No one likes relying on their internet speeds for prime PS5 and Xbox gaming sessions, but Black Ops 6 isn’t taking any prisoners when it lands on consoles later this year. The latest Call of Duty game marks a franchise first for console players, as they will join PC owners to fulfill Black Ops 6’s ‘always online’ mandate. What does this mean for modes like solo Zombies or the campaign? Well, it already poses a major issue.
Following the recent Black Ops 6 Direct presentation at the Xbox Games Showcase, Activision has launched a brand-new support page for the latest Call of Duty title. If you dig deeper into the upcoming FPS game’s FAQ section, Activision explains that “to deliver the highest-quality visuals while also reducing the game’s overall storage space on your hard drive, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will use texture streaming across all game modes.” Additionally, the studio confirms that “you’ll need a continuous internet connection to play any game mode, including campaign.”
Previous games in the multiplayer game franchise have included texture streaming, such as the 2019 Modern Warfare reboot and Black Ops Cold War. However, these entries were still functional offline in their respective campaign modes, or Cold War’s Zombies playlists. You’ve likely heard of texture steaming before, as previous COD titles have used this method to relay high definition textures across your experience on PS5 and Xbox by pulling them directly from your console’s storage.
However, what Activision is getting at here refers to using cloud technology to give you a high-resolution experience, in an attempt to save valuable SSD space.
While it is a somewhat commendable effort to reduce Call of Duty HQ’s already mammoth size on consoles, it is a concerning notion for modes like Black Ops 6 Zombies. It is all-but-confirmed that the next iteration of the zombie game mode will include solo play, as it has remained a staple of Zombies since its inception in 2008. However, if you can’t rely on a persistent internet connection, it looks like the days of solo high round efforts are getting swiftly thrown out of the window.
If there is one thing you can take solace in, it is that Black Ops 6 won’t be 300 GB, as rumors have purported recently. It’ll still be linked to Call of Duty HQ, though, so let us hope that Treyarch will fix those god awful menus.
In related news, major lore hints are hiding in the names of the Black Ops 6 Zombies maps, and we spoke to two COD Zombies legends to get their thoughts on the future of the beloved game mode.
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