Black Ops 6 Multiplayer Beta — Getting Started, part 2
Intel Card — Weekend One Tips
Get in the Flow: The first weekend is all about getting a feel for the new game. Try reaching the Weekend One Level 20 cap to get your hands on all of the available Custom Loadout content.
Test Omnimovement: Move like never before using the new Omnimovement system and other combat enhancements. Hit up the Training Course to loosen up and get tips for maximizing your combat ability.
Get Your Settings Straight: Weekend One presents the perfect opportunity to nail your game settings so that you’re ready to get right into it when Weekend Two arrives!
Multiplayer Beta Weekend Two: September 6 – 9
The second Black Ops 6 Beta weekend is known as the “Open Beta’, and is accessible to all players. It is scheduled to begin on Friday, September 6 at 10AM PT, and end on Monday, September 9 at 10AM PT*.
Weekend Two: Maps and Modes
In addition to all the Weekend One content, Weekend Two introduces two new maps plus the Gunfight game mode and Face Off Kill Order.
Dive Into Our Weekend Two Guides!
Visit our Guides section for a deeper look at the Weekend Two content, including:
Core Maps
Weekend 2: Babylon
Weekend 1 & 2: Derelict
Weekend 1 & 2: Scud
Weekend 1 & 2: Skyline
Weekend 1 & 2: Rewind
Strike Maps
Weekend 1 & 2: Pit
Weekend 1 & 2: Gala
Weekend 2: Stakeout
Game Modes
Weekend 1 & 2: Team Deathmatch
Weekend 1 & 2: Domination
Weekend 2: Gunfight
Weekend 1 & 2: Hardpoint
Weekend 1 & 2: Kill Order
Weekend 1 & 2: Face Off Team Deathmatch
Weekend 1 & 2: Face Off Kill Confirmed
Weekend 2: Face Off Kill Order
Weekend 2 Core Map
Babylon
Battle amongst the ruins of an ancient city, climbing on its crumbled columns and crawling underneath the palace. There’s plenty of verticality to make use of here, so stay limber as you circle the central alter and seek out the best ground. Back out to the chapel or depot for more concealed views or get heated and rush the middle.
Weekend 2 Strike Map
Stakeout
A stakeout in the Mediterranean region of Avalon has been compromised as Operators breach the small apartment, battling through the living room, kitchen, bedrooms, and spilling out onto the balcony. Leftover surveillance equipment marks the progress of the conducted intel-gathering, a smashed-out wall giving the former agents easy access to their gear.
Weekend 2 Game Modes
Face Off Kill Order: Play the new Kill Order game mode on fast-paced Strike maps with Scorestreaks disabled.
Gunfight: Eliminate all enemy players using pre-determined classes to win the round. No respawns.
Weekend Two: Progression
Reach the maximum level of 30 in Weekend Two of the Beta, adding additional rewards and unlockable items for your Custom Loadouts.
Level 21: Progression Unlocks
(Master Sergeant III)
Blast Trap (Lethal Equipment)
Availability: Military Rank Master Sergeant III (Level 21)
Planted explosive device detonates when enemies come near.
Scavenger (Perk)
Availability: Military Rank Master Sergeant III (Level 21)
Planted explosive device detonates when enemies come near.
Level 22: Progression Unlocks
(Master Gunnery Sergeant I)
Interceptors (Scorestreak)
Availability: Military Rank Master Gunnery Sergeant I (Level 22)
Call in a jet fighter squadron that eliminates enemy air targets.
Fast Hands (Perk)
Availability: Military Rank Master Gunnery Sergeant I (Level 22)
Swap weapons faster and extend fuses when throwing back grenades. Combat Specialty: Strategist.
Level 23: Progression Unlocks
(Master Gunnery Sergeant II)
Beta Reward**
Availability: Military Rank Master Gunnery Sergeant II (Level 23)
“The Truth Lies” Loading ScreenSleeper Agent (Field Upgrade)
Availability: Military Rank Master Gunnery Sergeant II (Level 23)
Infiltrate the enemy team appearing as a friendly to them for a short duration. Eliminations extend the time. Gunfire and enemy content reveal your true identity.
Cold-Blooded (Perk)
Availability: Military Rank Master Gunnery Sergeant II (Level 23)
Undetectable by AI targeting and thermal optics. Player-controlled Scorestreaks don’t highlight you. Combat Specialty: Recon.
Level 24: Progression Unlocks
(Master Gunnery Sergeant III)
Combat Axe (Lethal Equipment)
Availability: Military Rank Master Gunnery Sergeant III (Level 24)
Thrown axe that eliminates enemies in one hit. Bounces off surfaces.
Tac Mask (Perk)
Availability: Military Rank Master Gunnery Sergeant III (Level 24)
Resistance to enemy flash and concussion grenades and enemy Neurogas. Combat Specialty: Strategist.
Level 25: Progression Unlocks
(Second Lieutenant I)
DM-10 (Primary Weapon)
Availability: Military Rank Second Lieutenant I (Level 25)
Semi-auto DMR. Best in class stability and power make this the ideal Marksman Rifle for mid- to long-range engagements.
Level 26: Progression Unlocks
(Second Lieutenant II)
Gunfighter (Wildcard)
Availability: Military Rank Second Lieutenant II (Level 26)
Get three extra attachment points for your Primary Weapon.
Forward Intel (Perk)
Availability: Military Rank Second Lieutenant II (Level 26)
Increases minimap area and shows direction indicators for revealed enemies.
Combat Specialty: Recon.
Level 27: Progression Unlocks
(Second Lieutenant III)
Beta Reward**
Availability: Military Rank Second Lieutenant III (Level 27)
“Beta Expert” Animated Calling Card
Gearhead (Perk)
Availability: Military Rank Second Lieutenant III (Level 27)
Two Field Upgrade charges. Increased Field Upgrade charge rate. Hack enemy equipment and Field Upgrades.
Combat Specialty: Strategist.
Level 28: Progression Unlocks
(Lieutenant I)
Decoy (Tactical Equipment)
Availability: Military Rank Lieutenant I (Level 28)
Grenade that simulates footsteps and gunfire sounds to confuse enemies. Sticks to surfaces.
Ninja (Perk)
Availability: Military Rank Lieutenant I (Level 28)
Move more quietly.
Combat Specialty: Recon.
Level 29: Progression Unlocks
(Lieutenant II)
Chopper Gunner (Scorestreak)
Availability: Military Rank Lieutenant II (Level 29)
Take control of the door gun turret on an assault chopper.
Level 30: Progression Unlocks
(Lieutenant III)
Beta Reward**
Availability: Military Rank Lieutenant III (Level 30)
“Bug Smasher” Weapon Blueprint for the XM4 Assault Rifle. Equippable during Beta Weekend Two.
Tanto .22 (Primary Weapon)
Availability: Military Rank Lieutenant III (Level 30)
Full-auto submachine gun. Slow-firing but hard-hitting, the Tanto .22 is an easy-to-handle SMG with impressive mid-range performance.
Intel Card — Weekend Two Tips
Babylon, Stakeout: Play two new maps during Weekend Two. Fight amongst the ruins in Babylon and breach an apartment being used for surveillance in Stakeout.
Diversify in Gunfight: Gunfight’s predetermined Loadouts encourage playstyles you might not have otherwise considered. Play the mode to test out a variety of class setups. Adapt and win.
Max Out: Climb the ranks to Level 30 to access all of the Loadout content available during the Multiplayer Open Beta. Plus, you’ll earn the “Bug Smasher” Weapon Blueprint for use during the Beta and in the full game at launch on October 25.
Weekend One and Two: Beta Rewards
Earn cosmetic rewards by reaching Player Level milestones throughout the Multiplayer Open Beta that will persist through the launch of Black Ops 6 when it releases on October 25**.
Level 20: “Squash” Westpoint Operator Skin (unlocked during either Weekend)
Level 23: “The Truth Lies” Loading Screen
Level 27: “Beta Expert” Animated Calling Card
Level 30: “Bug Smasher” Weapon Blueprint
The Truth Lies. [[IMAGE]]
*Actual launch date(s) and platform availability of MP Beta subject to change. See www.callofduty.com/beta for more details. Minimum Open Beta duration is 2 days. Limited time only. Internet connection required. Online multiplayer subscription may be required.
**Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 required to redeem. Sold separately.
Call of Duty: NEXT: Call of Duty: Warzone Future Intel
CALL OF DUTY: NEXT COMMS AND THE BLACK OPS 6 BETA
The following Blog is one of five Deep Dives into the announcements at the 2024 Call of Duty®: NEXT showcase, as well as bringing you a wealth of free, official guides to every aspect of the Black Ops 6 Multiplayer Beta that starts on August 30**. Be sure to read all the following content to ensure you’re up to date with breaking news and Beta content:
Blog 1: Black Ops 6: Global Gameplay Systems. Detailing content – like Omnimovement, Gunsmith changes, Global Weapon Builds, Classic Prestige, and Mastery Camos – applicable to all the different games and modes, mainly focused on innovations across Multiplayer Zombies, and Call of Duty: Warzone™.
Blog 3: Black Ops 6: Zombies Intel. All of the new details regarding Round-Based Zombies in Black Ops 6, including information on Liberty Falls, Wonder Weapons, and more, straight from Call of Duty: NEXT.
Blog 4: Black Ops 6: Call of Duty: Warzone Integrations. Important information regarding the brand-new Area 99 Resurgence Map, as well as new gameplay innovations, Mastery Camos, and more. You’re reading this blog now!
Blog 5: Black Ops 6 Beta: Everything You Need to Know. Ready to drop into the Multiplayer Beta? Prepare yourself with this game-winning overview and guide to leveling up to ensure you unlock all the Beta Rewards, including the two exclusive Operator skins!
BLOG 4: THIS IS CALL OF DUTY: WARZONE
Call of Duty: NEXT brought the very first live gameplay of the all-new Call of Duty: Warzone map coming to Season 1 later this year. Designed by Treyarch with meticulous attention regarding movement flow, visibility, and narrative direction, let’s take a closer look at the Resurgence Map set firmly in the Call of Duty: Black Ops world.
Set against the unrelenting heat of the Nevada desert, Area 99 – or more specifically, the Echo Ridge Weapons Station – was a top-secret government site constructed in the 1950s, concealed from the public just miles away from the original Nuketown testing site. Designed to push the bounds of radiation testing and cement American dominance, the entire region was subsequently abandoned after an unfortunate reactor leak, and the project erased by the government.
This is the birthplace of Nuketown. Welcome to Call of Duty: Warzone and Area 99.
AREA 99: NEW WARZONE MAP OVERVIEW
Inspired by the rapid and unrelenting gameplay of the Multiplayer map Nuketown, Treyarch deconstructed a lot of what made that map special and applied it here while increasing the size and scope of Area 99 to accommodate the lore and Warzone gameplay mechanics, which is revealed in the various points of interest across the map as well as keeping the gameplay extremely fast and tactical.
Much of the scenery and landscape across Area 99 will be familiar to fans of Nuketown, but on a much larger scale. The landscape has main roadways to traverse on foot and in vehicles (though motorized transport wasn’t in the Alpha build on show at Call of Duty: NEXT), while other points of interest on the map are linked by open trenches of sand, pipework, and wiring. The central Reactor bullseye, and the huge crane balancing a Nuketown house in the air, seem to be vying for hot-drop locations, though much of the action is likely to take place in the center of the map.
Area 99 may be much larger than Nuketown – it is, after all, a Warzone Resurgence Map – but it is still a focused and compact location, with a similar-sized footprint to Rebirth Island.
Archie Atom Says “Stay Positive!”
With unique gameplay flare, Area 99 celebrates the retrofuturism art style, both in the use of materials and architecture of the map. There are locations featuring curved rooflines and once-grand conference rooms with a nod to the Art Deco movement. One of the biggest nods to a future of curved plastic housing with the 1950s Diner aesthetic are the remains of the Pod dwellings, where garish wall colors and compact kitchens collide.
Ruling over the remains of this military compound is Area 99’s official mascot, Archie Atom! Relentlessly chipper, Archie appears on signs and billboards across the site, cheerfully reminding you of the stringent safety protocols, dangers of unsupervised conduct, and threats to the nation if the site’s secrets are exposed. None of this did any good apparently, as Area 99 was seemingly abandoned in March 1962, and has been slowly decaying (and the reactor leaking radiation) ever since.
A Sightseeing Tour of Area 99
Here’s a quick tour of Area 99’s many Points of Interest:
Mannequin Assembly
Not the place to visit if you suffer from automatonophobia, a large-scale mannequin plant – established in 1949 – dominates the northern part of the map. The plant has been overproducing mannequins unsupervised for years since the facility was abandoned, leading to comically large piles of mannequin parts. Thousands of torsos, heads, and arms are strewn everywhere, as the decades of extreme heat and encroaching sand cover the exterior cargo bays with plastic body parts and dune piles.
The interior of the connecting assembly buildings is a dilapidated maze, featuring giant molding vats, a mold preparation system, conveyor belts, a large assembly chamber with rusting, automated robot arms frozen in time, a hydraulic press that’s seemingly operational, and the pervading stench of melting plastic.
Test Site and Bunker
Workers from the Advanced Technologies and Applications Division conduct a variety of highly dangerous tests from the B-207 surface-testing viewing station location, and the connected mainframe war room beneath the sands. Up top, you can easily spot this area due to the helipad, and what was once a live-fire test site with containers, rusting buses, and a central trench. Before being abandoned, it appears the military were testing something called the “Guardian Weapon Platform”….
Delve a little deeper, via either bunker entrance or the metal trapdoors, and you’ll reach a rabbit warren of subterranean subterfuge. A large armory, loading docks for highly combustible ordnance, a War Room with annotated plans to uncover, and the Mainframe where weapon system testing is recorded via cutting edge 1960s tape technology.
Reactor and Cooling Towers
The main source of experimental weaponry, the roof of the central reactor building acts as a bullseye for Operators dropping into the action. This main reactor tower – which was cracked open and has been slowly leaking for the past 30 years – features more vertical gameplay both inside and out, with ascenders and gantry steps providing the access in and out of the core chamber, adjacent computer banks, and curved corridors leading to the Turbines room and Hydro Pumps.
Spread out to the connected radial buildings around the tower as they provide more cover opportunities. Working clockwise from north, this includes Research Station 02, a mechanical bay and motor pool, Research Station 01, a thermal energy storage bay, general storage building, and a gas station, and two concentric circular routes complete with rusting vehicles, crates and other dilapidated machinery. Between the Reactor and the Mannequin Assembly plant are a trio of cooling towers, shut down decades ago and gradually disintegrating away in the inclement weather.
