Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 launch: A look at how the Black Ops series of games has evolved

It’s been (a little over) two decades since the first Call of Duty game released for PC gamers. Since then, the franchise has left an indelible mark on the hearts and minds of gamers with its action-packed gameplay, advanced weaponry, and of course, characters like Captain “Soap” MacTavish, Captain Price and Alex Mason to name a few.

Today, the reason we are feeling a tad nostalgic is due to the launch of the latest CoD game. If you too, like us, have been eagerly awaiting the launch of the next game in the Black Ops series, then today is the day. The latest Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 has just launched.

Before you get busy fulfilling covert missions the world over, let’s take a look back at how Call of Duty’s Black Ops series has evolved over time.

Call of Duty: Black Ops: What sets the sub-franchise apart?

The Call of Duty: Black Ops sub-franchise has carved a niche for itself, setting itself apart with more emphasis on covert and clandestine operations rather than the all-out war-torn settings of the Modern Warfare series.

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It takes players on a journey into the world of espionage right from Cold War to a (fictional) dystopian world in 2065, coming to terms with themes of power and corruption, loyalty, as well as the consequences of technological advancement and the human cost of war.

Call of Duty: Black Ops (2010)

Call of Duty: Black Ops is set between 1961 and 1968, during Cold War. Players assumed the role of CIA operative and former Marine Force Recon Captain Alex Mason, and for a few missions, CIA paramilitary operations officer Jason Hudson, and Soviet operative Viktor Reznov. Their mission? Stop Soviet sleeper cells operating in the United States, from deploying a chemical weapon (Nova 6) in the country.

The multiplayer version of the game introduced several new features with it like CODPoints and Playercards. The Theater mode, introduced for the first time, allowed one to record and spectate their games. For the first time, most maps also had ambient activity in the background. They also have interactive items such as doors.

Platforms: Windows PC , PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS, Wii

Call of Duty: Black Ops II (2012)

Call of Duty: Blacks Ops II featured a non-linear style of gameplay, with two connected storylines. The first takes between 1986 and 1989, the final years of the Cold War, and the other is set in the year 2025 – during a fictional Second Cold War and trade dispute between the United States and China.

Players once again assumed the role of Alex Mason – now a retired CIA operative – in the first timeline, and the role of Mason’s son David. Both of them worked to pursue Raul Menendez, a Nicaraguan arms dealer and terrorist.

Black Ops II was the first CoD title to feature branching storylines, where players’ choices affect the overall course of the game. It was also the first game in the franchise to allow a player to customise their loadout before a mission, which allowed greater flexibility to decide how one approached a mission, its outcome, as well how it impacted the larger game.

Platforms: Windows PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U

Call of Duty: Black Ops III (2015)

Call of Duty: Black Ops III is set in 2065, as the world grapples with the effects of climate change and the conflicts of 2025 (from Black Ops II). Set amidst a third Cold War, the campaign follows a team of black ops soldiers who work for the Winslow Accord and engage in clandestine operations against the Common Defense Pact.

The campaign was designed to support four-player cooperative gameplay, and introduced a new “realistic” difficulty mode, wherein players could be defeated if they were hit by a single bullet. In multiplayer mode, a new character system called “Specialists”, was introduced featuring 10 cybernetically enhanced soldiers, each with a special weapon and unique ability.

Platforms: Windows PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, macOS

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (2018)

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 was the first mainline CoD title to not include a single-player campaign. Chronologically, it was set between the events of Black Ops II and Black Ops III. It was centered around The Specialists, a group of cybernetically enhanced special operatives hired by researcher Savannah Mason-Meyer, the granddaughter of Alex Mason.

The game got a new Battle Royale mode called Blackout, which featured up to 100 players in a match. Players were dropped into what is the largest map featured in a CoD title via helicopter, following which they scavenge for weapons and take on other players to become the last man standing. The game mode also featured several playable characters from the Black Ops series such as Alex Mason and Raul Menendez.

Platforms: Windows PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (2020)

Set in 1981, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War followed CIA operative Russel Adler, along with Alex Mason and Frank Wood, as they pursue a Soviet spy named Perseus, responsible for orchestrating the Iran hostage crisis.

The campaign gave players the ability to create their own custom character, from an espionage agency of their choice, with different personality traits to that influenced gameplay as well as perks. The game, once again, featured multiple endings that depend on the choices players made throughout the campaign. The game’s multiplayer mode also introduced three new game modes – VIP Escort, Combined Arms, and Fireteam: Dirty Bomb.

Platforms: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (2024)

And that brings us to the sixth (seventh, if one counts Call of Duty: World at War, which serves as a prologue for the Black Ops series) and latest game in the Black Ops series.

Set in 1991, the game follows Troy Marshall and Frank Woods as their team of agents works to hunt down Pantheon – a rogue force that has taken over the CIA, accusing anyone who goes against them of treason against the United States.

Black Ops 6 introduces several new gameplay mechanics. For starters, it has new movement mechanisms that lets one sprint, dive or slide in any direction. Like previous titles, one has multiple ways of approaching missions. And now, there are interactive dialogue trees for non-player characters as well, to further decide the outcome of a player’s choices.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is already live on Steam in markets globally and is priced at Rs 5,999 for the standard game.

Platforms: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

Looking back at how the Call of Duty: Black Ops series has evolved, there is no doubt that it has consistently pushed the envelope when it comes to first-person shooting games.

The series’ strong storytelling and immersive gameplay experiences have solidified its place as a gaming icon. And as we look forward to getting our hands on the latest installment of the series, we can only anticipate more exciting new features and storylines in the years to come.