Call of Duty Black Ops 6: Release date, beta, zombies, campaign & more

Black Ops 6 is the next Call of Duty title, launching in 2024. With the game announced, a release date in the calendar, and more details confirmed, here’s what we know about the game so far.

It’s been four years since Treyarch’s last mainline Call of Duty entry, Black Ops Cold War. While they’ve helped the other developers bring Zombies and Ranked Play to their respective games, Treyarch have become the first COD dev team to be given four years to work on their title.

That’s given them time to develop an entirely new COD experience with some huge changes for the franchise. Here are the details.

Black Ops 6 Release Date

Black Ops 6 will release on October 25, 2024. The release date was rumored to be sometime in November according to prior leaks, but it’s ultimately landing at the tail end of October, as announced during the Black Ops 6 Direct earlier in June 2024.

Black Ops 6 Early Access Beta & Open Beta

Black Ops 6 indeed has an Early Access and Open Beta period incoming across all platforms. The dates are as follows:

• Preorder Early Access (All platforms): August 30 – September 3
• Open Beta (All Platforms): September 6 – September 9

This will be the first opportunity for players to test out a limited version of the game with a selection of multiplayer maps and modes to choose from.

Alternatively, if you are a Game Pass subscriber, you will get beta access without having to pre-order the game.

Black Ops 6 platforms

Black Ops 6 will release on PC, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, and PlayStation 4.

While Microsoft signed a deal with Nintendo in 2022 to bring future COD titles to their hardware, there has not been any word on Black Ops 6 on Nintendo Switch.

Setting and time period

Activision

Black Ops 6 is set in the Gulf War, marking a first for the Call of Duty franchise. Activision has explored WW2, modern military combat, and even the distant future, but Black Ops 6 will be the first COD game to cover this conflict.

The Gulf War started in 1990 and lasted a year, between Iraq and a 42-country coalition led by the United States. The main countries involved were the USA, UK, France, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Kuwait.

This means you can expect a global selection of multiplayer and Warzone maps, though they will likely be set primarily in the Middle East.

Major changes: Omnimovement and perk categories

Treyarch have made two significant changes in Black Ops 6. The biggest is the introduction of omnidirectional movement, or simply omnimovement, that will completely switch up how players traverse the maps, both in multiplayer and battle royale.

Omnimovement allows players to sprint and dive in any direction, along with improvements to vaulting and traversing the map, and even shoot while diving. For the players that excelled in the slide cancel era with that movement skill gap, omnimovement may just increase that gap even further.

Not only that, but Treyarch are bringing back traditional perks, albeit with a slight twist, as they come under one of three categories: Enforcer, Recon, and Strategist.

Taking three perks in the same category will reward you with a boost, almost like an additional perk, incentivizing players to go for different playstyles without restricting them to any one set of perks per slot.

Round-based Zombies returns

Round-based Zombies has been confirmed to be returning in Black Ops 6, giving players what they’ve been clamoring for for four years.

It will arrive on October 25 with two maps, Terminus and Liberty Falls, and it will also continue the Dark Aether narrative that started in Cold War.

Activision

It is worth noting that even though round-based zombies will make a return, this does not mean that will be the only version available. As seen in Black Ops Cold War, round-based and open world can co-exist, and Treyarch could very well look to appeal to fans of both formats.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 launches on October 25 on PS5, PS4, Xbox S|X, Xbox One, and PC.