Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is set to be our next COD Zombies experience, and we’ve compiled a list of everything we know about the mode so far.
Fans have been eagerly awaiting the follow-up to Black Ops Cold War Zombies ever since it concluded in late 2021.
Unfortunately, many users saw Call of Duty Vanguard’s Zombies experience as a disappointment. And although Modern Warfare 3 Zombies (MWZ) was off to a good start, the mode was all but abandoned shortly after launch.
Now Treyarch, master of the COD Zombies experience, is back at the helm for Black Ops 6. And we’re likely in for the best undead survival mode we’ve had in years!
Is Black Ops 6 Zombies Confirmed?
Yes, Zombies was confirmed during the Black Ops 6 Direct, as part of the Xbox Games Showcase.
The mode was initially teased using a brief teaser sent to content creators as part of the pre-reveal marketing.
It wasn’t a surprise to see the mode make a return – after all, every COD title developed by Treyarch features a Zombies experience.
Is Black Ops 6 Zombies Round-Based?
Yes, like in all previous Black Ops titles, Black Ops 6 Zombies is confirmed to be a return to round-based gameplay.
The recent move away from round-based Zombies modes has been controversial among the fans, who are calling for the traditional style to return.
However, Activision has also been experimenting with open-world Zombie experiences lately, both in Cold War’s Outbreak mode and in MWZ.
Given the latter mode’s popularity, being announced as the ‘most engaging third mode’ in Modern Warfare history, we wouldn’t be surprised to see more open-world Zombies content soon.
Rumor has it that Outbreak might return in Call of Duty 2025, thought to be a follow-up to Black Ops 6. However, this is currently unconfirmed.
How Many Maps At Launch?
Although Black Ops Cold War had only a single launch map, Die Maschine, Treyarch has confirmed that Black Ops 6 will have two Zombies maps available on release day!
The two maps, Terminus and Liberty Falls, will be available as soon as Black Ops 6 launches on October 25.
We’ve now had an in-depth look at the first map, with 17 minutes of gameplay on Terminus Island giving fans an idea of what to expect.
Here’s everything we know about both Black Ops 6 Zombies maps so far:
Map 1: Terminus
The first Black Ops 6 Zombies map, Terminus, is set on an island, expected to be located off the coast of Japan.
This is the island that Peck was trying to locate during the final cutscene of Cold War Zombies. The Terminus map intro cinematic features the returning character arriving on the island to free the members of Requiem.
Players start out in the same prison cellblock, but can soon explore the island in its entirety. Before WW2, Terminus Island was a coal mining operation, but later became a US Naval base, and eventually a top-secret CIA outpost.
Now home to the mysterious Project Janus, the island has become infested with the undead. Thankfully, there are plenty of ways to combat the zombie hordes.
Players can unleash deadly tentacle traps to cut off key chokepoints, or fire the devastating Void Cannon to blast zombies with an Aetherium Beam.
But, speaking of tentacles, the map also features a port that allows players to take a tactical raft between islands.
And when doing so, you’ll have to watch out for a ‘monstrously sized, writhing tendril’ intent on capsizing your vessel.
Be sure you’re ready when heading off into the sea to explore Treyarch’s biggest ever Zombies map!
Map 2: Liberty Falls
The second Black Ops 6 Zombies map is Liberty Falls. This map is set in a city in West Virginia, which features a bank and a chapel among its buildings.
Interestingly, one of the Black Ops 6 Multiplayer maps, Liberty Plaza, is the very same shopping district that features in this city.
In this Zombies map, Operators will investigate what appears to be the epicenter of a Dark Aether outbreak.
The events of Liberty Falls actually take place at the exact same time as Terminus Island, so we’re certain to see some sort of crossover occurring in the Main Quest.
For now, Treyarch is keeping relatively quiet about what Liberty Falls has in store for us, with a full reveal dropping at COD NEXT 2024 later this month.
That said, we did get one exciting reveal – the return of the Jet Gun Wonder Weapon from Black Ops 2’s TranZit!
GobbleGum Returns
After nine long years of waiting, GobbleGums make their return in Black Ops 6!
We haven’t seen this Zombies mechanic since Black Ops 3, and thankfully it appears far less Pay-To-Win this time around!
GobbleGums are consumable candy balls that can be purchased from the GobbleGum machine and eaten to acquire special in-game boosts.
Before starting a match of Zombies, players can customize which pack of five GobbleGum will appear in the machine. Then, purchasing a GobbleGum will result in one of the consumables being dispensed at random.
Here’s a full breakdown of how GobbleGum work in Black Ops 6 Zombies. By all accounts, we’d say it’s much improved!
GobbleGum can make your Black Ops Zombies run more entertaining and varied, but the last time we saw them, the consumables were locked behind a gacha system.
This time around, you’ll be able to earn GobbleGum just for playing rounds of Zombies. However, Activision still has a GobbleGum Pack locked behind a Vault Edition paywall, the contents of which are yet to be revealed…
Can You Get Early Access to Black Ops 6 Zombies?
No, there is currently no confirmed early access to Black Ops 6 Zombies mode.
Leaks initially indicated that users who pre-ordered Black Ops 6 would be able to get early access to Black Ops 6 Zombies ahead of release. However, if this is true, there has been no sign of it at this point in time.
If early access is on the cards, we’ll most likely hear about it at Call of Duty NEXT.
MW2 (2022) and MW3 (2023) both featured Campaign early access as a pre-order bonus.
Should this kind of partial early release occur again this year, we can only hope that Zombies is included.
The Storyline
As for where the Black Ops 6 Zombies storyline will take us, we already know what to expect.
For a start, Black Ops 6 Zombies takes place in 1991, which is six years after the conclusion of Cold War’s Zombies storyline.
Cold War’s final Zombies map, Forsaken, was set in 1985. In its conclusion, Samantha Maxis held back the Forsaken, preventing it from escaping from the Dark Aether and eventually sacrificing herself to close the rift between dimensions.
Her fate is left unclear, as the Forsaken is contained by Requiem.
The strike team is then arrested at the orders of its own Director, who is revealed to be longtime Zombies antagonist Edward Richtofen.
In a post-credits scene, we see Peck returning five years later in 1990, the same year as Black Ops 6’s Campaign is set to take place.
He asks to chart a boat to a small island off the coast of Japan, claiming to be searching for ‘some old friends.’
In the Terminus cinematic trailer, Peck, alongside new character Maya Aguinaldo, busts the Requiem members out of prison to hunt down the newly returned Edward Richtofen.
But Maya has other plans, insisting that the crew first find her brother, who is seemingly situated somewhere on Terminus Island.
Our first Zombie Crew consists of Elizabeth Grey, Grigori Weaver, Mackenzie Carver, and Maya Aguinaldo. The team sets off to rescue Maya’s brother and battle the undead.
Treyarch confirms that it’s picking up the Dark Aether storyline right where it left it, so we’re certain to get more major developments kicking off throughout the Black Ops 6 lifespan.
For now, it appears that we’ll be going up against Richtofen once again! As for what exactly he’s planning this time, we’ll have to wait and see.
We’ll keep you updated with all the latest Black Ops 6 Zombies developments as they continue to arrive!