A new report from Windows Central suggests 2024’s annual Call of Duty release will be a new entry in Treyarch’s Black Ops sub-series. According to insider sources, the untitled project is currently referred to as “Black Ops 6” internally and will be set during the early 1990s conflict in the Persian Gulf.
The last Call of Duty game set explicitly within the speculative Black Ops continuity was 2020’s Black Ops – Cold War. A full four years later, Treyarch is revisiting the shadowy world of covert operations and government conspiracies through the lens of Gulf War operations. Storywise, details remain scarce. However, the narrative will allegedly examine United States’ role in the conflict with a “nuanced” perspective. It seemingly aims to explore different perspectives and potentially question some of the West’s military objectives at the time.
On the gameplay front, the 2024 title will apparently emphasize the use of more conventional Black Ops-era weapons and technology as opposed to the advanced futuristic weaponry of recent series entries. This design choice aligns with the real-world early 90’s setting. Beyond the single-player campaign, the report suggests fan-favorite Zombies co-op mode will return with round-based survival maps akin to earlier Black Ops games. And as is now standard, Warzone 2 integration is also expected following launch.
As of yet, neither Activision nor Treyarch have officially commented on 2024’s Call of Duty plans. But, it’s worth noting that the extended development timeline follows reports that Activision rushed this year’s Modern Warfare 3 amidst a troubled production schedule. If nothing else, it appears that the publisher wants to give Treyarch time to cook, or so to speak. For what it’s worth, the studio has a solid history of success.
By giving Treyarch more breathing room, Activision guarantees fans a proper Call of Duty game – not a premium-priced DLC, which naysayers call MW2.
To drive sales, it’s believed Activision may offer extensive pre-order bonuses for Call of Duty 2024 ahead of its launch, including weeks of early multiplayer and co-op access. This tactic would drive sales and also provide necessary testing to smooth out issues before full public availability.
Next year’s entry marks the first Call of Duty release under Microsoft’s ownership. But, as per regulatory concessions, the mega-popular series will still launch across PlayStation consoles despite Xbox leadership. If you ask Phil Spencer though, he’d love to offer the game on non-Xbox platforms in perpetuity. Unfortunately, we can’t expect his successor to live up to his words whenever he inevitably steps down from his position.
The star power of Call of Duty was one of the main reasons why Microsoft pushed so hard to buy Activision Blizzard. We don’t think the tech giant would like to see the multi-billion-dollar franchise lose its step just because of the purchase. The constant criticism of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 following its launch, which comes months after both MW2 and Overwatch 2 became the worst-reviewed games on Steam, is likely raising alarm bells. Or, they may not matter at all – Modern Warfare 3 is still selling so well despite the negativity.