Factory: Warehouse and Manufacturing
Scour the southern part of Area 99 for a uniquely Black Ops location. This isn’t a normal factory, but a unique construction zone where all the basic elements of a Nuketown house – from the walls, interior decoration, and even the infamous red sign – are built, ready for shipping to other possible Nuketown sites being constructed elsewhere.
The construction begins within the red-and-white factory structure – known as “Warehouse” – where raw materials were delivered, house components were constructed and ferried via giant ceiling conveyors to a main shop floor where entire Nuketown houses where prefabricated and moved in their entirety to the transportation gate. Don’t forget to explore the teal-colored factory building – known as “Manufacturing” – as there’s a rooftop conference room, lockers and worker kitchens as well as the huge house-building bays.
The main reason to explore here is a giant bay where the sections of Nuketown houses are pieced together. Roam the long conveyor belt halls, marveling at the sections of walls, home appliances, furnishings, and signage that still sit, waiting for assembly. Come for the Nuketown history and stay for the parkour opportunities and exploration within the large conveyor belts, shipping warehouses, and factory floor corridors.
Loading Bay
The Echo Ridge shipping yard is dominated by a single, gigantic crane structure – and likely power position – that sits above the main loading dock. Big rigs with flatbeds would arrive here, receive entire housing units or other scenic items, and transportation from the site would begin. Close by is a receiving warehouse, but the main attraction is an entire, finished house still fully suspended from the crane winch, with many traversal points whether you’ve used a parachute or ascenders to get here.
Nuketown Shipping
Further along the eastern side of the map are a collection of Nuketown dwellings, some with the remains of their flatbeds and big rig cabins still visible and rusting away in the sweltering sun. These were waiting for transportation paperwork, though the decades of neglect have taken a toll on the buildings and vehicles alike. This is now a boneyard of half-buried homes, slowly consumed by the creeping sand.
Pods
The latest in retro-futuristic pod housing served the community of workers who kept Echo Ridge Weapons Station functioning, and a quartet of brightly colored housing units are still standing today, though in various stages of decrepitude. Each pod features a central pillar (and elevator) with branched living, kitchen, and dwelling chambers cantilevered out from this central column.
Now neglected for 30 years, the peeling walls, half-destroyed roofs and windows, still hold faded memories, though Operators may find long-range sniping opportunities as well as close-quarter room clearance duties if they explore the pods and the stepped exterior pathways. The only survivors are the desert scrub, cholla cacti, and Joshua trees.
THE FUTURE OF CALL OF DUTY: WARZONE
Integrated Innovations
The arrival of Area 99 to Call of Duty: Warzone later this year is one of the many changes and innovations to the game that Treyarch and Raven have planned. We can confirm the following additions to the game, including the integration of Black Ops 6’s global gameplay systems, which we dive deeper into in another blog. Here are some highlights:
Omnimovement: Seamlessly chain combat maneuvers together, like sprinting, sliding, diving and a newly enhanced supine prone, all with a full 360 degrees range of motion.
Black Ops Ordnance: All of the Primary and Secondary Weapons (Assault Rifles, SMGs, Shotguns, LMGs, Marksman Rifles, Sniper Rifles, Pistols and Launchers) coming to Black Ops 6 will also be available at the launch of Season 1. A selection of Equipment, including Tacticals, Lethals, and Field Upgrades are also scheduled. Expect more information in the weeks to come.
Dedicated Melee: You are allowed to bring a third weapon into the warzone as well as your Primary and Secondary guns; a Melee Weapon. This is a close-quarters armament with no ranged ordnance, usually taking the form of a knife or bat, and is an alternate and more proficient attack compared to the Gun Butt strike, which can be equipped by holding the melee button.
Global Weapon Builds: This Loadout and Gunsmith upgrade effectively allows you to make a change to any build or blueprint in any game, and it permeates across all modes (Black Ops 6, Zombies, and Call of Duty: Warzone). This applies to Black Ops 6 weapons only.
Carry Forward Content: Expect Call of Duty: Warzone to include the weapons, blueprints, Operators and Skins, and vast majority of the cosmetics from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare® II and Modern Warfare III, as well as full integration into the gameplay and cosmetic content of Black Ops 6.
Classic Prestige and Relocks: This is an incredibly in-depth levelling system coming to Black Ops 6 Multiplayer and Zombies at launch, and to Call of Duty: Warzone at Season 1, that rewards your dedicated grind with dozens of truly spectacular and unique rewards.
Relocks: To continue progression through the Prestige system, your Military Levels from 1-55 are reset (also known as “relocked”), and must be unlocked again. However, your weapon progress is kept, there are ways to access your favorite items with Permanent Unlock Tokens, and there’s a Prestige Hub where you can easily keep track of your Prestige progress.
Emotes and Sprays: Adding to the personalization of your Operators are the return of Emotes and Sprays (iconography you primarily daub on walls, either to tag them or to tactically flag a location for your teammates). Emotes are accessible anywhere you have control over your character.
Pick-3: The Plan for Perks
Though the majority of the Black Ops 6 Loadout system is coming to Call of Duty: Warzone, the way Perks are organized and chosen works a little differently. Welcome to Pick-3.
The current way that Call of Duty: Warzone utilizes Perks isn’t changing drastically; Raven is simply bringing you the elements of the Black Ops 6 experience that work best in Call of Duty: Warzone to this next iteration of the game. This includes retuning past weapons, balancing the Perks and other equipment on offer, and dropping in Rotating and Lootable Perks into matches:
Pick-3 Perks: Before dropping into a match, you’re able to pick any three Perks from your Loadout.
Wildcards: In addition, you can further augment your favorite Loadouts by adding a single Wildcard. Last utilized in Black Ops Cold War and for the first time in Call of Duty: Warzone, these allow you to add a modifier that would normally bend or break the rules of the Loadout system.
Lootable Pick-3 Perks: If you’re eliminated in-game, your equipped Pick-3 Perks Pack is dropped, like the current experience, and the Pack can be looted.
Lootable Perks: During a match, you can gather more than your Pick-3 Loadout Perks by finding valuable Perks in caches and other locations across the map.
Rotating Perks: To keep the game fresh, sets of Perks will be rotated in and out of the loot pool.
Specialist Remains: The rare and impressive Perk Package will remain in the game.
More Challenges That Ever Before
Weapon Mastery Camos: As part of the Global gameplay systems, you have a separate set of Call of Duty: Warzone Mastery Camos to earn for every Black Ops 6 weapon. Consult the Global Gameplay Systems Blog to see them in action!
Reticle Challenges: Customizable reticles are back for any weapon with an Optic sight, and there’s a set of Challenges to unlock Call of Duty: Warzone-specific aim-markers that you can use on any sight, in Black Ops 6 Multiplayer, Zombies, or Call of Duty: Warzone!
Dark Ops Calling Card Challenges: This wouldn’t be a Black Ops game without Dark Ops Calling Card Challenges! These involve tasks so fiendish, the unlock criteria is [[REDACTED]] until you complete them! These are the ultimate, classified set of Calling Card rewards available!
GAMEPLAY ENHANCEMENTS
Backpack to Basics
Raven has been studying the gameplay and learnings from the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) era of Call of Duty: Warzone, and focusing some of this year’s Call of Duty: Warzone iteration on simplicity. One of the key results is the return of the classic in-game inventory system. What does this mean?
No more backpacks.
Allowing for easier muscle memory, when you enter your non-Loadout Inventory in the game, you have a simple series of slots that veteran players will recognize as being laid out in a very similar way to the original equipment inventory. Your inventory has spaces for the following:
Cash on hand
Gas Mask
Armor Plates
Killstreaks
Field Upgrade
Primary, Secondary, and Melee Weapons
Your AR, SMG, Shotgun, Sniper, and Launcher munitions.
It’s now an extremely simple matter to select equipment, as well as request it from your squadmates. In fact, the only limitation is the amount of inventory you’re allowed to carry.
That problem has a solution with the return of Satchels.
Increased Inventory: Satchels
Satchels were first introduced into Call of Duty: Warzone just over a month after the initial game’s launch in 2020. They are key examples of keeping the inventory simplicity from the early years of Call of Duty: Warzone, but with some added depth (and carrying capacity) for those that need it. The Satchel system returns to Call of Duty: Warzone:
Satchels are optional, lootable equipment that increase the storage capacity of the dedicated inventory slots within a Call of Duty: Warzone Match. These provide Operators with duplicates of the same items to increase your storage capabilities, thus increasing your effectiveness. Satchels can’t be (and don’t need to be) dropped, and one or both of the individual Satchel types can be found and equipped once per match. If an Operator carrying one or more Satchels is killed, all their Satchels are dropped and can be looted. Expect the following Satchel types:
Armor Satchel: This substantially increases your Armor Plate carrying capacity.
Munitions Satchel: This increases the Ammunition capacity for AR, SMG, Shotgun, Sniper, and Launcher ammunition.
Other Expected Changes
Raven Software continues its ongoing changes to the game, with hundreds of more minor refinements. Any major changes will be updated and explained thoroughly at the consistently updated Call of Duty Patch Notes website. Here are a few highlights, all expected to drop at the start of Season 1:
Ascend to Greatness: Accessing both Ascenders and Ziplines, and the animations as you start, use, and complete an ascent or zip, have been modified to be more seamless than ever. There’s a pleasing rapidity to the entire maneuver.
Live Ping Durations Decreased: The time a ping sits in your field of vision has been decreased, giving you clearer visions of an important location once an area of interest has been ascertained.
In and Out Again (Part 1): As part of the streamlining of the Call of Duty experience, Call of Duty: Warzone’s menus and in-match user interface (UI) system will be simplified, enabling you to get into a match more quickly, and gain an understanding of the situation more rapidly,
In and Out Again (Part 2): Expect some entertaining changes to both the Infil and Exfil sequences in the game, and some additional [[REDACTED]] surprises during the launch [[REDACTED]].
BIG MAP LOWDOWN
The Black Ops 6 integration into the next chapter of Call of Duty: Warzone isn’t only about Resurgence-sized maps, as Operators will continue to drop into Urzikstan at the start of Season 1. As Raven ensures the new global content smoothly transitions into Call of Duty: Warzone, prepare for Big Map Ranked Play:
Ranked Play Returns!
Battle Royale Ranked Play: During Season 1, Ranked Play makes its triumphant return to the big map, bringing Ranked Play to Call of Duty: Warzone earlier in the seasons than ever before. Prove your prowess by outsmarting, out-maneuvering, and outlasting the opposition and earn exclusive Ranked Play rewards as you go.
ADDITIONAL INTEL
Black Ops 6 Beta Rewards
Earn cosmetic rewards by reaching Player Level milestones throughout the Multiplayer Open Beta that will persist through the launch of Black Ops 6 when it releases on October 25***.
Level 20: “Squash” Westpoint Operator Skin (unlocked during either Weekend)
Level 23: “The Truth Lies” Loading Screen
Level 27: “Beta Expert” Animated Calling Card
Level 30: “Bug Smasher” Weapon Blueprint
Pre-purchase Digitally and Get the Reflect 115 Camo Pack, Vault Edition Available
Pre-purchase Black Ops 6 today, and you’ll receive a variety of pre-purchase benefits, including the brand-new Reflect 115 Camo Pack for Modern Warfare III and Call of Duty: Warzone!
Pre-purchase the Digital Edition on PC to receive the following:
Reflect 115 Camo Pack (New!)
Woods Operator Pack*
Early Access to the Open Beta**
Pre-purchase the Vault Edition on PC and receive the previous rewards as well as the following:
Hunters Vs. Hunted Operator Pack
BlackCell Season 1
Mastercraft Weapon Collection
GobbleGum Pack
PLEASE NOTE! Those players who pre-purchased the Vault Edition will be able to gain access to the Hunters Vs. Hunted Operator Pack, as well as the Mastercraft Weapon Collection, during the Black Ops 6 Beta.
Game Pass Subscribers are set to receive all Digital Edition benefits, and those who upgrade for $30 (or local equivalent) to the Vault Edition will receive all Vault Edition benefits.
Those players who have already pre-purchased Black Ops 6 will receive the Reflect 115 Camo Pack automatically.
The Reflect 115 Camo Pack consists of the Reflect 115 Mastery Camo for use in Modern Warfare III and Call of Duty: Warzone. In addition, you receive three Flawless Aetherium Crystals, three Legendary Aether Tools, and three Ray Gun Weapon Cases for immediate use in Modern Warfare Zombies. All content does not carry forward into Black Ops 6.
Official Comms Active: Stay Informed. Not Misinformed
Misinformation is everywhere: Ensure you stay one step ahead with the latest official Black Ops 6 information by checking the Call of Duty Blog in the weeks up to launch with important comms you won’t want to miss.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is published by Activision. Development for the game is led by Treyarch, in partnership with Raven Software. Additional development support provided (in alphabetical order) by Activision Central Design, Activision Central Technology, Activision QA, Activision Shanghai, Beenox, Demonware, High Moon Studios, Infinity Ward, and Sledgehammer Games.
The Truth Lies.
*Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III / Call of Duty: Warzone on the pre-purchased platform required to redeem Woods Operator Pack and Reflect 115 Camo Pack. Sold / downloaded separately. Must be redeemed by October 25, 2025.
**Actual launch date(s) and platform availability of Open Beta subject to change. See www.callofduty.com/beta for more details. Minimum Open Beta duration is 2 days. Limited time only. Internet connection required. Online multiplayer subscription may be required.
***Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 required to redeem. Sold separately.
Call of Duty: NEXT Event Intel, How to Watch, and Tune In Rewards
Call of Duty: NEXT: Overview and How to Watch
The time has come to get primed for Call of Duty®: NEXT! Everything you need to know about the next era of Call of Duty is incoming on August 28, with the live streaming broadcast starting at 9AM PT.
With developers from Treyarch and Raven at the helm, plus representatives from across Call of Duty Studios and community channels, in-depth intel on what’s coming to Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Multiplayer, Zombies, and Call of Duty: Warzone™ is locked in and ready to be shared.
Here’s your first look at Call of Duty: NEXT content, courtesy of the Black Ops 6 Multiplayer trailer.
