Call of Duty: Black Ops 6: Release date and gameplay details revealed

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will be released on October 25, Activision and developers Treyarch and Raven Software confirmed on Sunday during Microsoft’s Xbox Game Showcase and Call of Duty Direct. This year’s Call of Duty promises “the most breathtaking and spectacular Black Ops action yet,” says Activision, with a growing scope that includes a globe-spanning campaign, robust multiplayer offerings and the return of turn-based zombie gameplay.

As previously announced, BlackOps 6 will be set in the post-Cold War era, in the early 1990s. The game’s campaign will be an “epic spy thriller,” Activision said in a press release, combining stealth-based gameplay with blockbuster action in locations across Russia, the Middle East, Southern Europe and the United States. The Black Ops series’ main characters, Frank Woods and Russell Adler, will be joined in the narrative by newcomers such as Troy Marshall and Jane Harrow.

In the first screenshots released for BlackOps 6we get a taste of some of those action scenes and a look at the series’ new characters. We also get to see Adler do a badass motorcycle jump off a police car while Washington, DC appears to be under siege.

Image: Treyarch, Raven Software/Activision

Here’s what else we know about Call of Duty this year:

Black Ops 6 Multiplayer

Activision promises a new, refined movement model called Omnimovement, which the company says will allow players to “move realistically and chain moves seamlessly like a real action hero.” Omnimovement allows players to sprint, slide and dive in any direction, and the new Supine Prone positioning allows them to rotate while lying prone. BlackOps 6 will also include other new movement options, including the ability to “cut corners,” “where your weapon dynamically rotates in the direction you turn the corner or go through a door.”

Image: Treyarch, Raven Software/Activision

Treyarch promises 16 new maps if BlackOps 6 Starts with 12 basic 6v6 maps and four Strike maps that can be played as 2v2 or 6v6. BlackOps 6 Additionally, Classic Prestige will return, with “always something to work toward.”

BlackOps 6 will also include HUD presets that allow players to move the minimap and remove HUD elements for a minimalistic UI.

Black Ops 6 Zombies

Image: Treyarch, Raven Software/Activision

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will see the return of the turn-based Zombies mode, where players battle against increasingly powerful waves of undead enemies. Treyarch promises two new maps at launch with Liberty Falls and Terminus and all the associated secrets that Zombies players have been waiting for for the last 15 years.

Black Ops 6 Platforms and Game Pass Release

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will be available on October 25 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC (via Battle.net, Microsoft Store, and Steam), Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. The game’s open beta will be available on all platforms.

Game Pass subscribers get access to BlackOps 6 Day one. On Xbox, subscribers get access to the Digital Cross-Gen Bundle (for Xbox One and Series X), while PC Game Pass subscribers get access to the standard version of the game. Game Pass subscribers also get the Woods Operator Pack and pre-order benefits for early access to the Open Beta.