How to play Black Ops 6 early using New Zealand trick

The wait for Black Ops 6 is nearly over, but if you simply can’t wait for Treyarch’s latest entry in the series, you can play it early using the New Zealand trick to adjust your timezone.

Activision have done away with early access in Black Ops 6, including the campaign which usually drops first to give players a headstart. This means that the single-player story, multiplayer, and Zombies all go live on the October 25 global release date.

However, there is a way to get into the action ahead of time, so here’s how to play BO6 early using the New Zealand trick and when you’ll be able to access it.

Black Ops 6 New Zealand trick explained

Xbox

1. Head into your console’s settings.
2. Scroll down to System.
3. Select ‘Language and Location.’
4. Go to ‘Location’ and change it to New Zealand.
5. Click ‘Restart Now’ to reboot your console and let the change take effect.
6. Then, head to the official Call of Duty website.
7. Log into your account.
8. Head to the ‘Basic Info’ tab.
9. Edit your address to New Zealand.
10. Click ‘Save.’

Dexerto / Activision

PC (Game Pass)

1. Go into your Windows settings.
2. Head to ‘Time and Language.’
3. Select ‘Region.’
4. Change your location to New Zealand.
5. Restart your PC.
6. Log back into the Xbox app and the currency should have changed to NZDs.
7. Head to the Call of Duty website and repeat the steps above to change your Activision account region too.

Dexerto

PlayStation

PS5 and PS4 are a little more complicated, as Black Ops 6 is being released to the Call of Duty HQ app as content packs rather than the huge update we’ve seen in previous years. So, it’s currently unclear if the NZ trick will work this year.

There’s also the issue that PSN locks your account to a specific region when you create it, with no way to change it later. In the past, players have gotten around this by creating a new account, choosing a New Zealand address, and purchasing a game through that country’s PlayStation Store.

If this turns out to be the case this year too, we’ll update this page with a full breakdown on how to do it. Until then, I’d recommend holding off so you don’t find yourself out of pocket with an account in the wrong region.

Steam and Battle.net

Unfortunately, if you’re playing on Steam or Battle.net, then this method won’t work. Both of these platforms lock you into a specific region and don’t give you the option to change it, so you won’t be to change your timezone to play Black Ops 6 early.

When can you play Black Ops 6?

Using this trick, you’ll be able to log in and play Black Ops 6 on October 24 at 4 AM PT / 7 AM ET / 12 PM BST. If you’re in the west of the United States, this means you can play 20 hours before everyone else in your region, or 17 hours and 12 hours if you’re in the east or over in the United Kingdom.

This is because changing your region allows you to access the game at the same time as players in New Zealand, who are in a timezone that is much further ahead than Europe and North America.

So, although you won’t have multiple days of early access to blast through the campaign, this does at least give you a few hours headstart on the rest of the world. If you want to get into the action as quickly as possible, check out our guide on how to preload BO6 so you’re not waiting around.