Call of Duty: NEXT: What to Expect and How to Watch
You don’t want to miss what’s coming for Call of Duty: NEXT. Here’s what to expect:
A deep dive into Omnimovement innovations, gameplay, system, maps, and modes coming to Black Ops 6 Multiplayer, plus a showcase of the playable maps available during the Beta.
A tour of the playable Liberty Falls, one of two Zombies launch maps.
A detailed look into Call of Duty: Warzone, the premiere of Area 99, plus Black Ops 6 integrations and more announcements.
Essential details about the Black Ops 6 Open Beta, as well as [[REDACTED]] information, Rewards, and more.
Earn rewards in Black Ops 6 that will be available at launch when you tune into Call of Duty: NEXT*. The longer you watch, the more rewards you’ll receive:
30 minutes: “Mine” Emblem
60 minutes: “Earning Stripes” Calling Card
90 minutes: “Tri Harder” Charm
120 minutes: “The Redactor” Weapon Blueprint
Complete three steps to claim these Call of Duty: NEXT rewards.
Create or sign into your Activision account and make sure you’re linked to Battle.Net
Then, link your YouTube or Twitch account with Call of Duty.
Finally, tune in to Call of Duty: NEXT on your preferred platform while signed in with a linked account to earn rewards!
* Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 required to redeem. Sold separately. Rewards must be redeemed within 48 hours of Call of Duty: NEXT. Note that while you will earn the rewards for viewing the Call of Duty: NEXT event on August 28, 2024, they won’t be available for use until Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 launches on October 25, 2024.
Call of Duty Endowment (C.O.D.E.) Bowl V, Presented by USAA
C.O.D.E. Bowl V Tune In Rewards
Directly following Call of Duty: NEXT on the Official Call of Duty Twitch® Channel or Call of Duty YouTube® Channel, get dialed in and watch the Call of Duty Endowment (C.O.D.E.) Bowl V, presented by USAA. The fifth annual C.O.D.E. Bowl presented by USAA will feature 10 esports teams from military branches of the U.S., UK, and Canada, competing alongside the most competitive players in Call of Duty: Warzone. Tune in to see who will dominate Urzikstan, be crowned the second Monster Energy MVP, and for the first time ever, claim victory in the C.O.D.E. Bowl V Solo Yolo presented by Corsair.
Earn rewards in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare® III and Call of Duty: Warzone, available instantly on August 28**.
Thanks to USAA, here are the C.O.D.E. Bowl Rewards – and remember, the longer you watch, the more rewards you will:
30 minutes: “Every Bit of Bravery” Animated Emblem
60 minutes: “Far Out Flexin’” Loading Screen
90 minutes: “Please Rewind” Weapon Charm
120 minutes: “Bowl Buzzkill” Weapon Camo
**Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III or Call of Duty: Warzone required to redeem. Sold / downloaded separately. Rewards must be claimed within 8 hours of C.O.D.E. Bowl V.
How to Watch C.O.D.E. Bowl V, and Claim Your Rewards
To collect your rewards for tuning into C.O.D.E. Bowl V, create or sign into your Activision account, link your Battle.net or Steam account, and link your Call of Duty account with YouTube or Twitch. The easiest way to claim all your rewards is to tune in first for Call of Duty: NEXT, and stay locked in for C.O.D.E. Bowl V, which takes place right after the Black Ops 6 presentations. For more information, see here.
Black Ops 6 Open Beta: Early Access*** Timing, Rewards, and More
Open Beta and Early Access Timing
Starting on Friday, August 30, drop into the Black Ops 6 Multiplayer Open Beta to experience Omnimovement for the first time, plus other gameplay innovations across a variety of new maps.
Weekend One: August 30 – September 4
Weekend One is available to all players who have pre-ordered the game on PC. Weekend One starts on Friday, August 30 at 10AM PT and will shut down on Wednesday, September 4 at 10AM PT.
Players who preorder digitally will not require a Beta code to participate in the first weekend and will be automatically registered to participate in the Early Access Period. Download the Beta from Battle.net or Steam.
Weekend Two: September 6 – 9
The second Beta weekend is available to all players on all platforms, and is scheduled to begin on Friday September 6 at 10AM PT, and end on Monday September 9 at 10AM PT.
Beta Rewards
There are even more rewards to be earned for playing throughout the Multiplayer Open Beta! As players reach Player Level milestones, they can earn cosmetic rewards that will be available at the launch of Black Ops 6 when it releases on October 25****.
Level 20: “Squash” Westpoint Operator Skin (unlocked during either Weekend)
Level 23: “The Truth Lies” Loading Screen
Level 27: “Beta Expert” Animated Calling Card
Level 30: “Bug Smasher” Weapon Blueprint
*** Actual launch date(s) and platform availability of MP Beta subject to change. See www.callofduty.com/beta for more details. Minimum Open Beta duration is 2 days. Limited time only. Internet connection required. Online multiplayer subscription may be required.
****Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 required to redeem. Sold separately.
Black Ops 6 Beta: PC System Requirements
Are you planning on playing the Black Ops 6 Beta on a PC? Then ensure your rig is prepped to the correct specifications:
Minimum Specifications:
OS: Windows 10 64 Bit (latest update)
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1400 or Intel Core i5-6600
RAM: 12 GB
Video Card: AMD Radeon RX 470 or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 or Intel Arc A750
Video Memory: 3 GB
Storage Space: SSD Required
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Sound Card: DirectX Compatible
Recommended Specifications Recommended specs to run at 60 FPS in most situations with all options set to high
OS: Windows 10 64 Bit (latest update) or Windows 11 64 Bit (latest update)
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1600X or Intel Core i7-6700K
RAM: 16 GB
Video Card: AMD Radeon RX 6600XT or NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060
Video Memory: 8 GB
Storage Space: SSD Required
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Sound Card: DirectX Compatible
Recommended Drivers for AMD/NVIDIA
AMD: 24.8.1
NVIDIA: 560.70
INTEL: 32.0.101.5768
Players with Call of Duty and the Season 5.5 update installed will automatically receive the Beta as an update to their existing install.
New or returning players without Call of Duty installed can jump into the Black Ops 6 Open Beta by downloading it from their platform storefront.
Players will be able to preload Black Ops 6 Beta content starting on August 28. The fastest way to jump into the Beta immediately is to download the Season 5 Reloaded update and preload the Beta content before August 30.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is published by Activision. Development for the game is led by Treyarch, in partnership with Raven Software. Additional development support provided (in alphabetical order) by Activision Central Design, Activision Central Technology, Activision QA, Activision Shanghai, Beenox, Demonware, High Moon Studios, Infinity Ward, and Sledgehammer Games.
For more information, please visit www.callofduty.com and www.youtube.com/callofduty, and follow @Activision and @CallofDuty on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and Facebook. For Call of Duty Updates, follow @CODUpdates on X (formerly Twitter).
Black Ops 6 Most Wanted: Campaign mission revealed
Most Wanted Mission: Tactical Overview
Black Tie Event. Black Site Descent.
Welcome to “Most Wanted” mission, a clandestine, signature Call of Duty®: Black Ops infiltration with high stakes and even higher rewards: In this case, the retrieval and rescue of the notorious and legendary wildcard operative Russell Adler from a CIA Black Site hidden below the Capitol Station in Washington D.C.
Playing the role of [[REDACTED]] “Case” [[REDACTED]], a key member of the Black Ops team led by Frank Woods, your cohorts on the ground are comprised of Woods’ protégé Troy Marshall, backed up by technical guru Felix Neumann, and Sevati “Sev” Dumas, an infiltration and assassination specialist. As the action begins, Troy and Felix have commandeered a S.W.A.T. truck parked on the edge of the Capitol Station grounds, and the two are confirming Felix’s latest gadget – a camera with retinal scanning capabilities – is operational. Now the time has come for its first field test.
Marshall sums up the mission succinctly: You’re to show up to a political fundraiser, obtain retinal identification from a senator who has the clearance to enter the Black Site, and grab Adler from the Black Site before anyone knows what’s happening.
Naturally, that’s easier said than done.
Please Note! The footage of the Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 mission shown above, and the descriptions detailed below showcase specific truncated segments of the entire mission. Expect “Most Wanted” to be substantially longer, with many additional objectives to complete, and combat opportunities to test your mettle.
An Audience with Senator McKenna
Though the event – meeting the future Presidential candidate and current Governor of Arkansas – is winding down, Senator McKenna is still socializing and gladhanding on the stage, and your camera enables you to zoom in for a closer look, but not close enough to obtain the necessary retinal detail Felix requires. Sev has already infiltrated the fundraiser disguised as a business tycoon’s wife and briefs you that the senator isn’t giving interviews tonight, doesn’t go anywhere without his security detail, but she has marked three probable leads that could get you close enough to the senator to complete the retinal scan.
How do you want to play this?
Expect to complete many of the mission objectives across the Black Ops 6 Campaign with a degree of freedom and choice, and this is no exception. On this occasion, your immediate choices include:
Highest Bidder: Gabriel Armato, a fixer for one of New York’s crime families, is at the gala. Rumors suggest Senator McKenna has ties to organized crime and has obtained some sensitive information that Armato wants returned. Perhaps a persuasive conversation with Armato will result in obtaining the senator’s retinal scan?
Covert Affair: You can’t beat the classics: Blackmailing the senator with past misdeeds. This involves pointed conversations with Miriam McKenna (the senator’s wife), listening in on conversations with the senator’s entourage, retrieving the tape, and returning it in an unmarked envelope to the wife, who agrees to arrange a photo op now that you’ve both cleaned up another one of the senator’s messes.
Mystery Man: Someone appears to have slipped Senator McKenna a note when he arrived. He glanced at it, then slipped it into his pocket. Evidence points to a man named Grisham, head of security for Aldrain Energy, who the senator has ties to. Time to investigate the connection there.
With one of the three objectives fully completed, and a high-resolution picture of the senator taken, Felix works his technical magic.
Felix has modified the infrared image of the senator that you took, to highlight the capillaries in the senator’s retina, giving the image just enough resolution to fool the security scan lock that leads to the CIA Black Site. Sure enough, the lock is breached, but seconds later, Marshall realizes the entire Black Site is being compromised, and not just because of the Black Ops team.
A violent assault has already taken place: This must be the work of Pantheon.
Who are Pantheon? [[REDACTED]]
“We can do this loud or quiet”
The mission must continue, and Marshall wants your tactical countenance, choosing to infiltrate the Black Site “weapons hot” or by “silent running”. Again, the Black Ops 6 mission structure allows you this kind of flexibility: The weapons the team has brought with them, along with additional armaments found scattered throughout this subterranean site, allow you to try out either plan, though failure to adhere to a strict stealth infiltration inevitably leads you to fall back to a more dramatic situation.
As progress through the Black Site continues, and with Pantheon targets in the vicinity neutralized, you and Marshall reach interrogation Room 4 where Adler is being held – or rather, is holding a hostage in an escape ploy to disencumber himself from this chaos. With the “prize” now in your possession, Sev confirms there are more “party crashers” topside, and the firepower you’re about to face means it’s going to be a real battle to get to the surface.
Bringing Out the Big Guns
After swift and ongoing hostilities, Marshall, Adler, and Case reach an elevator bank, where Pantheon bring out the big guns. Literally. Throughout the preceding combat, you have constant opportunities to utilize Omnimovement, allowing you to sprint, slide, and dive in any direction (forward, sidestepping, and backpedaling). Launch yourself through windows, diving onto the concourse below while dropping enemy targets as you fly. Slide across the marble flooring, gunning down foes previously hidden behind desks or other scenery. And in this current situation, leap back from the incoming juggernaut into a supine prone position to dodge the brunt of the minigun fire enveloping the corridor.
It's not just action-hero maneuvers you’re able to perfect as you fight your way through the Black Site; the armored foe you’re facing requires softening up, and the Weapon Wheel you bring up allows swift and easy swapping of Tactical and Lethal Equipment to deal with such eventualities. Forgoing the option to drop C4 in the path of the minigunner, the RCXD is chosen, and remotely controlled around the office cubicles to scoot behind the heavily armored foe without being caught in the crossfire. One detonation later, the juggernaut staggers and is finally felled by small arms fire.
An Elevated Threat Level
Clambering up through the elevator hatch, rappel ascenders are clamped to the shaft cables to reach the roof for an escape. Unfortunately, an enemy detonation snaps the tension cables you’re traversing, dooming you to plummet you back down the shaft in a chaotic freefall. It’s only through sheer strength and dexterity that you’re able to grab onto a railing, then grapple at Adler, catching him from his death plunge and hoisting him to safety.
“Hope you have a Plan B,” Adler mentions to Marshall, adjusting his aviators.
Beating the Enemy to the Punch
The action cuts to a final escape, back in the banquet hall itself, as Pantheon troops advance to prevent your progress with seemingly superior firepower. As Marshall radios Sev for escape options, you’re here for crowd control; specifically engaging the enemy using whatever means necessary to achieve mission success. Aside from Omnimovement allowing swift and precise diving behind the upturned tables and other furniture, you’re able to turn to your Equipment once more, saving ammunition while incapacitating adversaries in a variety of ways.
Swapping to the Disruptor – a throwable Tactical device that stuns enemies after you charge it to increase the proximity radius – three foes are wracked with electrical discharge, immobilized while you swiftly remove them as threats. As you near the exit, a Homing Knife is produced; a Lethal blade that’s steerable in the air, and explodes on contact, or when you detonate it. Lobbed from cover, you find it packs quite the punch.
The Great Escape
With cops surrounding the building, and more Pantheon forces on the way, it’s time to get creative. Spotting a couple of dirt bikes in the display hall, Marshall and Adler careen through into the ball room with you riding tandem. It’s time to force your way out of here, as Marshall exclaims:
“I don’t see any better options and I’m running out of bullets.”
After a novel and extremely effective method of extricating the team from Capitol Station, Adler and Marshall begin to abuse the one-way traffic system of Washington D.C., mainly due to multiple Pantheon vehicles on an intercept course. You’re here to provide overwatch fire, nullifying armed passengers and drivers of the SUVs attempting to slam you off the road. Felix and Sev race onto the scene, providing covering fire and a final means of escape from the S.W.A.T. vehicle, as the armored trucks barrage down the increasingly narrower streets, jostling for position.
Did the team manage to escape?
That’s entirely up to you: Black Ops 6 gives you the freedom to focus on the multiple and diverse methods you can employ to achieve mission success. Play the Most Wanted mission as part of the signature Black Ops 6 Campaign, this October 25!
