Full spoilers for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6's Zombies Reckoning map below.
For those who are unfamiliar with the series, attempting to understand the narrative of Call of Duty: Zombies and all the parallel universes it contains may seem like a daunting task at first. To put it in simple terms, Call of Duty: Zombies' storyline is divided into three separate story arcs. The first arc, the Aether Story, was introduced in the Zombies mode of Call of Duty: World at War, and it spanned several installments, from Call of Duty: Black Ops 1 to Black Ops 4. The second arc is called the Chaos Story, and it was featured exclusively in Black Ops 4. Lastly, the third arc, the Dark Aether Saga, made its debut in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and has been ongoing ever since.
Although the Dark Aether Saga is still going to continue in the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, the Zombies storyline in the series' latest installment, Black Ops 6, has finally come to an end. The game's last Zombies map, titled Reckoning, was released on August 7, 2025, and it takes players on a mission into the Janus Towers, which are on the verge of collapse due to critical reactor meltdowns. The Reckoning map is great on its own merits, but what makes it especially notable is that it does something that hasn't been attempted in Call of Duty in over 12 years.
Reckoning is the First CoD: Zombies Map in Years to Have Multiple Endings
Like with all Call of Duty: Zombies maps, players have to complete an elaborate Easter egg in Reckoning in order to get to the end of its main storyline. To do this, they must perform a series of detailed tasks, and once they're completely finished with them, they have to make a difficult choice. Near the end of Reckoning's main mission, players have to either aid the artificial intelligence S.A.M. In her quest to make a human body for herself, or help Director Richtofen resurrect his deceased wife and son. Depending on the choice they make, they are forced to face the other character they did not align with in a major boss encounter.
Reckoning Has Followed in the Footsteps of CoD: Black Ops 2's Buried Map
Because of its branching storyline, Reckoning is one of the few maps in Call of Duty: Zombies history that has two different endings. The last instance in which players were allowed to make a major choice like this can be seen in the Buried map in Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. In that game, players had to join forces with either Edward Richtofen or Ludwig Maxis, and complete a separate set of Easter eggs for each of the paths in the map's main storyline. Although Buried had multiple endings, it was later revealed that the path involving Ludwig Maxis was the only canon one.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2’s Edward Richtofen and Call of Duty: Black Ops 6’s Director Rictofen are not exactly the same person; they're actually alternate reality versions of the same character.
The fact that the Reckoning map's storyline in Black Ops 6 has been left open-ended may put Black Ops 7 in a bit of a precarious position. Not only will the developers at Treyarch have to bring future Zombies maps up to par with Reckoning in terms of quality, but they will also have to decide how to handle the Dark Aether Saga going forward. Even though Treyarch will probably decide to make only one of the paths in Reckoning canon, it would be great if Treyarch provided answers about what really happened in each ending and created content that would satisfy both conclusions.
CoD: Black Ops 7's Zombies Mode Would Benefit from More Choice-Based Easter Eggs
Right now, there isn't really a lot known about the Zombies mode in Black Ops 7. The only thing that has been officially confirmed so far is that the original Zombies crew from Call of Duty: World at War — Edward Richtofen, Nikolai Belinski, "Tank" Dempsey, and Takeo Masaki — will return, as teased during the end of Reckoning. While it's anyone's guess whether Black Ops 7's Zombies mode will live up to expectations, hopefully the success of Reckoning will encourage Treyarch to make more choice-based Easter eggs in the future.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 66 /100 Critics Rec: 34%
- Released
- November 14, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Drugs
- Developer(s)
- Treyarch, Raven Software
- Publisher(s)
- Activision
