Here are the 11 best things coming in Black Ops 6

Treyarch is really planning on flipping the script with the next Call of Duty. After years of slow-paced Modern Warfare content designed specifically to even the playing field, Black Ops 6 looks set to change everything to widen the skill gap, breed creativity, and inject as much fun and personality into the series as possible.

But with so many changes, what do you need to keep an eye out for? What do you need to know in order not to fall behind this sweaty shooter? Well, here are the best 11 features coming to Black Ops 6, in order.

11 - Omnimovement

Well, we had to kick things off with Omnimovement. I am sceptical about this overhaul, but it's undeniable that it will offer some really intriguing gameplay.

For a die-hard Black Ops fan, it seems like a risk to wager your entire game (which without omnimovement would still be in contention to be the best game since the pre-jetpack era) on such a divisive mechanism.

If it's pulled off, Black Ops 6 might go down as the best Call of Duty ever, but it could also go the other way. Regardless of how it plays out, it will be fun to see omnimovement in action...at least for a year.

10 - 16 Original Multiplayer Maps

I don't know about you, but I'm fatigued from playing some of the same recycled maps every other year. Don't get me wrong, Raid is my all-time favourite map, but similarly, we got a full year of it in Cold War, and I'm very comfortable with it taking Black Ops 6 on the sidelines.

Finally, we have a game that is 100% natural. There's no reliance on old formats, and the risk that Treyarch has taken with this will surely be a reward. 

The 16 original Black Ops 6 maps will all play on 6v6, but four of the smaller designs will duo as Strike maps to support 2v2 play, too. Still, there are questions about where exactly our beloved Nuketown is.

9 - Positive Attachments

In games gone by, attachments have been hit-and-miss, with only a few viable buffs despite hundreds of different options being available. Many attachments came riddled with 'cons' that were meant to 'balance' weapons, but that's all changing.

Black Ops 6 is making a conscious effort to have its attachments improve the guns rather than strip away some of its quality. In theory, this means you can have more variety without having to make it worse in other areas. 

Combined with another feature further down this list, it will also make the grind much better - making sure to unlock those attachments you need (time and time again...).

8 - Theater Mode

Maybe this should be higher on the list, but given that I think it should be a series norm, I couldn't bring myself to rank it higher out of spite. Still, Theater Mode is back!

For the first time in the best part of a decade, Theater Mode returns from the get-go, allowing players to nerd out with grenades and throwing knife line-ups, clip-up montages, and even catch hackers in the act. It should be a necessity in Call of Duty, but its return should also be celebrated.

7 - Human Shields

Who doesn't like a good assassination? Well, now you can whisper in the ear of your foes as you drag their wounded corpse around and use them as meat shield to block bullets.

The human riot shield assassination picks up your enemy and uses them as cover while you shoot your pistol, making it both an effective form of defence and a hilarious gimmick.

The move also activates a death-com where you can talk to your stolen bag of limbs, mocking them as their own team fire lead at their mid-drift.

6 - Training Camp: Protocol

With a huge overhaul of the systems in Black Ops 6, including loadouts and movement, there's a lot to catch up on. We already covered how omnimovement will be thrust upon us, and with no way to turn it off, it'll likely take a bit of getting used to for those of us who are feeling rusty.

Step onto the Protocol map and have Frank Woods talk you through what's what. For novices or those who want to hone their skills, Protocol serves as a training ground where you can make sure you're up to scratch before jumping into the bullet-flinging mayhem of the others. 

5 - Auto-knife loadouts

For the first time in Call of Duty, Black Ops 6 and Warzone will have a third slot in their weapon category, which will be saved for just a knife (and blueprints of melee weapons). This means you can carry two guns (primary and secondary) and still reach into your pocket for a knife, akin to Apex Legends.

Additionally, the auto-knife will give players unlimited tac-sprint, allowing for much better movement, even if you're stacking an LMG and RPG on your back. One of the best QoL updates Warzone has ever had, just don't get caught lacking with your blade out and guns down.

4 - Zombies Easter Egg walkthroughs

As part of each Zombies map, players will have the chance to uncover Easter eggs, and while none of these will quite be Steve Blundell's unsolvable 'impossible quest', there will be some difficulty as players get their Sherlock Holmes hats out. 

Once the Easter egg has been solved by the public, there will be a new Zombies mode that guides everyone else through the quest. This will allow them to uncover the secrets of the map so that they can take it into real lobbies and harness whichever goodies come with it.

Black Ops 6 is the first time such a mode has been tried out, and it might even be the first time that players will actually do the quests to enjoy the quirks that Zombies offer.

3 - Verdansk

Well, here we go! The original Warzone map is officially returning and will certainly reignite Warzone with all of Black Ops 6's mechanisms serving as its catalyst.

Not only is Verdansk's return destined to put Call of Duty on the (figurative) map again, but it will also come with a fifth-anniversary celebration, leaking into multiplayer and Black Ops 6 for the ultimate hype.

While the likes of Caldera and Al Mazrah have tried, nothing has beaten Verdansk and likely never will. Treyarch knows this, so hopefully, Black Ops 6 and the Warzone GOAT will walk hand-in-hand on the path to greatness.

2 - Classic Prestiges

Finally! The Classic Prestige systems returns to Call of Duty, and it couldn't have come at a better time. Players will operate through 55 levels and then have the option to Prestige - resetting progress back to level one and begin the grind again until you hit Prestige Master and unlock an extra 1,000 levels.

Your perks, guns, and attachments will reset every Prestige (albeit some "classified rewards" will let you keep some elements), which ties in beautifully with the "positive perks". It's been quite some time since we had something to continuously grind, and Classic Prestiges will definitely be a bonus for Black Ops 6.

1 - All-in live-service round-based Zombies

There's no denying that Modern Warfare 3 Zombies was left hanging after its initial release. Yes, there were updates in the live-service model, but ultimately, nothing really happened despite the opportunities to take players across different battle royale maps if there was an insistence on those landscapes being the playground.

In 2024, Treyarch has pledged its undivided attention to go "all in" on Zombies, already announcing that a third map is nearing completion and will come by the "end of the year". It will come as a great change of pace to Zombies to have a full focus on round-based, too, given Cold War was split with Outbreak.

With a bit of luck, we could get four or five different Zombies maps by the end of Black Ops 6's stint, returning the series back to its old - and devastatingly brilliant - ways. It was hard to separate the top three features coming to Black Ops 6, but this edges it for me, given its dormant state for so long.

---

By the way, Black Ops is back, so picking just 11 was tough.