Development on the Black Ops 6 Campaign is led by Raven Software, in partnership with Treyarch.
Incoming Comms: Prepare for Call of Duty: NEXT on August 28!
It’s time to talk about what’s Next for Black Ops 6:
With developers from Treyarch and Raven on deck, and a host of other representatives from across the Call of Duty Studios and community channels, Call of Duty: Next is the premier showcase for Black Ops 6. Highlights include:
A deeper dive into the Omnimovement innovations, gameplay, systems, maps, and modes of Black Ops 6 Multiplayer, showcasing the playable maps of the Beta.
A full reveal of the second Zombies map: Take a tour of the fully playable Liberty Falls, hours after a devastating Aetherium incursion, as the local population falls to an undead onslaught.
A detailed Call of Duty: Warzone™ showcase, detailing Black Ops 6 integrations and other exciting announcements.
Also expect more than a surprise or two during this legendary livestream!
Black Ops 6 Multiplayer Beta*: Latest Details
Two days after Call of Duty: Next, on Friday August 30 at 10AM PT, get your first taste of the next-level action coming to Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 with the Black Ops 6 Multiplayer Beta.
Feel Omnimovement for yourself and experience the most fluid Call of Duty movement to date that allows players to sprint, slide, and dive in any direction.
Explore several of the brand-new core 6v6 maps and Strike maps coming at launch and start defining your perfect strategy for each across multiple game modes.
Try out new weapons and gadgets, in addition to a refreshed Gunsmith and Attachment system, to start planning your ideal loadout.
Gear up, hit the lobby with your team, and experience many other game-changing innovations coming to Black Ops 6 so you’re ready to go as soon as the game officially launches on October 25.
Earn in-game rewards for playing the Beta, which will be immediately available in the Beta once unlocked, and playable in Black Ops 6 once the full game launches.
Weekend One: Early Access*
Available to players who have preordered the game on PC, the first Beta weekend is scheduled to begin on Friday August 30 at 10AM PT, and end on Wednesday September 4 at 10AM PT.
Weekend Two: Open Beta*
The second Beta weekend is for all players on all platforms, regardless of their pre-order status. The second Beta weekend is scheduled to begin on Friday September 6 at 10AM PT, and end on Monday September 9 at 10AM PT.
Please note: For online play across either Beta weekend, a Battle.net or Steam account is required for all PC players.
Internet access is required for participation.
Pre-order the Black Ops 6 Vault Edition and use the Hunters vs. Hunted Operator Pack in the Beta, including Operator Skins for Adler, Park, Brutus, and Klaus, as well as the Mastercraft Collection, including five Mastercraft Weapons.
Pre-Order Digitally and Get the Reflect 115 Camo Pack
Pre-order Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 today, and you’ll receive a variety of pre-order benefits, including the brand-new Reflect 115 Camo Pack for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare® III, Call of Duty: Warzone, and Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile!
Pre-order the Digital Edition on PC to receive the following:
Reflect 115 Camo Pack (New!)
Woods Operator Pack
Early Access to the Open Beta
Pre-order or purchase the Vault Edition on PC and receive the previous rewards as well as the following:
Hunters Vs Hunted Operator Pack
BlackCell Season 1
Mastercraft Weapon Collection
GobbleGum Pack
Game Pass Subscribers are set to receive all Digital Edition benefits, and those who spend $30 U.S. (or your regional equivalent) to upgrade to the Vault Edition will receive all Vault Edition benefits.
Those players who have already preordered Black Ops 6 will receive the Reflect 115 Camo Pack automatically.
The Reflect 115 Camo Pack consists of the Reflect 115 Mastery Camo for use in Modern Warfare III, Call of Duty: Warzone, and Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile. In addition, you receive three Flawless Aetherium Crystals, three Legendary Aether Tools, and three Ray Gun Weapon Cases for immediate use in Modern Warfare Zombies. All content does not carry forward into Black Ops 6.
Additional Intel: Stay Informed, Not Misinformed
Misinformation is everywhere: Ensure you stay one step ahead with the latest official Black Ops 6 information by checking the Call of Duty Blog in the coming days and weeks, as we drop Intel throughout the Multiplayer Beta, and reveal other important Comms you won’t want to miss.
Preorders are available now at participating retailers, in-game, via your platform Stores, or at CallofDuty.com.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is published by Activision. Development for the game is led by Treyarch, in partnership with Raven Software. Additional development support provided (in alphabetical order) by Activision Central Design, Activision Central Technology, Activision QA, Activision Shanghai, Beenox, Demonware, High Moon Studios, Infinity Ward, and Sledgehammer Games.
The Truth Lies.
(*) Actual platform availability and launch date(s) of Beta subject to change. See www.callofduty.com/beta for more details. Minimum Open Beta duration is 2 days. Limited time only, while Early Access Beta Codes last, at participating retailers. Online multiplayer subscription may be required.
A mobile phone number must be linked to your Battle.net® and/or Steam Account to play the Black Ops 6 Multiplayer Beta.
For more information, please visit www.callofduty.com and www.youtube.com/callofduty, and follow @Activision and @CallofDuty on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and Facebook. For Call of Duty Updates, follow @CODUpdates on X (formerly Twitter).
Intel Drop: Season 5 Reloaded
The Brawl Continues in Season 5 Reloaded!
The battle for supremacy rages on with the upcoming Season 5 Reloaded mid-season update. It’s a jam-packed content drop with Season 5 Reloaded, which welcomes Ink House, another vivid cel-shaded reimagining of a fan-favorite map. Plus, pair strategy, skill, and play in four new and returning Game Modes in Cyber Attack, Fishfection, Paintball, and Defuse Or Destroy. In Modern Warfare® Zombies, the time has come to complete the final story mission with a new Dark Aether Rift and three new Schematics.
In Call of Duty®: Warzone™, head to Rebirth Island and get to looting for the return of Supreme Resurgence! Elite Contracts will put your skills to the test – but with higher risk, comes higher reward.
Battle face to face with two new weapons, the Spear and the Torque 35 compound bow. Get into new weekly events and challenges, and explore new store offerings with The Crow, Ghost Punk, and Call of Duty League Playmaker Pack.
Keep up the championship fight when the Season 5 Reloaded mid-season update launches on August 21st at 9AM PT across all platforms. Visit the Call of Duty Blog for all official comms and announcements.
Season 5 Reloaded Update Size & Community Gift
As a thank you to our players, anyone who logs in during Season 5 Reloaded will receive the following rewards:
10 Tier Skips
10 One-Hour Double Player XP Tokens
10 One-Hour Double Weapon XP Tokens
This gift is available until the end of Season 5. Click here for more information on the Season 5 Reloaded update, including our plans for a more streamlined Call of Duty experience.
Now onto the mid-season content:
MODERN WARFARE III OVERVIEW [MWIII]
CONTENT SUMMARY:
New Cel-Shaded 6v6 variant. Step into the Ink House, a vivid reimagining of Stash House featuring an inked in look with bright colors and bold outlines.
New and Returning Game Modes. Detonate the enemy data center in Cyber Attack, play cats versus fish in Fishfection, splatter enemies in Paintball, and start the match with the bomb already ticking in Defuse and Destroy.
New 6v6 Map Variant: Ink House
Ink House [6v6]
New [Variant], Core, 6v6, Small Sized
Deploy to a cel-shaded variant of Stash House where the colors pop in high contrast to the sharp outlines of the central home and its surroundings. Relish in the animated sheen of this chaotic map while staying on your toes and keeping your head on a swivel. This variant may be pleasing to the eye, but danger still lurks around every corner.
Locate the EMP device and disable the enemy data center. First introduced in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019), Cyber Attack makes its Modern Warfare III debut in Season 5 Reloaded.
In this no-respawn game mode, both teams battle for control of a centrally placed EMP device. Retrieve the device and then plant it at the enemy’s data center. If a player on the other team ends up with the device in hand, they can then plant it at the opposite data center. The device carrier gets extra intel via radar pings, and players can revive fallen teammates. Teams switch sides every two rounds, and the first team to win five rounds wins the match.
Fishfection
In place of humans versus infected, this variant of the fan-favorite party mode pits cats against fish. Cats are equipped with the new Torque 35 compound bow and the Spear. Fish Operators must find a way to dispose of their feline enemies, thus turning them to their own side. Infect all the cats or survive the time limit to win.
Paintball
Splatter your foes in this ‘friendly’ game of Paintball where Operators are eliminated after taking a single hit. The action remains heated throughout, however, as players compete across respawn modes Hardpoint and Domination across different maps including the cel-shaded Toonoxide and Celship.
Defuse or Destroy
The clock is ticking; act fast! This round-based objective mode challenges teams to take turns attacking and defending bomb sites, but there’s an important difference compared to Search & Destroy. Each round begins with the bomb already planted in one of two possible locations. Defend the site until it detonates or defuse it before the timer runs out.
MODERN WARFARE ZOMBIES OVERVIEW [MWZ]
The Final Battle. Head into a gravity-defying Dark Aether in the final Zombies story mission including Aetherium launch pads and the ultimate boss battle.
New Dark Aether Rift: Complete the final mission and unlock a new replayable Dark Aether Rift. Brave the challenge within for powerful rewards.
New Schematics: Face the horde with three new schematics, including the Disciple Bottle, Grenade Bandolier, and a stash increase to carry more loot.
The Final Story Mission
Descend into the Dark Aether one last time alongside Dr. Jansen and Ravenov. Sever the connection between Ava and the Entity to stop the Dark Aether from seeping into the Exclusion Zone. Traverse the new area using Aetherium launch pads while fighting off enemies and initiating the final boss battle.
Operators who complete the narrative driven final Story Mission will be rewarded with a cinematic conclusion, as well as the first piece needed to access the new Dark Aether Rift.
New Repeatable Dark Aether Rift: Seek out the remaining pieces to access the repeatable Rift and face the challenges within to earn powerful rewards including permanent unlocks.
Three New Schematics
Improve your chances against the dangers ahead by unlocking three new schematics:
Disciple Bottle: In need of a helping hand? Activate this schematic to spawn a friendly Disciple that follows and helps your Operator by brainrotting zombies fighting enemies and teleporting when needed.
Grenade Bandolier: Bombard the enemy with your Lethal and Tactical Equipment using this schematic that replenishes the items over time. The schematic’s effects remain for the entire match, so keep up the pressure.
Stash Increase: Head into battle with everything you need and more by increasing your stash size to 30. Use the extra carrying capacity to further loot up in anticipation of the major battles ahead.
Keep your eyes peeled for new secrets as well. Even in this dire hour, it pays to seek out the hidden.
CALL OF DUTY: WARZONE OVERVIEW [WZ]
Supreme Resurgence. Deploy to Rebirth Island, stacked with powerful ground loot for every Operator.
Elite Contracts, Recon Flyover. Take on more challenging Contracts for greater rewards and prepare for a tough fight as Operators are revealed in the new Recon Flyover Public Event.
Supreme Resurgence (Rebirth Island)
Only the best armaments will do in Supreme Resurgence, the popular Call of Duty: Warzone game mode returning in Season 5 Reloaded.
In this Resurgence variant, the island is filled with incredible ground loot including powerful meta-inspired Weapon Blueprints featuring a variety of camos. In exchange for access to these weapons, the price of Loadouts is increased, so get looting fast.
Win your first match of Supreme Resurgence to earn a permanent unlock: the “Spilled Beans” Weapon Camo.
New Feature: Elite Contracts (All Modes)
Pump up the difficulty and the rewards of your typical Contract with the introduction of Elite Contracts. On activation, squads must complete the given task in a smaller amount of time, except for the Most Wanted Contract where more time is added.
Complete the challenge to earn an Elite cache drop providing Bonus XP, Cash, and one of the following: the Foresight Killstreak, a [Redacted] weapon, the Specialist Perk Package, or an Advanced UAV.
New Public Event: Recon Flyover (All Modes)
Prepare for two waves of Advanced UAVs during the Recon Flyover Public Event. Scanned Operators will appear as red player arrows on the map. The range of the Advanced UAVs is displayed with a red circle on the mini-map, so get out of range fast if you don’t want your position exposed for all to see. In the meantime, hunt down those scanned enemies.
CALL OF DUTY: WARZONE MOBILE OVERVIEW [WZM]
Power Up in Arcade Hype. Kick it old school in Battle Royale with this retro inspired mode that has youseeking out special power-ups in this arcade-inspired variant on Resurgence.
8-Bit Team Deathmatch. Deploy to the pixel-art inspired Bitvela Multiplayer map as pixelated Task Force 141 Operators. Earn extra points as your head grows larger after eliminated foes!
New Features and Events: Pick up Arcade Coins to earn additional EP in the new mid-season Events!
Calling all Mech Pilots and Cyberpunks!
Enter a retro arcade in Season 5 Reloaded of Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile. The mid-season update brings new Battle Royale and Team Deathmatch modes plus new weekly events, mobile original Store offerings, and more.
New Modes
Arcade Hype (Battle Royale, Limited-Time Mode)
Feeling nostalgic? Drop back into Rebirth Island and spend your cash at the arcade machines to earn random power-ups that can give you unlimited ammo, increased fire rate, stronger armor, and more. All players will also be given enhanced jumping abilities. This mode will go live in the second half of Season Reloaded.
8-Bit Team Deathmatch (Limited-Time Mode)
In this wild take on Team Deathmatch, players deploy as pixelated versions of Task Force 141 to Bitvela, featuring a pixel-art inspired environment in a vibrant recreation of the classic map Favela.
Plus, eliminating enemies inflates your own Operator’s head from small to medium and then large. While this makes you an easier target, it also grants objective bonuses! The larger your Operator’s head, the more points you’ll earn for eliminating enemies. Get eliminated and your Operator’s head will reset back to small.
Drop into this new mode right on launch and be sure to try it out while it is live for the first half of Season Reloaded.
New Features and Events
Pick Up Arcade Coins for Extra EP
Seek out Arcade Coins in your Battle Royale matches to earn additional Event Points (EP) so you can unlock rewards faster. Just pick the coins up as they randomly spawn on both Verdansk and Rebirth Island.
New mid-season Events include:
New Events
Akuma Attack
Activation Dates: August 22 to August 28
Featured Reward: Weapon Blueprint, TYR - Demonforger
Cyber Crash
Activation Dates: August 29 to September 4
Featured Reward: Weapon Blueprint, BAS-P – Dead Silence
Mecha Event
Activation Dates: September 5 to September 11
Featured Reward: Weapon Blueprint, Sidewinder – Second Gear
Tenshi Rise
Activation Dates: September 12 to September 18
Featured Reward: Operator, Kleo – Dispersion
Updated: The Keep
Get the chance to earn new mid-season premium rewards arriving in The Keep including Serenity Savior, Radiant Crusader, Titan Alloy, and Gilded Devil.
