Call Of Duty Black Ops 6 Reveal Trailer, Game Pass Launch, And Everything Else We Know

Activision has released a new Call of Duty game every year since 2005, and that streak will continue in 2024 with the next entry in the main series. But 2024's Call of Duty game, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, will be the most notable in years. That's because it's the first new entry since Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard and the Call of Duty franchise in October 2023.

The game will come to both Xbox and PlayStation consoles, as part of a multi-year agreement. Microsoft has also discussed the possibility of bringing Call of Duty games to Switch. It's expected that Black Ops 6 will connect with Call of Duty: Warzone and Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile, as those games share progression.

Here's everything we know so far about Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. We will continue to update this story as new information comes to light.

When will Black Ops 6 release?

Activision historically launches new Call of Duty games in October or November, and that trend is expected to continue this year. The game is expected to be shown off and discussed following the Xbox Games Showcase on June 9 with its own dedicated video broadcast. Imagery from the announcement of this event suggests the game will be a new entry in the Black Ops franchise, and this has been subsequently confirmed with Activision's announcement of Black Ops 6.

Black Ops 6 platforms

Black Ops 6 expected to release on Xbox and PlayStation consoles, in addition to PC. Microsoft now owns Activision, the Call of Duty franchise, and all of its developers, but the company is not planning to make Call of Duty exclusive to Xbox. Instead, Microsoft and Sony inked a 10-year deal to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation beyond 2030. Microsoft has also discussed bringing Call of Duty to Switch and has made a deal with Nintendo to potentially do this. But it remains to be seen how the Call of Duty franchise could appear on Switch and what trade-offs the Switch version could have compared to the other console platforms given the relatively lower specs of the Switch. Switch 2 is on the horizon and may release by March 2024, though it's unclear if the new CoD would appear on that system, either.

Will Black Ops 6 Xbox Game Pass?

Following a report from The Wall Street Journal that said Black Ops 6 will come to Game Pass, Microsoft officially confirmed this on May 28. Before that, Microsoft was reportedly having internal debates about bringing Call of Duty to Game Pass.

Some industry observers have theorized that Microsoft could miss out on serious money if it puts Call of Duty on Game Pass. Others have posited that having Call of Duty on Game Pass could help drive Game Pass subscriptions and make Xbox a more desirable platform on which to play Call of Duty.

Black Ops 6 trailer, story, and characters

This year's new Call of Duty game is Black Ops 6, and rumors say the story takes place, at least in part, during the Gulf War. Call of Duty games are known to be globetrotting affairs that travel through numerous locations--and time periods. So if the Gulf War is part of the game's story, it could be just one element of it. The game's live-action reveal trailer showed real-world political leaders like Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, Margaret Thatcher, and Saddam Hussein.

Rumors have suggested the new game has been in the works for a long time and will be the first game in franchise history to have been developed over a four-year period. This lies in stark contrast to 2023's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, which was reportedly made in just 18 months.

Black Ops 6 is the sixth entry in the series since it debuted in 2010. The Black Ops franchise within Call of Duty has become one of the most popular of all, and lucrative, too. Dave Anthony, the director of the first two Black Ops games, recently discussed how he made "incredible amounts of money" during his career.

In terms of returning characters, it's rumored that Adler is coming back, but that's all we know so far. The Black Ops series is known for featuring real-life people, like Ronald Reagan (Black Ops Cold War) and Robert McNamara (Black Ops 1), so it wouldn't be surprising to see real-life military and political leaders from the Gulf War era appear in the new game.

Who's making Black Ops 6?

A report from Insider Gaming said Raven Software is developing the game's campaign, with Treyarch--the creator of the Black Ops series--handling multiplayer and Zombies. Activision is known to recruit teams from across its entire network of Call of Duty studios to contribute to each year's new release in some fashion, and that formula is expected to continue this year. Treyarch and Raven have both confirmed they involved in the development of Black Ops 6.

What are the new features in Black Ops 6?

There are only rumors to go on for Black Ops 6. But Insider Gaming reported that this year's Call of Duty game will bring back the open-world-style missions from Modern Warfare III. These were not very well-received in that game, but the report said a key difference is that the new game was made "from the ground up" with these missions in mind.

The report said players and their squads will move through a map that is "more akin to that of Far Cry," and that players can jump into vehicles to zip around and even use a fast-travel system to get around quickly. In addition to open-world-style missions, the new Black Ops game will also have the more traditional and linear missions that Call of Duty is known for, the report said.

Microsoft will share more details on Black Ops 6 during a showcase set for June 9.