Call of Duty: Black Ops 6’s “purely round-based” Zombies mode gameplay detailed

Following a brief introduction to Call of Duty: Black Ops 6’s Zombies mode earlier this week, Activision and developer Treyarch have shared first gameplay details of what it’s calling a “purely round-based” Zombies experience for this year’s game.

Storywise, Black Ops 6’s Zombies mode begins after a group of former Requiem members are released from the remote Terminus Island complex in the Philippine Sea by Maya Aguinaldo and Dr. William Peck. Maya is one of four playable Operators in this latest iteration of Zombies – she’s joined by Grigori Weaver, Elizabeth Grey, and Mackenzie “Mac” Carver – and unfortunately for them all, Terminus Island is a bio-research station for Project Janus, and those pesky Dark Aether undead are soon up and about again, ruining everyone’s day.

Terminus Island is the first of two Zombies maps so far revealed for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6’s launch (the other being the West Virginian town of Liberty Falls), and here, up to four players must work together to discover and complete objectives in order to escape the maximum-security complex – all while fending off waves (or “rounds”) of the undead.

Treyach calls Terminus Island “one of the largest round-based zombie maps ever created”, and players are able to freely explore its landmarks, including the prison area, ocean, and smaller islands accessible via Tactical Rafts. There’s a Main Quest to complete (as is the case for all Zombies maps), but exploration might also reveal hidden objectives, or audio logs, documents, and other artifacts pointing to further discoveries.

Progressing through a Zombies map requires players to spend Essence – accrued by slaying enemies – in order to unlock doors or remove obstacles, with some maps having multiple routes. However, Essence is also spent on Perks, to upgrade weaponry, to purchase ammo and additional weapons, and more – meaning players must think carefully about how they use their stash.

Additionally, there’s player-specific Salvage to acquire out in the world, used to access Ammo Mods capable of applying elemental power to a current weapon, to upgrade a weapon’s Rarity Tier so it inflicts more damage, and to build specific equipment at crafting tables.

While Blacks Ops 6’s maps are said to be “more challenging” than those found in Black Ops Cold War, this latest iteration of Zombies is introducing a new guided mode to help newcomers progress through a Main Quest. This’ll arrive “later in-season” after each map’s launch, and players managing to complete a map’s Main Quest before its guided mode arrives will earn a limited time Calling Card. There are also unique themed rewards to earn, with an extra reward available for those who complete the Main Quest without using guided mode.

And that’s just scratching the surface. There’s an absolute load more Zombies information – including confirmation Black Ops 6’s so-called Omnimovement system will feature – in Activision and Treyach’s extremely long blog post. There’s a look at customization Augments, weapons, load outs, and field upgrades, as well as talk of GobbleGums and Wonder Weapons. And if you want a breakdown of the creatures you’ll encounter – from bipedal shamblers to the fleshy body horror of the Amalgam – that’s in there too.

Activision says to expect more Black Ops 6 and Zombie details (including a look at the Liberty Falls map) as part of its next Call of Duty livestream, which airs on Wednesday, 28th August. Black Ops 6 launches for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC on 25th October.