A Unified Mid-Season
Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile will synchronize with Modern Warfare III and Call of Duty: Warzone for the Season 5 Reloaded update, sharing the same Battle Pass, BlackCell, weapon progression, and rewards including certain Bundles across all three games.
GENERAL OVERVIEW [MWIII, MWZ, WZ, WZM]
New Weapons. Ditch the guns and pin your enemies to the wall with the Spear or take aim and fire with the new Torque 35 compound bow.
New Store Offerings. The mid-season update brings the shadowy arrival of The Crow, the rebellious Ghost Punk Pro, a royal Call of Duty League Playmaker Pack, plus much more.
New Weekly Challenges, Events. Earn new Aftermarket Parts and more via the mid-season Weekly Challenges, and progress through multiple Events.
New Weapons
Pierce enemies with the new Spear and Torque 35 compound bow, the former capable of pinning enemies to the wall.
Spear (Melee)
“Channel your inner spartan with this razor-sharp, serrated spear. This weapons boosts melee reach and can be thrown at enemies.”
Head into battle with three throwable Spears that additionally offer extra range when fighting in close quarters. Retrieve your thrown Spears to keep up the attack and utilize their rapid piercing strikes when engaged in melee combat.
The Spear introduces the new Color Wave and Glitch base Weapon Camos, accessible by completing Spear-specific in-game challenges.
How to Unlock the Base Weapon: Via a new mid-season Sector in the Season 5 Battle Pass.
Torque 35 (Launcher)
“A combat-ready compound bow with a 60lbs draw weight capable of taking down large prey. Certain types of arrows are retrievable after being fired.”
Take aim and hit the target with this compound bow providing customizable arrows and a red dot sight for improved target acquisition. The modern build features fast handling for quick follow-up shots with the option to fire from the hip when you need to shoot an arrow fast. The longer you hold the bowstring, the greater the strength of your shots.
The Torque 35 introduces the new The Last Post and Forum Chaser base Weapon Camos, accessible by completing Torque 35-specific in-game challenges.
How to Unlock the Base Weapon: Via a mid-season Weekly Challenge.
New Store Offerings: The Crow, Ghost Punk Pro, Playmaker
Along with the Horseman Leviathan Tracer Pack, Scumbag Cat Tracer Pack, and Beast Batallion: Drac Tracer Pack (pictured above), this mid-season update sees the shadowy arrival of The Crow, plus the rebellious Ghost Punk Pro Tracer Pack, and a royal Call of Duty League Playmaker Pack.
Tracer Pack: The Crow Operator Bundle
True love never dies, and neither does the will to win. Intimidate your enemies by donning “The Crow” Operator Skin with his signature trenchcoat and inky face markings or opt for the “Mono-Crowmatic” Operator Skin for an eerie black and white look instead. Deliver revenge with the “Wrong Made Right” Finishing Move and two Weapon Blueprints, the “Inked Vengeance” Kastov 762 Assault Rifle and “Hollow Gaze” Lockwood 680 Shotgun.
Continue the quest for retribution with the “Vengeance Unleashed” Calling Card, “Brilliantly Broken” or “Dead Man Walking” Loading Screen, “Put the Wrong Things Right” and “Inked Pair” Large Decal, “Black Blood” Emblem, and “Katana” Weapon Charm.
Tracer Pack: Ghost Punk Pro Pack
It’s time to shred! Jam in punk rock style with a bright red mohawk, studded denim vest, and patchwork plaid pants with the “Ghost Punk” Operator Skin. Take two punchy Weapon Blueprints “The Anarchist” BAL-27 Assault Rifle and the “Nonconformity” M4 Assault Rifle into battle.
It’s all attitude with the “Piss Off” Animated Calling Card, “No Future” Animated Emblem, “Watcha’ Lookin’ At, Punk?” Emblem, and “Not Dead Yet” Weapon Charm. Plus, show off your Task 141 pride with the “Another Publicity Stunt” Loading Screen. This Bundle also includes 2400 COD Points to spend towards your next Battle Pass or Store purchase.
Playmaker Pack
Get suited up for Call of Duty League with the Playmaker Pack, featuring the golden “Royal Blooded” Operator Skin, already crowned and ready for victory. Included are three vibrant Weapon Blueprints, including the “Water Gun” Bruen MK9 LMG, “Radioactive” Striker 9 SMG, and “Aurora” MTZ-556 Assault Rifle.
Show off with the “Dropping in Hot” and “Baited” Animated Calling Cards, “Gulag Pro” Sticker, and “Res Pls” Emblem. Plus, a 1 Hour Double Player XP and 1 Hour Double Weapon XP are included.
Plus, don’t miss out on additional Season 5 Reloaded bundles with Beast Batallion: Net Devil, the Eyes Up Tracer Pack, Echo Endo Firefly Tracer Pack, and more. Prepare for paintball battle with the Splatter Tactics bundle or alternatively, ready to hunt with the Wildlife Wanted: Swan Song Tracer Pack.
New Weekly Challenges and Events
Check the in-game Weekly Challenges throughout the mid-season to view the new rewards coming in Season 5 Reloaded, including new Aftermarket Parts plus the “Chainbreaker” Weapon Camo earned for completing all eight Weekly Challenges.
Season 5 Reloaded Events
Wildlife Most Wanted
Activation Dates: September 4 to September 12
Rewards: 10
Unleash your inner animal! Earn an additional XP boost by equipping any of the Operator Skins from Wildlife Wanted-themed Bundles. Play and earn XP to unlock rewards.
Emotional Overdrive (September 12 to September 18)
Rewards: 10
Don’t rage quit just yet! Earn XP in-game to unlock rewards. Use any of the Operator Skins from the Tracer Pack: Emoting Ultra Skin Bundle for a boost.
The Call of Duty Endowment (C.O.D.E.) Bowl V Presented by USAA (August 28)
The Call of Duty Endowment is proud to celebrate five years of C.O.D.E. Bowl and 15 years of veteran impact.
C.O.D.E. Bowl V presented by USAA is back on August 28, 2024, following Call of Duty: Next on the Official Call of Duty Twitch® Channel or Call of Duty YouTube® Channel! Watch U.S., U.K., and Canadian esports teams compete for the iconic C.O.D.E. Bowl trophy. And stay tuned to see who takes home the second-ever Monster Energy MVP Award!
Black Ops 6 Beta Play and Battle Pass Progression
Starting on August 30, progress the Season 5 Battle Pass when you play the Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Beta. Daily play of the Black Ops 6 Beta will grant Battle Pass XP, and Battle Tokens will increase based on experience gained during the Beta.
Upgrade to Modern Warfare III
Modern Warfare III offers one of the greatest collections of Multiplayer maps ever assembled, including modernized versions of all 16 launch maps from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009), plus the introduction of an all-new open-world Zombies and a campaign that finds Task Force 141 facing off against the ultimate threat.
For more information, please visit www.callofduty.com and www.youtube.com/callofduty, and follow @Activision and @CallofDuty on X, Instagram, and Facebook. For Call of Duty Updates, follow @CODUpdates on X.
Optimizing the Call of Duty Experience
As we look ahead to Call of Duty®: Black Ops 6, we’ve been working on ways to improve the Call of Duty experience by optimizing menu navigation and offering smaller and more customized downloads, plus other benefits for your Call of Duty library.
We’ve heard your feedback, and along with our own testing and learnings, have worked to optimize the way players access and download Call of Duty. This begins by revamping the experience formerly known as Call of Duty HQ.
Moving forward, as a result of upcoming changes, players will have:
A new streamlined interface
Direct access to games
More control over your downloads, including Call of Duty: Warzone™ content
Expanded streaming technology to reduce file sizes
These changes will be rolled out in phases as a series of downloads. After these larger initial updates, future Call of Duty downloads will decrease in size and existing files will take up less space on your device.
As a thanks for your patience, we're gifting all players with in-game consumables, which will be delivered when you first log into Call of Duty after the Season 5 Reloaded update.
The Road to a Smoother Call of Duty Experience
Implementing these changes will require a series of updates to reorganize game files and deploy a redesigned UI.
Following these updates and optimizations, future Call of Duty download sizes will decrease. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will be a smaller download than Call of Duty: Modern Warfare® III at launch.
In addition to regular season releases, the calendar of updates are as follows:
Reorganizing Game Content, Part of the Season 5 Reloaded Update (August 21)
Black Ops 6 Open Beta (August 30)
New User Interface (Mid-October)
Black Ops 6 Launch (October 25)
Season 1 (Redacted)
We appreciate and thank the community as we work through these steps to provide a better Call of Duty experience. Let’s look at each update in more detail:
Setting the Stage: The First Big Update (August 21)
Paving the way for these benefits requires a large initial update set to release alongside the launch of Season 5 Reloaded on August 21, introducing:
Game file reorganization
Separating Call of Duty: Warzone from the default download for annual titles
Implementing new texture streaming tech
Separating Call of Duty: Warzone from the default download for annual titles
To give players more control over what they’re downloading, we are decoupling the download of Call of Duty: Warzone from other titles. When you purchase an annual title, you will only download the files for that game by default.
On the free-to-play side, players can “opt-in” to get Call of Duty: Warzone when they’re downloading a new annual title or simply download it separately at any point in time. The choice is yours.
Flexibility and choice matter. We want to give players the choice to download each Call of Duty, including Call of Duty: Warzone, when and how they wish.
Expanded Texture Streaming Technologies
In part of an ongoing effort to reduce file and download sizes, we’re expanding our usage of texture streaming, starting with the Season 5 Reloaded update.
With these capabilities, we can cycle content that is less frequently used by players to a streaming cache, avoiding the need to download it directly to your device’s storage. Going forward, more content will be included in this cache.
With this change, you may see older content that briefly appears at a lower quality until the streaming cache has fully loaded. The resolution of content streamed from the cache will depend on what setting you select for this feature.
To capture this change and give players more control over their content streaming experience, we are updating the current “On-Demand Texture Streaming” setting to “On-Demand High Quality Streaming” and offering two options:
Optimized (Default) – content appears at a high-fidelity graphical quality; increased internet bandwidth usage
Minimal – content appears at reduced graphical quality; lower internet bandwidth usage
Download Sizes and Experience
This is where you come in. The process begins with a download – a big one. But downloading now will pave the way over the next several weeks and ultimately lead to a better experience when Black Ops 6 arrives.
This initial download will not permanently add the stated file size to the storage space that Call of Duty takes up on your device. The update is reorganizing game files and adding new tech to prep the way for the full player interface arriving in October. Once complete, Call of Duty’s footprint will decrease due to these file optimizations.
Thank You for Bearing with Us During This Update
As a thank you to the community for completing this download, we’re gifting players a pack of Battle Token Tier Skips and 2XP Tokens. From the start of Season 5 Reloaded (August 21) until the end of Season 5, players who complete the download and log in will receive:
10 1-Hour Double Player XP Tokens (10 Hours Total)
10 1-Hour Double Weapon XP Tokens (10 Hours Total)
10 Battle Pass Token Tier Skips
These tier skips and tokens will be delivered when you first log into Call of Duty after the Season 5 Reloaded update.
Black Ops 6 Beta (August 30)
Move like never before using the new Omnimovement system in a variety of maps and game modes during the upcoming Black Ops 6 Open Beta. The first update as part of Season 5 Reloaded paves the way for a seamless entry into the action.
Players with Call of Duty and the Season 5.5 update installed will automatically receive the Beta as an update to their existing install.
New or returning players without Call of Duty installed can jump into the Black Ops 6 Open Beta by downloading it from their platform storefront.
Players will be able to preload Black Ops 6 Beta content starting on August 28. The fastest way to jump into the Beta immediately is to download the Season 5 Reloaded update and preload the Beta content before August 30.
After the Beta is over, Beta content will be automatically removed during the Season 6 update.
New User Interface (Mid-October)
Get your hands on the improved menu and navigation experience when the new user interface arrives in mid-October. We are still putting the finishing touches on the new interface and will follow up with the exact date of the transition in the weeks ahead.
The new user interface will introduce a Call of Duty landing zone where top content will be visible on one clean page without needing to scroll. The landing page’s main focus is on games, and gives players the ability to directly access those games.
The new landing page will feature our most recent annual title and Call of Duty: Warzone for ease of access. Other Call of Duty titles can be accessed via your games library or the “Last Played” tile if that is the game you played last.
The user interface and landing page will evolve over several initial stages:
Before the Launch of Black Ops 6 (Mid-October)
Initially, there will be a transition period when the new landing page goes live before Black Ops 6 launches. During this time, Modern Warfare III and Call of Duty: Warzone will be the featured titles and players will need to cross-launch into each of those games. This paves the way for Black Ops 6 to smoothly enter as a featured title on October 25.
Black Ops 6 Launch (October 25)
When Black Ops 6 launches, it will replace Modern Warfare III, making Black Ops 6 and Call of Duty: Warzone the featured titles. Players will be able to instantly launch Black Ops 6 and cross-launch into Call of Duty: Warzone.
Season 1 (Redacted)
At Season 1, Black Ops 6 and Call of Duty: Warzone will remain the featured titles, but players will be able to instantly launch into both Black Ops 6 and Call of Duty: Warzone.
We will follow up with the associated download sizes for this update and more details around the new user interface before it goes live in October.
Black Ops 6 Download Sizes
As a result of these updates, Black Ops 6 will be a smaller download at launch than Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare III. Since we are still in game development, and in the process of final optimizations, it’s too soon to share final download sizes yet. We plan to have final specs for Black Ops 6 in October. We will share the file size details as soon as we have them.
Players with the previous updates installed who purchase Black Ops 6 will automatically download the title as an update to their existing install.
New or returning players without Call of Duty installed can download Black Ops 6 from their platform storefront.
Starting with Black Ops 6, games will have their own individual user interfaces designed to easily get players into the modes and content they want to play.
Players will get a partial preview of the Black Ops 6 user interface during the Black Ops 6 Multiplayer Beta and at the Call of Duty: NEXT showcase event!
We think you’ll like the upcoming changes... Stick with us while we get through the first big transitional update for Season 5 Reloaded and then reap the benefits of the new system on the way to the Black Ops 6 Multiplayer Beta, launch, and into our seasonal content.
