Call Of Duty developers explore controversial new setting

Call of Duty is one of the most popular and lucrative video game franchises of all time and despite existing for over two decades, it’s showing no sign of slowing down anytime soon.

Maintaining its traditional annual release, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is the next entry looking to make its mark in the series and ahead of its launch, I had an opportunity to speak to Natalie Polowski (lead narrative producer at Raven Software) and Stephanie Snowden (senior director studio communications at Call of Duty Studios) during a group interview.

Check out the Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 trailer below!

It’s always a massive event when a new Call of Duty arrives in town but with Black Ops 6 being the first game in the series to launch on Xbox Game Pass, this year's entry is arguably not only Treyarch’s but Activision’s most important release in years.

“Xbox Game Pass is just another platform for us,” explains Stephanie. “Maybe people who haven't played Call of Duty in a long time, or have never played it, might think this is an awesome game to jump into and hopefully it will attract even more players to the franchise.

The Black Ops series has provided compelling storytelling over the years and is considered to be a flagship member of the Call of Duty family, Black Ops 6 looks to build on the foundations of what came before. “ We’re building on the characters from Black Ops II (2012) and Black Ops Cold War (2019),” Natalie says. “And a big focus for us is mission variety when it comes to the single-player campaign and we’re really excited about building on the Black Ops lore.”

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6/Activision

“The 1990s is also an era that Call of Duty has never been before,” Stephanie adds as she looks back nostalgically. “It’s a new playground for us in terms of tone and events. There are some really fun moments in the campaign not to mention the music and its environment. It’s going to be a fun place for players to visit.”

Set roughly ten years after the events of Black Ops Cold War, the Gulf War which saw conflict in Iraq is one of the most controversial times in modern history but as fans of Call of Duty will know, no period is seemingly off limits.

“Black Ops has always been one that adapts real history to tell its alternate ‘what if?’ story as a fictional narrative. The team in Black Ops 6 has gone rogue posing as Delta Force with the SAS Scud Hunters,” Natalie explains. “There’s a really cool moment in the campaign where players will be clearing one of Saddam Hussein’s palaces.”

Natalie continues “Sometimes you as a player get into these really questionable situations, and you're grappling with what that means for you. Would you make this choice in the same position as Russell Adler?” one of the main characters in the game.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6/Activision

Unlike most other games in the Call of Duty series, Black Ops has often given the players multiple choice scenarios, which in some cases, can change the outcome of the story and the sixth numbered entry will be no exception.

“We’ve put a lot of focus and attention into each mission regarding player choice and how missions are approached such as ‘Most Wanted’ and ‘Gala’ in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6,” Natalie recalls. “There are also side-missions that players can choose to do or not to do and in what order, that may lead to different scenes. There’s a lot of replayability in the missions. Players can also choose how to approach a mission, that’s an aspect that we’ve leaned into most of all.”

By having a goal of outdoing its predecessor, it’s always going to be a challenging task for those crafting the next Call of Duty experience to maintain. “We always try to begin with gameplay innovations,” Natalie says. “That’s what drives us first and foremost. Then we look at what settings and areas we can explore, and then the story is built from that.”

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6/Activision

One of the innovations that Treyarch has focused on this year is the Omni movement. In previous games, players can dive forwards and backwards, often used as a tactic to get out of dodge. However, in Black Ops 6, the Omni mechanic gives players an unparalleled sense of movement for the series, being able to dive in any direction as well as complete freedom when in a prone position.

“The Omni movement is the kind of innovation that we hope to take the series forward, and one of the things we love about Call of Duty is that we’re always motivated to keep pushing forward,” adds Stephanie. “We always want new content and new ways to play.

“Then there’s the added challenge of finding the right balance when implementing those innovations. At the same time, we also have to maintain what makes the Black Ops series and what players want. Furthermore, aside from the campaign and multiplayer, there is Zombies, and this is what’s so special about Black Ops from other sub-franchises within Call of Duty. It’s all about having fun.”

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is released on 25 October 2024 for PC, PlayStation and Xbox.