The next era of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is on the horizon with the upcoming launch of the title's second in-game season on January 28. Treyarch began teasing fans about this upcoming wave of content with a focus on the upcoming Zombies map as well as a range of much-needed quality of life improvements for the survival mode, but now players also have a solid overview of what to expect in terms of multiplayer additions for season two.
As expected, a wide range of content is coming to Call of Duty: Black Ops 6's core multiplayer over the next few weeks, with new maps, weapons, attachments, perks, rewards, and more being in store for the title. The new maps of any in-game season for CoD are always important, with five new core multiplayer introductions coming to Black Ops 6 throughout season two. Two of these fresh additions are smaller-scaled Strike Maps, and both of these maps bear striking resemblances to two of the most memorable in-game experiences from 2012's Black Ops 2.
Black Ops 6 Zombies: All Season 2 GobbleGums
Black Ops 6 Season 2 brings with it three new GobbleGums to unlock. Here is a comprehensive guide that breaks down each one.
Black Ops 6's Season Two Strike Maps Are a Blast From the Past
A commendable amount of content is set to come to Black Ops 6's multiplayer throughout season two, giving a much-needed boost to the variety of the title. In all, the following five maps have been announced for BO6's multiplayer in season two:
- Bounty (Launch)
- Dealership (Launch)
- Lifeline (Launch)
- Bullet (Mid-Season)
- Grind (Mid-Season)
As smaller Strike Maps, Lifeline and Bullet can either be played in chaotic 6v6 modes or through 2v2 Gunfight, so players might note some familiar themes behind the two maps in the wider context of the Black Ops sub-franchise. Lifeline is set on a small luxury yacht, with players being able to fight within a range of internal spaces as well as the boat's exterior, which bears many similarities with Black Ops 2's iconic Hijacked map.
Of course, Lifeline appears to be much smaller and more contained compared to Hijacked, but the mixture of sightlines and firefight hot-spots that Lifeline's yacht setting provides still emulates Hijacked's futuristic super-yacht, just on a smaller scale. This kind of nostalgic throwback is also present in Bullet, which takes its name from the high-speed bullet train that it takes place on. Long-term fans of the Black Ops series might associate this kind of setting with Black Ops 2's Express map, which took place around a bullet train station.
While the core experiences of Bullet and Express are different in how Bullet takes place entirely on board the runaway train, it is still reminiscent of Express' explorable traincars. The environmental hazard of the train that passed through Express is also emulated in how players can be thrown from Bullet's speedy locomotive. With players even being able to face the risks of climbing on top of Bullet's moving train, the upcoming map seems like a logical extension of BO2's Express, and this may serve a greater purpose beyond a cute callback to a prior title.
The Nostalgia in Black Ops 6's Strike Maps Might Be Setting Up the Future
Many rumors are already circulating around what 2025's Call of Duty title will involve, with early reports suggesting that this year's entry to the series will be a direct sequel to Black Ops 2. This puts a different perspective onto the similarities that Lifeline and Bullet share with some of the most recognizable maps of Black Ops 2; Treyarch might be laying the first seeds of familiarity and connection between the modern franchise and its massively popular 2012 ancestor. While the unique sizes and layouts of Lifeline and Bullet are more than enough to make each map stand on its own two feet, they may serve as the first steps in gearing the Call of Duty community up for a lot of BO2-adjacent content in the near future.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 83 /100 Critics Rec: 91%
- Released
- October 25, 2024
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Suggestive Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
- Developer(s)
- Treyarch, Raven Software
- Publisher(s)
- Activision
- Engine
- IW 9.0
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op
- Cross-Platform Play
- Yes - PlayStation, Xbox, PC
WHERE TO PLAY
Forced to go rogue. Hunted from within. This is Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.
Developed by Treyarch and Raven, Black Ops 6 is a spy action thriller set in the early 90s, a period of transition and upheaval in global politics, characterized by the end of the Cold War and the rise of the United States as a single superpower. With a mind-bending narrative, and unbound by the rules of engagement, this is signature Black Ops.
The Black Ops 6 Campaign provides dynamic moment-to-moment gameplay that includes a variety of play spaces with blockbuster set pieces and action-packed moments, high-stakes heists, and cloak-and-dagger spy activity.
In a best-in-class Multiplayer experience, players will test their skills across 16 new maps at launch, including 12 core 6v6 maps and 4 Strike maps that can be played 2v2 or 6v6.
Black Ops 6 also marks the epic return of Round-Based Zombies, the fan-favorite mode where players will take down hordes of the undead in two brand-new maps at launch. Post-launch, players can look forward to even more exciting maps and groundbreaking experiences dropping into both Multiplayer and Zombies.
- Cross Save
- Yes - PlayStation, Xbox, PC
- Prequel(s)
- Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Call of Duty: Black Ops III, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Call of Duty: World at War
- Franchise
- Call of Duty
- Number of Players
- 1-4
- Split Screen Orientation
- Vertical or Horizontal
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Unknown
- PC Release Date
- October 25, 2024
- Xbox Series X|S Release Date
- October 25, 2024
- PS5 Release Date
- October 25, 2024
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PC
- Genre(s)
- FPS
- How Long To Beat
- 8 Hours
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
- PS Plus Availability
- N/A
- File Size Xbox Series
- 216 GB (October 2024)
- Local Co-Op Support
- 1-2 Players
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
