Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Direct Rundown

In 2024, it’s wild to think that Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will be released as part of the Xbox Games Studio arsenal. With a new game coming from Treyarch and Raven Software, Microsoft stands to gain a lot from the title’s success. Set in the early 1990s at the end of the Cold War, the franchise’s spy-style espionage series is an exciting way to kick off the Xbox era for these games. In a dedicated Direct presentation following the Xbox Games Showcase, we learned more about the upcoming release, details about launch content, and so much more. Here’s your rundown of all that happened during the June 9th Black Ops 6 Direct:

The game stars a dynamic set of characters, all running through veteran Frank Woods . Woods is injured at the hands of Raul Menendez, pulled from the field, and we see the game’s story play out after his arrival at the FBI. His protege Troy Marshall and CIA handler Jane Harrow make up a trio who manage operations while trying to figure out what’s really going on at the heart of the game’s campaign. Activision states that “within every mission, the Black Ops 6 Campaign focuses on the methods you can employ to achieve victory as well as replayability, giving you the freedom to navigate through them as you see fit.”

This means your approach to succeeding will dictate things like dialogue and other elements of the campaign. With room to de-escalate, as well as escalate the situation at hand, you’re in control to handle things as you want to. Between missions, you’ll take refuge in the Safehouse, a former KGB Black Site that was operational during the 1950s and 60s, vacated some 30 years prior to your team’s arrival. After missions, players can return to the Evidence Board – last seen in Black Ops Cold War – now upgraded with additional intel and mission briefings integral to the Safehouse.

Heading into gameplay changes, the major factor in this entry of the Black Ops franchise is the new Omnimovement system. This new system allows you to sprint in any direction as well as dive and jump in dynamic ways that enhance and speed up player movement. With Sprint, Mantle, and Crouch Assist features, players can move more freely than any Call of Duty game before. Treyarch has also increased the hit zones on enemies, claiming there are now more than twice the number of regions to target. This means a dramatic increase in the way you can damage players in Campaign Mode as well as multiplayer.

Speaking of multiplayer, there will be 16 maps at launch and 2 Zombies maps. With new operators as well as another Seasons format, there will be a lot of content expansions throughout the life of the title. Activision has decided not to feature Carry Over Content from the Modern Warfare releases in past years. This content will still work in Warzone, and the only content from either game that will work in Black Ops 6 is the Black Ops 6 Vault Edition Woods Operator Pack currently available in Modern Warfare III.

Some elements from throughout the Call of Duty entries make their return in Black Ops 6. Prestige makes its return, meaning that once you reach your maximum player level you have the optional choice to enter Prestige. This essentially starts your ranking up afresh, relocking the gear you ground through from levels 1-55, enabling you to go through the leveling journey again. There will be 10 Prestiges that come with rewards. Theater Mode also makes its return, allowing you to relive your best matches. I think as they aim to boost this Xbox Game Pass momentum, a return to Prestige is a great way to bring back players who have skipped a few games.

Terminus and Liberty Falls are the two Zombies experiences at launch, continuing the Dark Aether narrative that was started in Black Ops Cold War. Activision mentioned that more information on Zombies, as well as the rest of the Black Ops 6 experience, will be coming in a Call of Duty NEXT update on August 28th. Set just about two months before launch, I bet this will be where we get the final push for players new and old to join in on the next era of the storied franchise. All in all, I think the team at Activision nailed this, and in turn, could be counted as a major win for Xbox following their blockbuster Xbox Games Showcase.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is releasing October 25th on PlayStation and Xbox consoles, and most importantly, on Xbox Game Pass. This will be the first title in the series to launch on Game Pass on Day One. You can watch the entire Direct event below: