Black Ops 6 Zombies: All maps, characters & storyline explained

Treyarch is back and swinging from the top rope, as it tags in for Modern Warfare 3's WWE-centric festival of pain to bring Black Ops 6 to the podium.

The legendary developer of the Zombies mode in Call of Duty will return to action in 2024, and it is quite literally kicking things off with the ultimate hell-in-a-cell deathmatch.

As we edge towards the Black Ops 6 reveal, here is everything you need to know about the Zombies nide, including the maps, characters, and a deep dive into the storyline.

All maps

Black Ops 6 will launch with two round-based Zombies maps, the first time that a Call of Duty game has had such explosive undead action since Black Ops 4.

Terminus

The first map to have been revealed is Terminus, which appears to be cut from the same cloth as Call of the Dead.

Based on a remote island, the characters will break out of prison to try and escape the island. Akin to previous Alcatraz-based maps (Terminus is its own prison), the bulk of the action will be outside of the cell blocks as players will be descending down the island in hunt of the Pack-a-Punch machine and Perk-o-Colas.

Liberty Falls

Liberty Falls is the more ambitious map out of the two, with strong lore ties to Green Run and Tranzit.

While little is known about how Liberty Falls will play out, the map is based on a small town in Virginia, featuring a church and a barn.

All characters

Many characters in the Call of Duty series have been famed for their appearances. Think Tank Dempsey and Samantha Maxis. 

This year, some familiar faces have returned to the storyline, while a range of new characters will begin their fight against the undead.

Two sets of characters, one for each map, will be used:

Terminus

Grigori Weaver - Weaver is as much of a Zombies veteran as you can imagine, having featured in every game to feature Element 115. Although Modern Warfare 3 painted his eventual demise, Black Ops 6 is set much earlier in the timeline, and he will once again be donning his signature eyepatch (thanks to Lev Kravchenko) as he attempts to break out of Terminus prison.

Mackenzie "Mac" Carver - Carver was first introduced in Cold War, as the Head of the Containment and Security Division at Requiem and was imprisoned with the rest of the group at the end of Forsaken as Samantha Maxis locked herself in the Dark Aether.

Dr. Elizabeth Grey - Not to be confused with Peaky Blinders' Polly, Grey was also a character introduced in Cold War as a member of Requiem, operating as Head of the Unnatural Sciences. She also has a deep connection with Samantha as the surrogate mother of her child Ava.

Oskar Strauss - Strauss joined Requiem with Carver and Grey as Head of Energy Research. All four members are known to die protecting an Aetherium container device before the events of Modern Warfare 3, meaning that we will likely see them all kick some rotting ass.

Maya Aguinaldo - The first new character is Maya Aguinaldo. She is a young Filipina smuggler who arrives on Terminus island to break the crew out. Little is known about her background, however, the Terminus trailer reveals she has a brother who also needs rescuing from the island.

Stoney "Raptor One" Maddox - Maddox has been revealed to be Raptor One, who is best known for being the exfiltration chopper pilot in Cold War. This guy is cool, and that's all you need to know. Top Gun vibes.

Dr. William Peck - William Peck was presumed dead after the events of Forsaken, as he turned on Kravchenko and shot a gas line causing both to be involved in a huge explosion. But, he reappeared five years later with visible burn marks and will be one of the playable characters alongside Maya, Grey, and Carver.

Liberty Falls

Liberty Falls' characters are yet to be revealed, but it will be a completely separate cast from Terminus. It's likely that Liberty Falls will have an entirely new team, given most of Cold War's cast are at Terminus.

The Director

As mentioned, these two maps canonically run simultaneously as two zombie outbreaks are spawned at the same time. But, both sites do share a common enemy: The Director.

Acting as the puppeteer antagonist is none other than Dr. Edward Richtofen.

Actor Nolan North teased his return, meaning we might see Eddie as a playable character at least once this year.

Storylines and secret characters

Terminus

Terminus is the direct follow-on to Forsaken. The Requiem characters were all imprisoned by Richtofen following the events of the final Cold War map, as he lured his former best friend Samantha into the Dark Aether and locked her out of action.

Weaver, Carver, Grey, Strauss, and Maddox have all been imprisoned for five years on the island, and it has taken the efforts of Peck to recover from his near-death explosion and enlist the help of Aguinaldo to infiltrate Terminus and break the crew out. 

Aguinaldo has a storyline of her own though, as her brother is also on Terminus. We don't know who said brother is though, and he remains a secret character. Some have theorised that the brother is Takeo Masaki from the Aether Story, despite being Japanese, as lore has us believe that Peck and Aguinaldo meet in Japan before heading to Terminus island in the Philippines Sea. 

Liberty Falls

Liberty Falls has been subject to many teasers and Easter egg hunts already, but none have really detailed what the story of this West Virginian town has to offer. It's likely that there will be some brand-new character arcs as Element 115 spreads, and even the possibility of a Tranzit-like map with the Jet Gun, but as for its story, it has yet to be revealed. 

Additional gameplay details

Round-based action in its finest form

The Black Ops 6 Zombies experience is set to be a true revival of the iconic series, heading back to a round-based system.

At least in the first two maps, there will be a Pack-a-Punch machine, Perk-a-Cola, a Mystery box, and some very useful Wonderweapons.

There will also be a new feature in Mutant Injections, which will continue to give you more powers against the undead - maybe with a taste of their own medicine.

Two game modes

Interestingly, Treyarch looks to be offering a new way to play Zombies which will be added alongside "standard" play.

The Standard mode will see you continue the fight against waves of the undead, while optionally searching for clues and Easter eggs to the truth of what lies ahead.

A second mode, named Guided, will be a story mode in which players will have just 15 rounds of Zombies to defeat, but will take this time to complete story quests.

Loadouts

Loadouts will also be returning to Zombies to allow you to grind camos and level up guns for multiplayer and Warzone. You can still start with your usual pistol if you choose to, but if you want a bit more firepower from the get-go, you can enlist the help of all of the Black Ops 6 weapons.

Enemies

Aside from the usual reanimated corpses, the zombie army will also be using explosive spiders to hunt you down. 

This guide is a work in progress and will be updated as more Zombies information is shared ahead of the Black Ops 6 release.