When Does Black Ops 6 Take Place on the Call of Duty Timeline?

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 takes place at a confusing point in the overarching COD timeline, but we now know exactly where the game is set.

Despite Black Ops 6 being, unsurprisingly, the sixth installment in the Black Ops franchise, it’s set much earlier than some of the other titles in the series.

In recent years, the Call of Duty timeline has become a little messy, something that the Modern Warfare reboot only further exacerbated.

But don’t worry if you’re getting confused by which plot lines lead where. We’ve got a full timeline breakdown for you below:

The Full Call of Duty Timeline

Black Ops 6 on the Call of Duty Timeline

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is set in the early 1990s, meaning the game takes place around a decade after the events of Black Ops Cold War.

This makes it the third Black Ops game chronologically, after Black Ops 1, and Cold War.

However, it is also set shortly after Black Ops 2’s earlier timeline, which is evidenced by the fact that Woods is permanently wheelchair-bound due to his injury at the hands of Raul Menendez.

The 2012 release had a story that took place across two different time periods: the late 1980s and 2025. Therefore, Black Ops 6 takes place right after the events of the earlier timeline, but we’re not certain if the 2025 story is even still canon.

After all, Black Ops 2’s future timeline features massive leaps forward in technological prowess.

And given that Modern Warfare has begun integrating with Black Ops through Warzone – and last year’s MW3 takes place in 2023, it seems impossible for technology to have come so far in just two years!

Are Modern Warfare & Black Ops Timelines Connected?

For those unaware, Imran Zakhaev’s character has appeared in both the rebooted Modern Warfare series and Black Ops Cold War, implying that the timelines are now connected.

Warzone also introduces more than a few confusing canon moments, but this connection between games definitely indicates that Activision views the universe as officially connected now.

And if that’s the case, we have to assume that either Black Ops 2’s 2025 timeline is non-canon, or humanity is about to have an extremely productive two years in the tech industry.

We also do not know whether Alex Mason is alive or dead at the time of Black Ops 6, as the character’s fate is decided by the player in Black Ops 2’s early timeline.

We’re sure to learn more about Black Ops 6’s setting in the coming months ahead of release, so check back for more information soon!