Summary
Fans ofCall of Duty: Black Ops 6were recently given a huge amount of information regarding the upcoming project’s Zombies experience, with details being revealed about the mode’s launch maps, main characters, and new mechanics. While Treyarch is already being praised for the respect that has been paid to classic Zombies within the upcoming game, some recently announced quality of life changes for Zombies are clearly a part of a bold new era for the franchise.
Players will have a lot more freedom with Zombies matchmaking inCall of Duty: Black Ops 6, for example, with solo and squad-based gameplay now featuring a rigorous pause, save, and recovery system. These kinds of quality of life improvements are largely made possible thanks to the “always online” nature of modernCall of Duty, finally giving a tangible positive twist to what is an otherwise very controversial aspect of the giant FPS franchise.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is FInally Making the Most of Always Online
TheCall of DutyIP has been flirting with the concept of “always online” games for some time now, with 2018’sBlack Ops 4always requiring an internet connection thanks to its lack of singleplayer game modes. This was taken astep further for PC players with 2019’sModern Warfare, which was the firstCoDrelease to require a constant internet connection to access all the game’s content, even its singleplayer campaign.
While PC players have been dealing with this always online approach ever since, it wasrecently confirmed thatBlack Ops 6will be always online for all platforms, including consoles, heralding a new era for howCoDis delivered and accessed. Always online titles are an increasingly controversial element of the modern gaming landscape. They draw criticism due to how this method of play can ostracize players with unstable internet connections and tie a game’s replayability to servers that might be taken down one day.
These criticisms are very valid, of course, andCall of Duty’s recent shift to a live service approachfor its annual releases has made the franchise more online-dependent than ever. This almost inevitable transfer to always online gameplay does not have to be completely without merit, though, and the recently announced changes toBlack Ops 6’s Zombies matchmaking is a great example of the potential silver linings of this new always online approach.
Always Online is Fueling a Lot of the Positive Changes For Black Ops 6’s Zombies
Treyarch recently announced that players will be able tojoin friends' private matches inBlack Ops 6Zombies, even for a game in progress, with an automatic save system also being introduced to Zombies gameplay. Solo players will be able to save their Zombies games at any time and reload them at a later date, with periodic save states also allowing for games to be recovered in the event of an accidental disconnect or hardware issue.
These game back-ups and theimproved overall accessibility for Zombies inBlack Ops 6is directly made possible thanks to the game’s always online nature, finally putting a positive spin on a gameplay element that is almost exclusively discussed in a negative light. While the criticisms around always online approaches are still valid and hold a lot of weight, the upcoming changes to Zombies are a great reflection of the positive changes that the approach can bring. There is still a long way to go for always online games to be fully accepted by the industry, butBlack Ops 6can hopefully serve as a good example of the benefits that this approach can bring when implemented correctly.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
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Forced to go rogue. Hunted from within. This is Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.Developed by Treyarch and Raven, Black Ops 6 is a spy action thriller set in the early 90s, a period of transition and upheaval in global politics, characterized by the end of the Cold War and the rise of the United States as a single superpower. With a mind-bending narrative, and unbound by the rules of engagement, this is signature Black Ops.The Black Ops 6 Campaign provides dynamic moment-to-moment gameplay that includes a variety of play spaces with blockbuster set pieces and action-packed moments, high-stakes heists, and cloak-and-dagger spy activity.In a best-in-class Multiplayer experience, players will test their skills across 16 new maps at launch, including 12 core 6v6 maps and 4 Strike maps that can be played 2v2 or 6v6.Black Ops 6 also marks the epic return of Round-Based Zombies, the fan-favorite mode where players will take down hordes of the undead in two brand-new maps at launch. Post-launch, players can look forward to even more exciting maps and groundbreaking experiences dropping into both Multiplayer and Zombies.
