Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, the first in the best-selling military shooter since Microsoft completed its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, looks like a cross between a ‘90s political documentary and a Mission Impossible movie in its new trailer. The game will launch on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC on October 25, 2024.
Our first solid look at the upcoming shooter started with archival footage of Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton from the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Gulf War mixed with warnings about lies and deception from within the government. What follows is a three-minute rip through war zone shootouts and spy hijinks that could be pulled from the next Mission Impossible or James Bond movies.
Take a look:
The whole thing made me cautiously excited for my first Call of Duty campaign in years, especially following last year’s extremely perfunctory offering in Modern Warfare 3. Black Ops 6 also includes the series’ popular multiplayer modes with 16 new maps, as well as Zombies mode launching with two completely new maps for the undead horde mode.
Black Ops 6 is also the first game in the series to come to Game Pass. While the shooter will be available on the regular subscription level, Game Pass Ultimate will be needed to play online (on PC it will be available across all modes in the cheaper tier). Game Pass subscribers will also get early access to the game, including a beta later this summer. Microsoft isn’t leaving last-gen consoles behind either. The Game Pass version includes a cross-gen bundle for Xbox One as well as Xbox Series X/S, otherwise Black Ops 6 will cost $70, including on PS4.
Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said during the Xbox Showcase that the company’s plans are to bring in more players than ever before, because I guess the number-one selling game every year isn’t big enough already. A full deep-dive on Black Ops 6 will follow later today after the showcase.