Black Ops 6’s big red flag turns green

Fans of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 recently received a wealth of information on the upcoming project’s Zombies experience, with details on the mode’s starting maps, main characters, and new mechanics revealed. While Treyarch is already being praised for the respect shown to classic Zombies in the upcoming game, some recently announced quality of life changes for Zombies are clearly part of a bold new era for the franchise.

Players have much more freedom with Zombies matchmaking in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6for example, with solo and squad-based gameplay that now offers a rigorous pause, save and restore system. These kinds of quality of life improvements are largely made possible by the “always-online” nature of modern Call of Dutyand finally puts a tangible positive spin on an otherwise highly controversial aspect of the massive FPS franchise.

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Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 turns a long-standing franchise tradition on its head

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is shaping up to be a major departure from previous titles, and the news about Zombie mode also breaks with tradition.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 finally makes the most of Always Online

The Call of Duty IP has been flirting with the concept of “always-online” games for some time now. 2018 BlackOps 4 always requires an internet connection as there are no single player game modes. For PC gamers, this was pushed even further with 2019 Modern warfarethe first cod Since the release of this version, access to all content in the game (even the single-player campaign) requires a constant internet connection.

While PC gamers have always struggled with this always-online approach, it was recently confirmed that BlackOps 6 will be always online for all platforms, including consoles, ushering in a new era for the way cod Always-on titles are an increasingly controversial element of the modern gaming landscape. They are criticized because this method of play can exclude players with unstable internet connections and because the replayability of a game depends on servers that may one day be shut down.

This criticism is of course very justified, and Call of DutyThe recent move to a live service approach for annual releases has made the franchise more dependent on online than ever before. However, this almost inevitable transition to always-on online gameplay need not be entirely unfounded, and the recently announced changes to BlackOps 6Zombies matchmaking is a great example of the potential benefits of this new always-online approach.

Always Online is driving many positive changes for Black Ops 6’s Zombies

Treyarch recently announced that players can join friends’ private games in BlackOps 6 Zombies, even for a game in progress, also introducing an auto-save system for Zombies gameplay. Single players can save their Zombies games at any time and reload them at a later time. Periodic save states also allow for game recovery in the event of an accidental disconnection or hardware issue.

These game backups and the improved general accessibility for zombies in BlackOps 6 is made possible directly by the always-online nature of the game, and finally puts a positive spin on a gameplay element that is almost exclusively discussed in a negative light. While the criticism of always-online approaches is still valid and carries a lot of weight, the upcoming changes to Zombies are a great reflection of the positive changes the approach can bring. There is still a long way to go before always-online games are fully embraced by the industry, but BlackOps 6 can hopefully serve as a good example of the benefits this approach can bring when implemented correctly.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is the next entry in Activision’s FPS franchise and includes all the modes fans know and love – from an extensive campaign to 2v2 and 6v6 multiplayer games and the popular Zombies mode.

Released

October 25, 2024

Multiplayer

Online multiplayer

Motor

IW9.0

ESRB

M

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