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Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 looks almost certainly as though it’s set during the 1990s. Picking up on the story following Cold War, it’s now set to put a focus on the Gulf War conflict in the Middle East. None of this intel is official, of course; it comes by way of leaks that first surfaced last year. But if you know anything about Black Ops canon, the story was always likely heading in this direction. While specifics obviously remain unknown, what we can say is that the timeline will almost certainly remove some of our favorite characters from the script. So with a fresh canvas, the success of the Black Ops 6 Campaign and Zombies story rides on the sheer creativity of its plot. The question is whether the team at Treyarch is up to the task.
Black Ops 6 Campaign Story Mode Might Feel Empty
When Call of Duty: Black Ops Gulf War was rumored to be a thing last year, fans were thrilled to see another follow-up to the OG Black Ops after the Cold War. For me personally, once I’d stopped to think about it, however, it suddenly dawned on me: isn’t that the era after Mason disappeared, Hudson got killed by Menendez, and Woods got paralyzed by the same foe?
These are all that happened in Black Ops 2 flashback missions, when Woods was explaining the starting reign of Menendez during the late 80s. So, no OG characters around, right? All we have at this time is Russel Adler, and Weaver, who’s also in custody after what happened in Cold War Zombies.
For the Black Ops 6 story to fascinate us, there should be strong character development going on, with memorable missions. Maybe the narrative follows the young David Mason as he grows up to track down Menendez. Or, we would be getting future cuts, where the story picks up right when Black Ops 2 left off. For now, let’s just say that the 90s is a 50/50 gambling with nearly 0 familiar faces around.
Major Parts of The Zombies Storyline Is Already Revealed in MWZ
The leaks and teases inside the MW3 Zombies story are so strong that we possibly know the location of two round-based maps in the upcoming Black Ops 6. The first one is the Terminus Island, as teased in the Cold War Zombies ending, and the other is a city in West Virginia called Liberty Falls.
In terms of the Black Ops 6 Zombies story, if things are set in the 90s, nothing special is going on. The main threat is growing right now in MWZ, where Ava Jansen could merge this world with the Dark Aether if she manages to reunite with her shadow, known as The Entity.
According to the recent leaks, we know that there’s only one more story cutscene for MW3 Zombies. And that means the story would either conclude, which is quite rare to happen, or we’d be left off with a giant cliffhanger. After all, with the Call of Duty Multiverse off the script, it’s too problematic to keep a Zombies narrative inside the Campaign of all Black Ops and recent CoD chronologies.
Conclusion: Let’s Hope For The Best Gameplay
So while the story of the Campaign and Zombies for Black Ops 6 isn’t much to talk about, at least for now, the best we can hope is the gameplay. The campaign is said to have open-world missions, which is nice if pulled off correctly. Give it details, character development, and more than 3 hours to complete and we’ve got ourselves a solid Call of Duty Campaign.
And for the Black Ops 6 Zombies, the return of the round-based maps is such a big deal now. Fans have been requesting this since Vanguard, hence why we finally got Shi No Numa and The Archon maps that featured the round-based experience in that game. If the Terminus Island is in fact round based, and Liberty Falls is the Tranzit 2.0, do we have the best Zombies in years then? Could be!
For now, we should take most of these leaks and unofficial info with a grain of salt. With or without a strong story, Black Ops 6 could have a strong impact on Call of Duty as a whole. With failing titles like Vanguard and MW3, CoD could use the help of a big title this year.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is due to release in Fall 2024.
