This year, it appears that Activision isn’t allowing PC players to join console users in playing Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 early on Steam and Battle.net!
Right now, it’s officially the day before Black Ops 6’s official launch, but thousands of players are already dropping into Treyarch’s new release.
On console or even the Xbox PC app, users can take advantage of the New Zealand trick to play Black Ops 6 early. This trick works by tricking servers into thinking you’re playing from a different area of the world, where the game has already launched.
But with PC users having to wait for a single global release time of 12 AM ET, the New Zealand trick doesn’t work the same way.
Black Ops 6 Is Kicking Players From Early Access on PC
During last year’s launch of Modern Warfare 3, COD players discovered that you could play early on all PC platforms by getting a friend on PlayStation or Xbox to invite you to a game.
If you knew someone who was using the New Zealand trick to play early, those users could then invite you to a lobby through the Call of Duty HQ application.
However, it appears that this workaround won’t work for Black Ops 6, with dozens of fans reporting that attempting to join a friend’s game results in them immediately being kicked from the party.
Users on platforms such as Discord, Reddit, and X, appear more than willing to invite players to their games, but Black Ops 6 early access seems to be completely unavailable for PC users, except those on Xbox’s PC app.
Last year, Activision didn’t seem to care that players were gaining early access on all platforms, so we didn’t expect the company to take any action to prevent it this year either.
It seems that while the developer has joked about the New Zealand trick in the past, it’s remaining strict about which PC users get to play the game ahead of schedule.
For those now stuck waiting for the official release, here’s a countdown to exactly when Black Ops 6 goes live in your region!