It’s a Great Year to Check Out the New Call of Duty

The yearly Call of Duty cycle continues, but this year’s release is a bit different from what came before it. Even if you don’t normally dip your toes into Activision’s “gamer comfort food” shooter, this year might be worth a shot.

Black Ops 6 Launches on Game Pass

Ever since Microsoft completed its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, many have wondered when Call of Duty would make its way to Microsoft’s Game Pass subscription. 2024 is the year that a brand new Call of Duty release comes to Game Pass on day one.

This comes as little surprise, particularly after the addition of last year’s lackluster Modern Warfare 3 to the Game Pass roster in July. If you’re already subscribed to the service, you’ve now got access to one of the world’s most popular games on Xbox and PC.

If you’re not already subscribed, you’ll need to sign up for a month of Game Pass Ultimate (not Core or Standard) for $19.99. If you don’t have an Xbox or Windows PC (or you don’t want to sign up for Game Pass) you’ll need to buy Black Ops 6 for $70 on Xbox, PS5 or a digital store.

Game Pass has been described as the gaming equivalent of a buffet. You’ve paid for a plate, so you might as well sample everything on offer. Even if you sign up to see what’s new with Call of Duty this year, there are hundreds of other excellent games to check out.

One Big Change for Multiplayer

The multiplayer component of Call of Duty is what keeps so many gamers coming back, every year. There’s a lot of fun to be had here as you earn progression by gradually leveling up your weapons and equipment through multiplayer staples like team deathmatch and objective-based modes.

Developer Treyarch has overhauled the movement system for 2024’s release, making the game feel more responsive and adding a new level of unpredictability. The “Omnimovement” system lets you effectively “sprint” in any direction, with new diving and sliding mechanics to make the game feel a bit more John Woo.

In order to keep multiplayer feeling competitive, Activision leans heavily on skill-based match matching (SBMM). Following a 2024 in-house study, the publisher confirmed that SBMM has “positive results” on player experience. Expect Black Ops 6 to constantly try and match you with players of similar ability so that you have a better time when playing.

On top of this, Black Ops 6 includes the popular Zombies mode. This is a player-versus-environment (PvE) experience in which you and up to three teammates must survive against waves of zombies. This year’s installment has you breaking out of a maximum-security prison called Terminus Island.

Zombies is a cooperative multiplayer experience that emphasizes action, teamwork, and resource management. For some, Zombies is reason enough to pick up the game every year.

Let off Steam With the Campaign

And then there’s the other side of Call of Duty, the cheesy, action movie campaign designed to keep you entertained for a few hours. If you go into the Black Ops 6 campaign as you would a big-budget action movie then you’ll probably have a blast.

These campaigns are technically impressive if forgettable, and they’re not long enough to drag on and outstay their welcome. For context, the Modern Warfare 3 campaign took around six hours to complete. Pick your preferred difficulty level, and switch off your brain.

This year’s single-player mode is set at the end of the Cold War in the early 90s. Activision is promising a varied campaign that includes multiple gameplay approaches (read: stealth until you get spotted and then it’s Rambo time), dialog choices, set pieces on quad bikes, and more.

The Game Pass price of entry is perfect for this kind of casual fan who doesn’t want to pay $70 to ignore the multiplayer aspect. If all you want to do is experience a few hours of shooty fun, this is probably the most cost-effective option.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is out now on Xbox, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Windows.