FAQ
Why are Call of Duty titles being delivered in a single location?
Our goal is to provide a place where players can come in and enjoy whatever Call of Duty experience they wish – download and play what you want, when you want. This approach also allows us to address technology and content management challenges that occurred when Call of Duty games were separate installs and Call of Duty: Warzone was tied to a single annual title (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare).
This reduces the combined file size of multiple titles, promotes faster switching between games for players who play a variety of content, gives Call of Duty: Warzone a permanent home where it’s not tied to a single annual title, and allows you to share settings and social features across games.
Why do new annual titles sometimes appear as “DLC” on my platform?
With all of our content being delivered to the same location, new Call of Duty titles are downloaded to the base Call of Duty install on your platform. The base Call of Duty install acts as a central hub for you to manage and play all of your Call of Duty content, including new annual titles.
Does content that I’m not playing get automatically removed? Can I just keep individual modes from a title if I’m not playing everything?
Older content that you’re not playing does not get automatically removed from the Call of Duty install, outside of special situations where content is temporarily available, like a beta. However, you can uninstall content that you’re not using to reduce the storage space that Call of Duty takes up on your device. You can remove individual modes within annual titles if you’re only playing part of that game (e.g. uninstalling single player once you’ve finished the campaign).
What is size of the download for Black Ops 6? Earlier reports suggested that it could be a 300 GB download, is that true?
The estimated file size currently displayed on the Black Ops 6 pre-order pages does not represent the download size or disk footprint for Black Ops 6.
The sizes as shown include the full installations of Modern Warfare II, Modern Warfare III, Call of Duty: Warzone and all relevant content packs, including all localized languages combined which is not representative of a typical player install experience.
Please note that players will be able to download Black Ops 6 at launch without downloading any other Call of Duty titles or all of the language packs.
The actual estimation of the Black Ops 6 file size will be available in October.
Additional Intel
Stay one step ahead with the latest official Black Ops 6 information by checking the Call of Duty Blog in the coming days and weeks as we dive deeper into the game, along with Call of Duty: NEXT, Open Beta, and other important comms you won’t want to miss.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is published by Activision. Development for the game is led by Treyarch, in partnership with Raven Software. Additional development support provided (in alphabetical order) by Activision Central Design, Activision Central Technology, Activision QA, Activision Shanghai, Beenox, Demonware, High Moon Studios, Infinity Ward, and Sledgehammer Games.
For more information, please visit www.callofduty.com and www.youtube.com/callofduty, and follow @Activision and @CallofDuty on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and Facebook. For Call of Duty Updates, follow @CODUpdates on X (formerly Twitter).
Black Ops 6 Zombies: What you need to know
PART 1: THE PRELUDE
Welcome to Call of Duty®: Black Ops 6 Zombies.
Purely focused on the Round-Based Zombies action coming to the game, the following Intel Barrage features extensive comms direct from the Treyarch Zombies Team, and includes a detailed gameplay overview and deep dive into all the pre-game preparations you can undertake, full details on what to expect when you’re engaging hordes of undead during a match, and a terrifying look at the dark bestiary of the undead currently haunting Terminus Island.
PLEASE NOTE! Throughout this blog, a wide variety of gameplay systems are discussed, along with specific examples of how the systems are employed in the game. In every case, it is wise not to make assumptions that these indicate the total number of elements pertaining to a particular gameplay function. All content is subject to change as Treyarch’s Zombies Team continues final refinements prior to launch.
WARNING: LIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD! Please note that the contents of this blog include information about gameplay systems, enemy types, areas of the Terminus map, and other information that could be deemed as spoilers. Proceed at your own risk!
Terminus Overview: Outpost Escape, Philippine Sea
Located in the Philippine Sea is the remote Terminus Island complex. Historical data indicates a pre-WWII coal mining operator on the island, abandoned around 1932. Ten years later, Terminus became a forward U.S. Naval base. Mothballed until 1965, the CIA converted it into a Top-Secret outpost used for the detention of [[REDACTED]]. In 1984, [[REDACTED]]. In 1986, Project Janus took over the island, building a laboratory in the subterranean mining caves.
After Peck and Maya break the Requiem crew out of their prison cells, they soon learn this is a bio-research station for Project Janus. Your handlers are Peck and Strauss, and for the richest story experience, you’ll want to choose your Operator crew from Grigori Weaver, Elizabeth Grey, Mackenzie ‘Mac’ Carver, and Maya Aguinaldo – the dedicated crew of characters featured throughout Black Ops 6 Zombies’ storyline.
Get ready to play this Round-Based Zombies map at the launch of Black Ops 6 on October 25, along with the Liberty Falls map.
Liberty Falls Overview: Almost Hell, West Virginia
Footage from an incursion at a once-quaint, now-overrun West Virginian town also gives you the first glimpse at the second launch map. Seemingly the epicenter of a Dark Aether outbreak, chaos is crawling through Liberty Falls, with much of the local population now succumbing to the results of a second, simultaneous dimensional breach.
Uncover more about Liberty Falls at Call of Duty: NEXT on August 28.
PART 2: THE ESSENCE OF ZOMBIES: GAMEPLAY OVERVIEW
An Introduction to Round-Based Gameplay
Black Ops 6 Zombies is purely focused on creating the finest, most rewarding Round-Based experience Treyarch has ever made. Many of the gameplay systems you’ll be reading about will be familiar to veteran Zombies players, while others are designed to grow the Zombies community, and allow newer players to explore more of the Main Quest more easily.
At its most basic level, one of the first Black Ops 6 Round-Based Zombies maps involves you (and optionally, up to three additional teammates) exploring and eventually breaking out of a maximum-security prison complex called Terminus Island, with waves (or “rounds”) of undead foes to dispatch as you discover and complete objectives.
Delve a little deeper, and you realize your chances of survival are greatly enhanced by adept avoidance of the crowds of wandering corpses as you line up your killing blows, and just as importantly, by managing the main currencies of the game: Essence and Salvage.
Essence and Salvage: The Currency of Round-Based Zombies
Additional and new routes through a Round-Based Zombies map involve accessing blocked areas, either by unlocking doors or removing obstacles, and both cost Essence. As some areas have multiple routes to discover, you must weigh up the costs in unlocking these thoroughfares, while at the same time spending Essence on Perks and Pack-a-Punched weaponry to strengthen yourself against the ever-growing undead hordes.
As your knowledge grows, you’ll utilize other gameplay elements to your benefit, creating powerful offensive weaponry, and studying areas of the map where there’s a good amount of maneuvering space, when larger, higher-round zombie hordes require rounding up and “training”.
In Black Ops 6 Zombies, Essence takes the form of points you rapidly accrue by slaying zombies, and occasionally appears as vials of Dark Aether Essence that sometimes drop from tougher enemies. You use Essence in the following ways:
To access Objective-related devices (in Terminus, these are devices that power the station) to further your progress.
To unlock doors, with some allowing you to pay for half the unlocking cost, sharing the Essence amount with a teammate for the first time in Black Ops.
To summon a Tactical Raft for aquatic expeditions.
To purchase Perk-a-Colas from Perk Machines (to add specific advantages to your Operator, via a single machine, or a Der Wunderfizz that vends all Perk Cans on a particular map).
To purchase upgrades for currently utilized weapons from the Pack-a-Punch Machine (Tier I, II, or III) that increase weapon potency and ammunition reserves, as well as occasionally offering unexpected effects….
To purchase ammo from the Ammo Caches.
To purchase an additional weapon with a rarity rating from a Weapon Wall Buy.
To upgrade additional armor from an Armor Wall Buy (Tier II, Tier III).
To purchase a random weapon with a rarity rating from a Mystery Box, and more.
To start a special Trial challenge.
The other main form of “currency” is Salvage, small piles of junk with a green outline, found randomly from fallen enemies. In a quality-of-life improvement, players now only need to manage one type of Salvage, as opposed to collecting both normal and High-Grade Salvage in Black Ops Cold War. Salvage drops are also now player-specific, so you won’t have to worry about teammates picking up your hard-earned Salvage before you can.
You use Salvage in the following ways:
To access an Ammo Mod and apply a special elemental power to your current weapon, via an Arsenal Machine.
To upgrade the Rarity Tier of your weapon so it inflicts more damage, via an Arsenal Machine.
To build specific Tactical Equipment via a Crafting Table.
To build specific Lethal Equipment via a Crafting Table.
To build specific Support Equipment via a Crafting Table.
Expect additional details on all these gameplay systems as you progress through this blog.
Main Quests
Every Zombies map has a Main Quest that you’re left to your own devices to solve, usually after the route to the Pack-a-Punch machine has been completed. The Main Quest for Terminus follows a similar pattern, and you’re free to fully explore the prison area, ocean, and smaller islands with Tactical Rafts at your disposal to explore one of the largest Round-Based Zombies maps ever created.
One of the more thrilling aspects of Round-Based Zombies is the complete freedom you’re given to investigate a variety of odd, out-of-the-way, and seemingly innocuous parts of the map. Sometimes there’s nothing to find. Sometimes, an audio log, document, or strange artifact offers a clue to further discoveries. Occasionally an entire hidden set of objectives is unearthed.
By their very nature, Easter Eggs are [[REDACTED]] and cannot be discussed, though we can state that veteran Zombies players should expect plenty of Side Quests to discover as you dig deeper into the secrets of Terminus Island.
While Treyarch is focused on making their Main Quests for each of Black Ops 6’s maps more challenging than those found in Black Ops Cold War, the studio is also adding an all-new guided mode to welcome more players into the world of Zombies. This mode is planned to release later in-season after each map’s launch to protect the sanctity of the traditional “Easter Egg hunt,” where the community puts their heads together to find and complete the Main Quest and Side Quests every time a new map launches.
In this mode, players will receive focused guidance through the Main Quest with rounds capped to certain stages of their quest progression. All Side Quests and other Easter Eggs will be disabled to ensure experiencing the narrative is the singular priority. If you’ve ever been curious about jumping into the Zombies story with both feet, this is your time.
Players who complete a map’s Main Quest will earn unique rewards themed after their respective map, with an extra reward for completing the Main Quest the old-fashioned way. Players will also earn a limited time Calling Card for completing a Main Quest before the launch of the guided mode for that map, and long-time fans will be happy to know they’ll have the option to keep playing their match after completing the quest!
Exfil or Expire
At some point, even the most hardened, strategically focused Zombies player needs to extricate themselves from the relentless hordes, and once you want to leave Terminus, you can call upon Raptor One to locate a landing site while you race to secure it before you’re all overwhelmed. After clearing the vicinity, you may yet live to see another match.
Or, you can continue to explore the island, facing tougher and tougher crowds of ghoulish entities until you succumb to the threats. Either way, your personal best is tracked and logged, so you know when you’ve bettered a previous attempt.
Zombimovement
With movement being redefined across the entirety of Black Ops 6, for the first time in Zombies, players can sprint, slide, and dive in any direction (forward, sidestepping, and backpedaling), seamlessly chaining combat maneuvers together, all with a full 360-degree range of motion. This is Omnimovement, and the extra dexterity this brings to your maneuvers is nothing short of game-changing.
As veteran players will attest to, using your dexterity is the key to dodging a crowd of incoming undead in a narrow play space. Perfecting Omnimovement allows a full range of action-hero stunts, whether it’s sprinting backward from a horde, diving sideways through a window, or automatically mantling low fences or scenery. Thanks to Intelligent Movement—which you can optionally set to automatic—you can expertly circle-strafe your foes.
If you really want to see your new moves in action, try out the ability to switch from first- to third-person perspective (and the shoulder you’re watching while in third-person mode) for the first time in Round-Based Zombies! Check your Settings to change perspectives on the fly at any time during a match.
Heads Up: Display Options
The Heads-Up Display (HUD) that appears on your screen is designed to offer deep customizable experiences, across almost all aspects of the interface.
There are far too many options to discuss in this blog. However, highlights include:
The ability to choose from a variety of HUD layouts. Yes, that includes a “Legacy” setting that removes the mini-map and positions elements in the same place as the HUD in Black Ops 3.
The ability to turn off the health bar and zombie hit point damage numbers that appear with each successful impact. Full Readability options, part of a large-scale undertaking related to accessibility settings for both vision and cognition.
The ability to select a custom color palette for your interface, icons, and maps, as well as robust mini-map settings.
The ability to turn off Pack-a-Punch weapon camos to preserve the look of your weapon customization.
While the HUD is supremely customizable, it’s still worth showing the Default display, so you can see how and where all the useful information is displayed:
CAPTION: An example of action with the Default HUD utilized.
CAPTION: An example of the same action with the Legacy HUD utilized.
Top Left: Displays the named area of the map where you’re located, your mini-map, and any objectives you are currently undertaking.
Top Middle: The main compass, with the named area of the map you’re in.
Top Right: The current Round you’re playing. Below that intermittently appearing are portraits of the Handlers assisting you in your mission, and a waveform of the conversation you’re having.
Middle Left: Click through to a sub-menu appearing here, which shows your available Emotes (which includes your Weapon Inspect) and Sprays, the latter of which can be used to pinpoint areas of interest you’re investigating.
Bottom Left: You (and your squad’s) details, including:
Your name.
Armor and condition.
Health Bar and Hit Points.
Armor Plates in reserve.
Self-Revive.
Current Salvage total.
Current Essence total.
Bottom Middle: The Perks you currently have active.
Bottom Right: Your offensive capabilities, all grouped together, including:
Your current weapon, along with the ammo and reserve ammo.
The rarity of the weapon (denoted by a color behind the ammo and a diamond icon).
The alt-fire capabilities of the weapon (if applicable).
The current Ammo Mod the weapon is employing.
The current Pack-a-Punch level. (None, I, II, or III)
Your current Tactical and count.
Your current Lethal and count.
Your current Field Upgrade, with a circular regeneration bar around it.
Up to three GobbleGums you’ve acquired from a machine, but not yet used.
Middle: During normal gameplay, your target crosshairs and reticle when your weapon is ADS, and when activated. Zombie hit markers are shown in the following ways:
Enemies you are currently damaging have a health bar.
Damage in three different colors; White (regular damage), Gold (Critical damage) and Blue (Armor damage)
Confirmed enemy kills, along with how they were dispatched.
With the correct button press, a context-sensitive Ping Wheel can also appear here, offering the ability to drop a marker at a location based on Audio, Visual, threat level, or an area to move to.
