During a special event after the Xbox Showcase, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 was revealed. The game is a spy action thriller during a upheaval in global politics which is characterized by the end of the Cold War and set in the early 1990s. Here is more info below…
Development on the Black Ops 6 Campaign is led by Raven Software, in partnership with Treyarch. Following the events of Black Ops Cold War, expect a dynamic and intense spy thriller, a mind-bending story where you’re never sure who to trust, and what is real, all set against the backdrop of the early 1990s. With the Campaign occurring in the years after the Cold War, longtime fans will recognize that this timeframe is directly connected to the 1980s flashbacks revealed during Black Ops 2 – the aftermath of which has left our heroes in dire circumstances.
The Black Ops 6 Campaign takes place at a time of great change and turmoil. The Soviet Union was crumbling after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War. The US was the only remaining Superpower. The Gulf War dominated headlines. There was a growing mistrust in government – reflected everywhere across the music, television, and pop culture of the time.
A tangled web of illicit activities, clandestine operations, and off-the-record missions, all part of a gripping narrative where you never quite know who to trust. This is the return of Black Ops.
Rogue Elements: Campaign Characters
Black Ops 6 blends the rich and gritty history of previous Black Ops titles with both returning and bold new characters – and veteran Frank Woods acts as the through-line in our story. Across the Campaign, we see a different side of Woods following his traumatic injury at the hands of Raul Menendez. He’s been pulled from the field, and you’ll interact with him as he adjusts to a new role within the CIA.
His protege is Troy Marshall, who has been making a name for himself in the field. Marshall is a methodical leader, driven by a strong moral compass. With a single-minded focus in overcoming adversity and a stubborn streak that can sometimes border on recklessness, it isn’t surprising that Woods and Marshall share common ground. Both men are working with another new face in Black Ops 6, CIA handler, Jane Harrow. She is a born leader, fearless and brilliant, and helps manage their relationships within the agency.
Woods’ ability to operate in the shadows has always been hugely valuable to the CIA – whether they want to admit it or not. Meanwhile, Marshall can make tough calls in the field, as Harrow trusts him implicitly. However, when an operation goes wrong, Woods and Marshall are suspended and ultimately forced to go rogue…
They soon realize they must trust each other to get to the bottom of what’s going on, and this must be done without any of their usual resources. They must build their own team of rogue agents, recruiting two intriguing new characters in Felix Neumann, a technical genius, and Sevati Dumas, a mysterious assassin.
With a mixture of new and familiar faces, a legendary wildcard also returns to the fight – the infamous Russell Adler is back! While his allegiances and motivations remain unclear, this former ally may have become a new and daunting enemy.
Areas of Operations and Encounters
Mission variety is a key component in the twisted, covert world of Black Ops 6. Raven Software has created individual missions from the ground up, with each one also offering diverse methods in the way you approach and execute them.
For example, one mission involves you infiltrating an old sewer system underneath an opulent casino in southern Europe, and these catacombs are one of many locations that are more ideal for stealth, where only the muffled yells or crumpled falls of the enemy can be heard, before you tactically reposition topside to pull off an audacious heist in the casino itself. Other areas are more appropriate for large-scale battles, such as a full-force assault on a palace in the Iraqi desert.
Within every mission, the Black Ops 6 Campaign focuses on the methods you can employ to achieve victory as well as replayability, giving you the freedom to navigate through them as you see fit. This naturally extends to combat, but even affects the conversations you have, as operatives talk, barter, and manipulate their way into a variety of different outcomes, some drastically different and dependent on the choices you previously made.
These outcomes can also change depending on how you utilize and interact with the abundance of environmental obstacles. Black Ops 6 leans into the time period with era-specific interactions and equipment, from lock-picking and computer hacking to keypad code-solving and other puzzles to ponder.
This extends to the impressive collection of gadgets from the early 1990s, along with the Campaign-specific tactical and lethal equipment you can choose, always with the option to ramp up (or de-escalate) the action. Expect several brand-new items as well as some returning favorites from the Black Ops universe: the classic RC-XD (Remote-Controlled Explosive Device) is back, for when you need to cause an isolated explosion from a miniature four-wheeler. Or perhaps you want to drop a Tranquilizer Trap that chokes a foe out when they step near it. Then there’s the Adrenaline Stim for unexpectedly brutal takedown encounters. Drop an enemy with more than just an expert throw thanks to the Homing Knife. Or paralyze them in arcs of electrical discharge after lobbing in the Disruptor weapon.
These few examples give you an initial understanding of the depth of gameplay the Campaign offers. But where does the Rogue Black Ops team go to ground, between these missions?
Welcome to the Manor
Your central base of operations between each Campaign mission is a remote and rambling manor house perched atop a granite cliff, overlooking a brooding, choppy ocean. This impressive edifice offers more exploration and character development opportunities than the Berlin Safehouse where you met during Black Ops Cold War. Intriguingly, the Safehouse itself has a secret history; it formerly served as a KGB Black Site which was operational during the 1950s and 60s, vacated some 30 years prior to your team’s arrival.
As the wind and waves batter against the stone walls of this stately mansion, you and your clandestine team have the run of the place. Step into the gardens for a spot of target practice, uncover secrets hidden in some of the mothballed rooms, and ensure you receive a briefing from the ever-acerbic Master Sergeant Frank Woods, who resides here after receiving serious injuries in the field.
After mansion explorations are complete, you’ll usually head toward the Evidence Board – last seen in Black Ops Cold War – now upgraded with additional intel and mission briefings integral to the Safehouse. Here players can view the Campaign Outline, gain deeper insights into missions, and analyze evidence collected throughout past operations. It’s at the Evidence Board where the tactical planning occurs, as you piece together the puzzles within the storyline, before deciding on your best course of action.
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Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Launches October 25th on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC