While some players may be starting to feel some burnout withCall of Duty: Black Ops 6, it is undeniable that the title stands as one of the most successful that the franchise has ever seen. Although its presence as the first franchise title to appear as a day-one Xbox Game Pass release undoubtedly helped its early playership numbers,BO6made many bold changes while paying great respect to the history of theBlack Opsfranchise, which has been echoed throughout its campaign, Zombies, and its core multiplayer mode.
The Zombies experience ofCall of Duty: Black Ops 6arguably had the most pre-launch pressure placed on it. Zombies is such an iconic and defining element of theBlack Opssub-franchise, but it had lost its way in the opinion of many players. The core experience ofCoDZombies had changed drastically in the titles that precededBlack Ops 6, yet the game did well to take things back to basics while delivering on a lot of changes that fans had demanded for quite some time. Despite all the positive change thatBlack Ops 6has brought to Zombies, the mode is still far from perfect, and the lack of achievements/trophies for DLC Zombies maps is one easily-rectifiable change that still has not been made.
DLC Achievements/Trophies For Black Ops 6 Zombies Could Do Wonders For the Mode’s Longevity
The Zombies mode forCall of Duty: Black Ops 6immediately drew a lot of hype thanks to its commitment to return to traditional round-based experiences, while also embracing classic Zombies elements such as a dedicated four-person cast of playable characters. This offered a big change from the previous Outbreak formula of Zombies that echoed in 2023’sModern Warfare 3, which saw massive open-world maps that went against the claustrophobic chaos of classicCoDZombies.
The round-based launch experiences ofBlack Ops 6also gave way to traditional perk and weapon systems, withLiberty Falls and Terminus offering a good start toBlack Ops 6’s ambitious Zombies plans. As expected, Treyarch also gave a lot of attention to small and large-scale Easter eggs for each Zombies map withinBO6.The studio clearly wanted to incentivize people to engage with this aspect of Zombies more than ever before.
For example,Black Ops 6features a Directed Mode for its Zombies mapswhich guides players through a given major Easter egg, with stages of more attractive rewards that players can earn for completing Easter eggs unassisted and closer to a map’s initial release. These rewards can range from limited-time animated calling cards, operator skins, and weapon skins, giving more tangible reward to Easter egg completion than ever before. However, all this is counteracted by the lack of achievements/trophies thatBO6’s DLC Zombies maps feature.
The introduction of Directed Mode toBlack Ops 6Zombies appeared to double the number of players who were engaging with major Easter eggs.
Black Ops 6’s Zombies DLC is Missing a Spark Without Fresh Achievements/Trophies
In terms of post-launch maps,Black Ops 6has already released three majorDLC maps in the form of Citadelle des Mort, The Tomb, and Shattered Veil. While these maps carry forward the in-game rewards tied to Easter eggs and beyond, none ofBlack Ops 6’s DLC Zombies maps feature additional achievements or trophies that can be unlocked, being a big miss in terms of maintaining players and appealing to the traditions ofCoDZombies.
A fresh set of achievements/trophies has defined a lot ofthe best Zombies experiences ofCall of Duty’s past, with Easter egg achievements/trophies in particular acting as a badge of honor for dedicated Zombies players and achievement hunters. The lack of post-launch achievements is one deflating element ofBlack Ops 6Zombies that is more important than ever now that the game’s life-cycle is winding down, and the franchise should definitely look to change this going forward to fully emulate the best parts of Zombies' rich history.