Idle Hands: Saving and Stability
Due to a variety of important reasons – including improved visual quality and lower file sizes – an internet connection is required to play Black Ops 6 Zombies. Robust systems have been put into place to both maximize the ease of matchmaking and minimize gameplay interruptions. Here are some of these mitigations:
Private Matchmaking: New in Black Ops 6 Zombies, players can join another Friend’s game no matter how far they are through the game, providing the Host has room in the game and their Party in a joinable state.
Pausing, Saving, and Recovery: At any point during a game, the following can occur:
Pausing: You can elect to pause your Solo match to take a quick break. After a finite amount of time without continuing to play, the game will automatically save the match at the point it was paused. Load the save file to continue.
Saving: For the first time in Zombies, you can elect to save your Solo match at any time, provided you are at full health, aren’t downed, dead, or actively engaged in an Exfil. Load the save file to continue. Again, if enough time passes while you’re AFK, the game will automatically save your game state so you won’t lose your progress!
Recovery: On the rare occasion that the game’s servers, your internet, or a combination of the two conspire to prevent your continued enjoyment of the game, and you disconnect...
Solo Players: Load up your save close to the point in time you disconnected and continue from that point.
Squad Players: If you disconnected from a Squad Match but the Host is still active, you can rejoin and continue the match after a small period of time spectating.
*Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III / Call of Duty: Warzone on the pre-ordered platform required to redeem Woods Operator Pack. Sold / downloaded separately. Must be redeemed by October 25, 2025.
**Actual launch date(s) and platform availability of Open Beta subject to change. See www.callofduty.com/beta for more details. Minimum Open Beta duration is 2 days. Limited time only. Internet connection required. Online multiplayer subscription may be required.
For more information, please visit www.callofduty.com and www.youtube.com/callofduty, and follow @Activision and @CallofDuty on X, Instagram, and Facebook. For Call of Duty Updates, follow @CODUpdates on X.
Black Ops 6 Zombies: What you need to know, part 2
PART 3: LOCKED AND LOADED: PRE-GAME PREPARATION
Augments: Customizing Perks, Ammo Mods, and Field Upgrades
Augments provide a rich and innovative customization experience, allowing you to invest into research between matches, unlocking Augments for every Perk, Ammo Mod, and Field Upgrade in the game.
Each Perk, Ammo Mod, and Field Upgrade has a research path, accessed in the Pre-game Menus between Matches. Revelations you make during your research allow you to unlock the true power of each item, which take the form of Augments. A total of six Augments per item (three Minor, and three Major) are yours to uncover.
A Minor Augment offers a limited advantage to the item, usually during use.
A Major Augment offers a substantial advantage to the behavior of the item, usually during use.
From the six researched Augments, you can imbue two of them (one Minor, one Major) to each Perk, Ammo Mod, and Field Upgrade.
Augments are designed to create a deep progression path, as well as offering you the ability to delve into research that benefits your style of play. Experimenting with all the available Augments, learning how they interact with other Augments for Perks, Ammo Mods and Field Upgrades, and also how your fellow teammates are using their preferred set-ups, provides an incredible depth to the experience.
Weapons and Loadouts
Neutralizing the frothing undead requires more than harsh words and bravado. You’re fortunate to be able to count on an extensive armory from which to perfect your anti-zombie armaments, before the battles begin. Let’s get to the Gunsmith and find out more about perfecting your pre-game Loadouts.
Stats and Camos: Naturally, each of these Loadout elements have Zombies-related Challenges and Badges related to them, and the weapons have Camos to grind for. This includes four highly-desirable Mastery Camos in Zombies – more information to come!
Keeping Score: There’s no need to manually tally on how many zombies each individual weapon (Primary, Melee, Field Upgrade, Tactical, Lethal) has eliminated; this menu keeps score.
Creating and continuing to adapt your zombie-culling arsenal is the key to in-game success, and the Black Ops 6 Loadout system shares many features from Black Ops Cold War, as well as a few important differences.
Primary Weapon, Fists, and Melee
Your main method of eliminating the undead consists of a primary weapon, your fists (until you find a second weapon in the match) and a dedicated melee weapon (either sharp or blunt) for when the situation gets even messier, as an alternative to a melee strike with the butt of your gun.
Primary Weapon: Choose from any available Assault Rifle, SMG, Shotgun, LMG, Marksman Rifle, Sniper Rifle, Handgun, or Launcher.
Melee Weapon: Choose from the available Melee armaments.
Further Improvements and In-Game Access
Weapons can also be:
Purchased with Essence at Wall Buys (with a higher rarity than your loadout weapon) or in Mystery Boxes (randomized, with a higher rarity).
Dropped and swapped between teammates.
Improved with damage-increasing rarity powers, found at Arsenal machines.
Improved with different Ammo Mods, found at Arsenal machines.
Improved significantly with damage, sometimes hidden effects, and additional ammunition reserves, at the Pack-a-Punch machine.
Using the Zombie Build system: Found in a Wall Buy or Mystery Box as one of your own personal weapon builds, provided you’ve saved the custom build and assigned it to be accessible at a Wall Buy or Mystery Box, in the Loadout Menu before a match. This will even implement the camo, charm, and stickers you’ve applied to your Zombie Build weapon!
Field Upgrades
Each member of your squad is bringing a piece of specialized equipment known as Field Upgrades, a powerful device that offers a chargeable, impressive elemental ability, followed by a cooldown period when the Field Upgrade recharges and is ready to be used again. You’ll earn more charges simply by eliminating enemies, not with the passage of time.
At launch, expect to choose a familiar Field Upgrade from past Zombies games:
Aether Shroud: Phase into the Dark Aether, becoming hidden from enemy detection.
Frenzied Guard: Repair armor and force all enemies in the area to target you. During this time, kills repair a portion of your armor.
Healing Aura: Summons beams of energy down on yourself and allies to instantly revive and heal to full health.
Energy Mine: Create a mine of pure energy that detonates in rapid succession, dealing lethal electric damage.
In addition, expect a brand-new Field Upgrade know as Dark Flare, offering a new and impressive offensive capability:
Dark Flare: You generate a massive energy beam that deals lethal shadow damage. The beam penetrates everything in its path.
Further Improvements
Field Upgrades can be made even more powerful with the use of Augments.
Field Upgrades cannot be dropped, but now for the first time in Zombies, you can swap to a different Field Upgrade at any time during a match by using the in-game menu. Note that your cooldown will reset upon switching to a different Field Upgrade.
Field Upgrade Example: Additional Pieces of Dark Flare
With some promising mass takedowns during previous matches, you begin focusing on researching the Dark Flare Field Upgrade between matches, and start to unlock the Minor and Major Augments, adding yet more power to future uses of this Field Upgrade. Once fully researched, you have the following three Minor Augments, and three Major Augments to choose from.
Before your next match, you simply choose one Minor, and one Major Augment, depending on your specific needs, and can swap between other Augments between Matches. We went with these:
Minor Augment:
Heavy Shadow: Zombies impacted by the beam are slowed.
Major Augment:
Shadow Ball: The beam is replaced with a sphere that damages enemies as it travels and detonates at the end of the duration.
Tacticals, Lethals, Support Equipment (Crafting Table)
Unlike Black Ops Cold War, you’re facing down zombie hordes with a choice of Tactical and Lethal Equipment that you can bring into the Infil with you.
Tactical Equipment (Crafting Table)
Tacticals offer the use of an additional, non-lethal advantage to partner with a more devastating attack (from a Lethal or another Weapon). Current Loadout Tacticals include Concussion or Decoy Grenades, or the ever useful Stim Shot.
Once in-game, you can use Salvage you’ve acquired from dropped zombies (Ground Loot) to construct a wide variety of Tactical Equipment, each with a different cost (in Salvage). Craft as many as you like until your Inventory is full, or a lack of Salvage prevents you:
Concussion: Grenade that slows victim’s movement and aiming.
Stim Shot: Combat stim that heals wounds and refreshes Tactical Sprint.
Smoke: Deploys a smoke screen that blocks vision and automated targeting systems.
Decoy Grenade: Attracts nearby zombies for a short duration.
Shock Charge: Electrical trap that sticks to surfaces and electrocutes enemies, stunning them.
Cymbal Monkey: Attracts zombies for a short duration before exploding.
LT53 Kazimir: Creates a small singularity that pulls in and kills enemies.
Lethal Equipment (Crafting Table)
Lethals are usually utilized when masses of writhing undead appendages are threatening to overwhelm you or your team. Choose Frag, Sticky, or Thermo Grenades, the Combat Axe, or the new Blast Trap, a small missile strapped with an improvised explosive.
During a match, gather Salvage from dropped zombies (Ground Loot) to increase your pool of Lethal Equipment, each with a different cost (in Salvage). Craft as many as you like until your Inventory is full, or a lack of Salvage prevents you:
Frag: Cookable fragmentation grenade.
Sticky: Timed sticky grenade.
Molotov: Thrown incendiary weapon creates a patch of flames.
C4: Sticky explosive with large damage radius. Detonate remotely.
Combat Axe: Thrown axe that kills enemies in one hit. Bounces off surfaces.
Impact Grenade: Precision grenade that explodes on impact.
Thermo Grenade: Creates a large fuel-air cloud that explodes after a duration.
Blast Trap: Planted explosive device detonates when enemies come near.
Further Improvements and In-Game Access
Some Tacticals and Lethals are intermittently dropped by Zombies to be gathered as ground loot.
A full complement of Tacticals and Lethals can be constructed at Crafting Tables, along with more powerful ordnance, such as Scorestreaks.
Support Equipment (Crafting Table)
Between bouts of undead culling, access the Crafting Table and you’ll be able to spend Salvage to construct an impressive array of Support equipment, which also occasionally drops as ground loot. Some examples include:
Self-Revive: Use when downed to revive yourself.
ARC-XD: Explosive RC car that emits small Aether Blasts.
Sentry Turret: Automated turret that scans for and attacks nearby enemies in a forward-facing cone.
Mutant Injection: Temporarily transforms you into a Mangler… with all the bells and whistles.
New Support: Mutant Injection
One of the Support items you can craft is the Mutant Injection which allows you to transform into, and temporarily wreak havoc as, a Mangler! Once you inject yourself with the serum, you grow an additional three feet taller, become clad in plated armor, and can throw your weight about with a vicious Melee Swipe, ranged Mangler Cannon attack, and a zombie-killing barging sprint, all with some seriously impressive damage upgrades. Your new form even allows [[REDACTED]].
GobbleGums: Custom Packs (GobbleGum Machine)
Crack your teeth as well as the skulls of the undead with a variety of custom GobbleGum Packs, based on your stored reserves of this killer candy! Pick a single Pack to bring with you; with each Pack containing five different single-use GobbleGums that you’ve chosen to access during a match via a special confectionary machine that holds each GobbleGum in your pack and spits out one randomly once you interact with it.
The GobbleGums you can choose are based on the collection you have in your inventory. One of the ways to continuously keep your GobbleGum collection filled is by earning them in-game (see below). GobbleGums are single-use items and are permanently removed from your inventory once received in-game.
GobbleGum Rarity
GobbleGums come in a variety of rarities: Rare, Epic, Legendary, Ultra, and Whimsical, with the general rule that the higher the rarity, the more powerful the effect of the GobbleGum:
Rare GobbleGum examples include “Shields Up” (your armor is twice as a strong for three minutes) and “Kill Joy” (spawns an Insta-Kill Power-up).
Epic GobbleGum examples include “Free Fire” (firing weapons consumes no ammo for the next 60 seconds) and “Soda Fountain” (the next Perk purchased gives an additional random Perk).
Legendary GobbleGum examples include “Phoenix Up” (revive all teammates and they keep their perks) and “Wall-to-Wall Clearance” (Wall Buys cost 10 Essence).
Ultra GobbleGums include “Perkaholic” (gives the player all Perk-a-Colas in the map) and “Wonderbar!” (the next gun from the Mystery Box will be a Wonder Weapon).
Whimsical GobbleGums include “Newtonian Negation” (Zombies killed fall straight up for three minutes).
Exceptions to this are the “Whimsical” GobbleGums of course, which – as the name suggests – provide effects that aren’t focused on giving you an advantage, but instead grant a sometimes-hilarious, always entertaining effect. An amuse-bouche, if you will.
GobbleGum Machines
Mr. Peeks is only too happy to provide you with an in-game confectionary machine from which to extricate your gobstopper. Simply interact with it (no Essence required!) and a GobbleGum is randomly dropped, ready for pickup. The machine then cools down on a timer or will be immediately reset on the next round. Grab the sweet, and then it’s added into your inventory and HUD. You can store up to three unique GobbleGums at once, and use one, two, or all three of them at once as well. This may very well add many new dimensions to combat as these GobbleGum effects interact with your fellow teammates and other augmentations and powerups….
Further Improvements
GobbleGums cannot be dropped or shared, but you can swap to a different GobbleGum Pack at any time during a match by using the in-game menu. Changing the pack will reset the randomized order of the new pack.
New GobbleGums are earnable in game, simply for playing. Expect to earn one (or more!) random GobbleGums every few rounds. You’ll know when you’ve been awarded a new GobbleGum due to a reward sequence at the start of a subsequent Round.
Any unused GobbleGums are kept between matches, and you won’t lose them if you happen to disconnect from a match.
*Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III / Call of Duty: Warzone on the pre-ordered platform required to redeem Woods Operator Pack. Sold / downloaded separately. Must be redeemed by October 25, 2025.
**Actual launch date(s) and platform availability of Open Beta subject to change. See www.callofduty.com/beta for more details. Minimum Open Beta duration is 2 days. Limited time only. Internet connection required. Online multiplayer subscription may be required.
For more information, please visit www.callofduty.com and www.youtube.com/callofduty, and follow @Activision and @CallofDuty on X, Instagram, and Facebook. For Call of Duty Updates, follow @CODUpdates on X.
Black Ops 6 Zombies: What you need to know, part 3
PART 4: INTO THE FRAY: ROUND-BASED SYSTEMS
Black Ops 6 Zombies Gameplay Systems
Perk-a-Colas
Cost to Access: Essence
If you’re after a tasty beverage that also has the benefit of granting abilities to aid you and your teammates’ survival chances, then get ready to hunt down your preferred vending machines, as Perk-a-Colas are back and with more of a kick than ever: For Black Ops 6 Zombies, every Perk-a-Cola Can comes with up to six Augment options to choose from (three Minor, three Major).
