‘Call of Duty Black Ops 6’ release date, multiplayer news, and everything we know
After a whole bunch of teasing, Activision has finally revealed Call of Duty Black Ops 6 and there was so much revealed at Summer Game Fest that chances are there’s a lot of information you haven’t heard about the game. That’s where we come in, as in this guide we have a complete breakdown of everything you need to know about the game.
From campaign, to multiplayer, to system changes, to the return of classic features, Black Ops 6 has received an unprecedented four years of development – the longest for any game in the series – and it shows. It is looking feature rich and incredibly impressive, so here is a breakdown of what you need to know ahead of the game’s release.
‘Call of Duty Black Ops 6’ release date
The Call of Duty Black Ops 6 release date is set for October 25, 2024, on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC. The date was confirmed on June 9, 2024, as a part of the Xbox Games Showcase during Summer Game Fest.
The game will also be the first in the series to launch on Xbox Game Pass on the same day it releases, following Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. This is a big roll of the dice and it will be interesting to see how Game Pass or the game finds success with the biggest shakeup to the series’ business model in 20 years.
‘Call of Duty Black Ops 6’ story details
Set in the 1990’s after the events of Black Ops Cold War, Black Ops 6 throws players into the middle of a conspiracy where a shadowy force has infiltrated the U.S. government – with anyone who resists the takeover being branded a traitor. Returning veteran James Woods and new characters Troy Marshall and Jane Harrow, are forced to go rogue after a mission goes wrong and they are suspended.
To take down the threat, they need to recruit a team, build up a stockpile of resources, and uncover the truth. The campaign looks to harken back to the classic Call of Duty campaign style we saw in the early 2010s, heavily inspired by Black Ops and Black Ops 2 (which makes sense as Black Ops 6 sits between those two games).
‘Call of Duty Black Ops 6’ campaign details
While that story forms the basis of the campaign, there is a lot more going on beyond it when it comes to the mission design. Missions in the campaign will take players across the world with a variety of setpieces and gameplay opportunities in typical Call of Duty fashion.
However, Treyarch is opting for a lot of flexibility this time around, with many conversational opportunities, bartering moments, and negotiation options to change how you approach objectives and ultimately complete missions.
Some of the specific levels Treyarch mentioned include a snowy tundra in Northern Russia, a devastated desert in Iraq (which is one of the biggest maps Treyarch has ever built), and a lavish casino.
The centrepiece of those missions is the safehouse, which is an abandoned manor on the coastline where you will link up evidence with your team, prepare for missions, and get to know your rogue crew a little better.
In the past, this manor was a KGB blacksite, operational in the ’50s and ’60s, and it will reportedly have tons of secrets for players to uncover as they progress through the campaign.
‘Call of Duty Black Ops 6’ Omnimovement explained
Omnimovement is a brand new system that will transform how Call of Duty is played. For the first time, player movement will be fully separated from your aiming. This means you can sprint in any direction (sideways, forwards, and backwards) and chain movements together in new ways with a full 360 degrees of motion.
Ultimately, this means you can slide in any direction, turn while prone fully, and enter a dive straight from sprinting in a connected, seamless movement.
It’s worth noting that it appears this can be turned off if it isn’t for you, as the Black Ops 6 Direct showed players in test scenarios without the Omnimovement turned on.
Inspired by assist options in racing games, there are also a number of options to adjust your movement behaviour, like the speed, automatic mantling while airborne, auto-run forwards, and more. Three big options come under the Intelligent Movement category and are:
- Sprint assist: Automatic sprinting while moving (won’t cancel other actions)
- Mantle assist: Automatic mantling of low and/or high objects
- Crouch assist: Automatic crouching when nearing an opening
Finally, the number of individual areas on hitboxes has been increased to nine, meaning that you can more accurately land shots for higher damage. There are legs, arms, and head, with the Upper body now split into four sections: hips, lower torso, right side of the chest, and left side of the chest.
This will undoubtedly be a huge shakeup to how you play Call of Duty and all of these movement options will be available in Multiplayer and Zombies, on top of the campaign.
‘Call of Duty Black Ops 6’ multiplayer details
Black Ops 6 multiplayer will have 16 maps at launch. This includes 12 6v6 maps and four Strike maps which can be played in 6v6 or 2v2 modes. The multiplayer will also have three main playstyles, or classes:
- Enforcer: Hunters who like to kill and stay on the move, racking up long killstreaks.
- Recon: Intel gatherers who can highlight and give information to your team and counter enemy recons.
- Strategist: Support characters who can distract opponents, destroy scorestreaks, and push into objectives easily.
These maps will all be focused on the traditional three-lane structure and take place after the main campaign in familiar locations from those missions.
A full deep dive and reveal of multiplayer will arrive on August 28, 2024, at COD Next. A multiplayer beta will also take place ahead of launch, with the beta taking place at the same time for all platforms.
‘Call of Duty Black Ops 6’ Prestige
Black Ops 6 brings back Call of Duty’s classic prestige system with 10 prestiges at launch, each with its own rewards to unlock. Upon finishing those, you will then enter Prestige Master with 1,000 more levels to climb through and a special reward at the end of that grind.
This is a welcome return for players who have been frustrated with the prestige system in recent years, as it has shifted to a seasonal model.
‘Call of Duty Black Ops 6’ Theater Mode
Black Ops 6 will see the long-awaited return of Theater Mode, which has been absent for some time, allowing you to rewatch and replay your matches. This is a classic feature from Call of Duty that has disappeared in recent entries, but it is great to finally see it back and should be handy for players looking to improve their skills and pros looking to rewatch their highlights.
‘Call of Duty Black Ops 6’ HUD customisation
One of the biggest quality-of-life changes is the ability to change your HUD set-up in Black Ops 6. The HUD is fully customisable, meaning you can move the mini-map around, disable certain features, put your ammo count at the top of the screen, or in the corner, and even change the size of every part.
This is a huge change, especially for multiplayer, where it will undoubtedly allow experienced players and pros to play the game how they like and find a HUD format that fits them. Plus, newcomers will be able to adjust how much they want on the screen while playing for a more stripped back or hardcore feeling shooter.
‘Call of Duty Black Ops 6’ Zombies details
Black Ops 6 Zombies will pick up the Dark Aether storyline where it left off and return to the classic round-based format. There will be two maps available at launch, the return of Gobblegums, and some new features.
More details will be shared about the mode as we get closer to its launch.
That covers what we know about Black Ops 6. There was absolutely tons of information about the game revealed here and we will undoubtedly hear and see a lot more in August at Call of Duty Next. For a more in-depth breakdown and to hear from Treyarch about Black Ops 6, be sure to check out our own Black Ops 6 preview from Summer Game Fest.
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Echo Apsey
NME
