Elsewhere, there’s new Intelligent Movement and Corner Slicing capabilities to get to grips with.
And there’s a new option to use HUD Presets, including the ability to move the mini-map and remove HUD elements for a minimalist interface.
As already confirmed, Black Ops 6 sticks with last-gen consoles, launching across Xbox One, Xbox Series X and S, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and PC (developed by Beenox) via Battle.net, Microsoft Store, and Steam on Friday October 25, 2024. The open beta is free across all platforms, although those who pre-order get early access, as in previous years.
Black Ops 6 launches straight into Game Pass, now Activision is owned by Microsoft. At launch it’s on all tiers of the subscription service. Active subscribers get the digital cross-gen bundle for Xbox or PC standard edition from Microsoft Store. This includes the Woods Operator Pack and open beta early access.
While Black Ops development is led by Treyarch and Raven Software, there’s an army of support from across Activision’s stable of studios. Activision Central Design, Activision Central Technology, Activision QA, Activision Shanghai, Beenox, Demonware, High Moon Studios, Infinity Ward, and Sledgehammer Games all contributed to Black Ops 6, while working on their own entries in the long-running first-person shooter franchise.
For more, check out everything announced at the Xbox Games Showcase 2024.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
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