Perks are purchased using Essence and have been designed to offer a wide variety of bonuses that suits your style of play, allowing you to choose the order and number you need. Seek out specific Perk Machines, scattered throughout the play-space, or seek out the infamous Der Wunderfizz Machine, offering all available Perks in a single, usually dangerous, location.
Each time you purchase a new Perk, the Essence cost increases, and your Perk collection – displayed along the bottom of your HUD – lasts as long as you do: If you’re downed, expect to lose Perks depending on how many you’ve obtained, and how long you’re downed for.
At launch, expect to access the following returning Perk Machines across Terminus Island, each with six Augments to unlock and choose from, to further bolster the following base effects:
Jugger-Nog: Increase maximum health by 100.
Quick Revive: Reduce the health regen delay time by 50%. Reduce the time it takes to revive an ally by 50%.
Speed Cola: Increase reload and armor replating speed bonus by 30%.
Stamin-Up: Increase movement speed.
PhD Flopper: Immunity to all self-inflicted damage and status effects. Dive to prone triggers an explosion, which increases the higher you fall. Immunity from fall damage while diving to prone.
Deadshot Daiquiri: Aiming down sight moves to enemy critical location. Increase enemy critical damage.
Elemental Pop: Every bullet you fire has a small chance to apply a random Ammo Mod effect.
In addition, expect to access a new and delicious drink designed to inflict enhanced and severe punishment at close range, the Melee Macchiato!
Melee Macchiato: Replace weapon gun butt with a deadly punch that sends enemies flying.
Perk-a-Cola Example and Augments: Melee Macchiato
After swigging down a can of Melee Macchiato and using it for a few games, focusing on researching this Perk between matches, you begin to learn and unlock both Minor and Major Augments to add additional benefits to future uses of the Perk. Once you fully research this Perk, you have three Minor Augments, and three Major Augments to choose from. We chose the following:
Minor Augment:
Hidden Impact: Melee kills reload a portion of your held weapon.
Major Augment:
Vampirism: Successful melee attacks heal for 25 health.
Before your next match, you simply choose one Minor, and one Major Augment, depending on your specific needs, and can swap between other Augments between Matches.
Ammo Mods (The Arsenal Machine)
Cost to Access: Salvage
Along with Rarity and Pack-a-Punch capabilities, your Primary Weapon can be outfitted with an upgrade known as an Ammo Mod. Obtained in-game via rare ground loot, and more specifically at the Arsenal Machine using Salvage you’ve collected as payment, Ammo Mods grant the affected weapon a percentage chance of dealing a special effect upon a successful projectile impact. Only one Ammo Mod can be applied to the weapon at a time, though you can purchase a new Ammo Mod as necessary.
At launch, expect to access the following returning Ammo Mods, each with six Augments to unlock and choose from, to further bolster the following base effects:
Brain Rot: Bullets deal toxic damage. Each bullet has the chance to turn a Normal or Special enemy into an ally.
Cryo Freeze: Bullets deal frost damage. Each bullet has a chance to slow Normal or Special enemies.
Dead Wire: Bullets deal electrical damage. Each bullet has a chance to stun any Normal and Special enemy, generating a field that deals electric damage to nearby enemies.
Napalm Burst: Bullets deal fire damage. Each bullet has a chance to ignite Normal and Special enemies.
In addition, expect to access a new elemental power only barely contained with the following Ammo Mod, geared towards controlling dense crowds of the undead!
Shadow Rift: Bullets deal shadow damage. Each bullet has a chance to spawn a black hole if striking Normal or Special enemies, warping nearby zombies away and dropping some from the air at high speed.
Ammo Mod Example: Riffing on the Shadow Rift
After some encouraging anomalies from the warp inflicted impressive damage to the shambling hordes, research began in earnest on cultivating additional Augments for this Ammo Mod. We ended up going with the following combo of Augments:
Minor Augment:
Targeted: Dropped zombies fall on other zombies.
Major Augment:
Explosive Rain: Zombies that are dropped from portals will explode on contact with the ground.
The Rampage Inducer
“Tear them to pieces!”
Those considering themselves advanced enough not to be troubled by zombies in the early rounds of a match should seek out an orange-hued container of Aether crystals. When activated (and with all team members agreeing on the activation), this drives zombies into an absolute frenzy. Zombies will appear and move more quickly for the first 20 rounds, and providing you aren’t overwhelmed, this allows you to speed through the early rounds of a match. Or you can return to the Rampage Inducer and vote to switch it off, if the challenge was more than you bargained for!
Ground Loot
Gather a variety of useful items dropped by the recently deceased, with the knowledge that most of what you need will be automatically picked up. Loot comes in the following types:
Salvage (Green): These are automatically picked up, adds to your Salvage total, and is used to increase your Weapon Rarity (Arsenal Machine), purchase or swap an Ammo Mod (Arsenal Machine), or craft Tactical, Lethal, or Support Equipment (Crafting Machine).
Armor Plates (White): Providing you have fewer than three Armor Plates in your reserve inventory (that you are carrying, not wearing), Plates found on the ground are automatically picked up.
Tacticals, Lethals, Support Equipment, Ammo Mods (Blue): Dropped Tacticals and Lethals, and much less commonly, Support Equipment and Ammo Mods, are also available to be manually grabbed from the ground, if you’re wanting to swap out parts of your current setup or have a space free.
There are other ways to secure Ground Loot, including [[REDACTED]].
Ammo Caches
Cost to Access: Essence
Dotted around the maps are familiar military caches, and interacting with them refills your currently held weapon for a sum of Essence. This includes any weapon in your immediate repertoire that takes bullets or shells, including Wonder Weapons. The cost of the ammo increases as the power of your weapon goes up, so keep an eye on your Essence levels as you continue to visit the Pack-a-Punch!
Tactical Raft
Cost to Access: Essence
Terminus features boat delivery portals allowing for on-demand transportation around the vicinity of the main island, usually on a well-utilized dock or pier. As swimming in the choppy waters of the ocean under current circumstances is possible but not advised, the Tactical Raft is the fastest way to reach the outer islands and the abandoned shipwreck, as further discoveries are made.
Trials
Cost to Access: Essence
Phasing in and out of reality across the map is an odd and intriguing terminal, which intermittently allows you to complete [[REDACTED]] special objective trials. With enough Essence, you can activate a terminal unit and begin a short challenge. This could involve holding a specific zone, dispatching enemies in a skillful manner, or a host of other conditions. Succeed, and a special chest warps into reality, offering up [[REDACTED]] variety of interesting rewards. The computer is then beamed out of existence, only to periodically return for further trials to be completed.
Power-Ups
As a reward for clearing enemy incursions, expect a variety of well-known Power-Ups to make an appearance in Black Ops 6 Zombies. Encouraging you and your team to work together, there’s strategy in when to automatically activate a Power-Up prior to its eventual disappearance during battle, sometimes resulting in you escaping certain death! Expect the following Power-Ups to be available, depending on the situation on the ground:
Insta-Kill: Base zombies are dispatched with one hit, and more powerful enemies aren’t killed, but receive additional damage. Does not count towards Field Upgrade charging.
Double Points: Doubles the amount of Essence points gained for enemy takedowns.
Max Ammo: Refills all ammunition carried for every weapon and equipment.
Nuke: Destroys all base zombies, and more powerful adversaries aren’t killed, but receive additional damage. Enemy spawns are delayed by a few seconds.
Fire Sale: After the Mystery Box moves, this may appear, activating all Mystery Box locations and reducing the purchase cost considerably.
Bonus Points: Grants all players an additional amount of Essence points.
Full Power: Instantly fills all players’ Field Upgrade.
Max Armor: Fully repairs armor to the maximum Tier you own.
Elemental Damage
Black Ops 6 Zombies continues to utilize damage sources with an elemental association, and each one has a specific benefit or behavior associated with it. You are wise to experiment with such powers, as the enemies you encounter are likely to be weakened more effectively by at least one of the following types of elemental damage:
Frost: This slows or freezes foes. Sources: Cryo Freeze (Ammo Mod).
Fire: Burst damage and damage over time. Sources: Napalm Burst (Ammo Mod), Molotov (Lethal Equipment).
Electric: Stunning and area-of-effect damage. Sources: Dead Wire (Ammo Mod).
Toxic: Corruption and mind control. Sources: Brain Rot (Ammo Mod).
Shadow: Gravity and associated damage. Sources: Dark Flare (Field Upgrade), Shadow Rift (Ammo Mod), LT53 Kazimir (Tactical Equipment)
Just which enemies have a particular weakness to an elemental salvo is likely to be a key to your continued success as the hordes become ever more ferocious.
Weapon Rarity Upgrades (The Arsenal Machine)
Cost to Access: Salvage
The Upgrade Tier of your weapon is visible on your HUD, as the color behind the ammo and reserves, along with a small diamond icon, signifies the Tier of damage your weapon is capable of inflicting. Use increasing amounts of Salvage to add potency to your weapon damage:
Uncommon (Green): Tier 2 Damage
Rare (Blue): Tier 3 Damage
Epic (Purple): Tier 4 Damage
Legendary (Orange): Tier 5 Damage
Wall Buys: Weapons
Cost to Access: Essence
Daubed on walls and boards across the island are chalk outlines of a weapon, complete with a glowing color representing the rarity of the weapon; green (Uncommon), blue (Rare), purple (Epic), or Orange (Legendary). The rarity of a Wall Buy increases with the number of Rounds you complete. Wall Buys have a number of uses:
They allow you to obtain a different weapon type, in case your loadout isn’t doing the job, or you want a secondary Primary weapon to replace the Handgun.
A Wall Buy weapon already has a rarity value associated with it (and is therefore more powerful).
If you’ve defined a Zombie Build, the weapon you purchase will be a rarified version of that customized Weapon or Blueprint, complete with your preferred Attachments and Cosmetics!
Wall Buys: Armor Levels
Cost to Access: Essence
Plating up is also important to lengthening your survival, and the new Armor Wall Buy ensures you added protection. There are likely to be two different types of Armor Wall Buys, and these increase your Armor Level:
Level II Armor Vest (Rare/Blue): Two plates can be worn.
Level III Armor Vest (Epic/Purple): Three plates can be worn.
Once you visit an Armor Wall Buy, it ceases to function; you accrue Armor Plates via Ground Loot or crafting them (Crafting Table).
Mystery Boxes
Cost to Access: Essence
With crate power comes great responsibilities, and the classic Mystery Box is back, appearing in a semi-random location, and allowing you to obtain a random weapon, including some that are only available from the Mystery Box.
The purchaser can elect to keep the weapon, drop it for a teammate, and/or spin again. Rewards include:
A random Weapon.
A random Wonder Weapon.
A random Support item.
The random weapon also has a random Rarity (Uncommon, Rare, Epic or Legendary, signified by the glowing color around the weapon appearing from the Box), and this Rarity Tier indicates how much extra damage the weapon can inflict, allowing you to obtain a hard-hitting weapon earlier than by simply using a Loadout Weapon. The higher the round, the greater the chance of a higher Rarity Weapon or a Wonder Weapon appearing.
In addition, thanks to the Zombie Build system, there’s a chance that a Mystery Box weapon spawns one you’ve already built out in the Loadout Menu, but with the added benefit of a Rarity Upgrade.
After a few spins, the Mystery Box displays everyone’s favorite undead cuddly rabbit, and Mr. Peeks teleports with the Box to a different part of the map, a shard of vertical blue light indicating where a Mystery Box is located.
Increase Your Firepower: The Pack-a-Punch Machine
Cost to Access: Essence
Arguably the most important machine on a Round-Based Zombies map, the Pack-a-Punch (or PAP) Machine is used to upgrade your weapons into more powerful variants using the Essence gained from slaying zombies. Initially, the machine lacks any power, but once the outpost is back online and enough Essence is acquired, you can easily reach the machine and automatically upgrade with a single button press – no more menu to slow down the action.
Your Primary and Melee weapons can all be upgraded up to three times at the Pack-a-Punch machine, as well as any Wonder Weapon you may have to hand. The actual firepower enhancement varies depending on the gun or melee weapon you’re using, occasionally comes with surprising effects, but usually increases the potency, chambered ammo, and ammo reserves of the weapon.
Though you may elect to keep the current cosmetic look of the weapon you’re Pack-a-Punching by toggling PAP camos on or off in Settings, each of the three PAP tiers include an impressive, and usually glowing camouflage, as well as a change in audio, especially when firing the weapon.
Wonder Weapons
Incredibly rare and exceptionally potent, occasionally you may uncover highly secretive plans to construct several prototype armaments with almost unimaginable power. Research on Terminus Island has uncovered the existence of just such a device, known colloquially as a “Wonder Weapon”.
Beamsmasher
Visually, the Beamsmasher is comparable in size and shape to a light machinegun and features a single barrel emitting a super-charged and incredibly damaging Aetheric beam. Set around the barrel are Resonator Focus flaps that direct the energy created by the weapon. The weapon is reloaded by swapping out the side-mounted DAPP canister.
The Beamsmasher has two firing modes:
Primary: This fires a solid beam of Aetheric energy, causing organic matter to break down at the molecular level. This occurs almost instantly, and enemies appear to explode in a cloud of vaporized innards. Further testing is needed, but it appears that the longer the weapon fires, the more ungainly it becomes to move.
Secondary: Focused soundwaves cause the molecules of multiple enemy targets to vibrate at alarmingly fast rates. Targets are wracked with pulsing head trauma that incapacitates by slowing the target rather than damaging them. Entities in this state become much more easily damaged by both the primary firing mode and conventional firepower.
Additional Notes: This weapon may experience energy venting as excess pressure builds up during the expenditure of an ammunition tube. Automatic reloading appears to cause a small blast radius and appears to knock down enemies within this vicinity. The weapon also appears to be able to be Pack-a-Punched three times, with increased [[REDACTED]], not to mention [[REDACTED]].
*Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III / Call of Duty: Warzone on the pre-ordered platform required to redeem Woods Operator Pack. Sold / downloaded separately. Must be redeemed by October 25, 2025.
**Actual launch date(s) and platform availability of Open Beta subject to change. See www.callofduty.com/beta for more details. Minimum Open Beta duration is 2 days. Limited time only. Internet connection required. Online multiplayer subscription may be required.
For more information, please visit www.callofduty.com and www.youtube.com/callofduty, and follow @Activision and @CallofDuty on X, Instagram, and Facebook. For Call of Duty Updates, follow @CODUpdates on X.
