Black Ops 6 devs confirm Jackal PDW nerf with another SMG set to take its place

With the second weekend of the Black Ops 6 beta kicking off on September 6, Treyarch have confirmed a nerf to the Jackal PDW SMG that dominated the first few days.

Although not every BO6 gun is on display during the beta, it has given us an early idea of what the meta will look like come launch day. As players hopped into multiplayer, it didn’t take long for the Jackal PDW to emerge as the best weapon in the game.

Despite being a Level 20 unlock, it quickly became the most popular beta gun, as its rapid TTK paired with the new Omnimovement was a force to be reckoned with on BO6’s more close-range maps.

But as we head into the Open Beta, where those who haven’t pre-ordered can get their first taste of the action, Treyarch have confirmed that the SMG has been nerfed in the weekend 2 patch.

The update brings major damage nerfs across the board, which see its minimum and maximum damage values reduced, as well as an increase in how much visual recoil it will suffer.

In an X thread detailing all the new content coming in weekend two, the devs confirmed that the Jackal has been “tuned” to make it less dominant. They also urged players to “take a break” from the popular SMG and switch to one of the new weapons being introduced.

If you’re looking for a new weapon to take its place, the Open Beta raises the level cap to 30 and introduces guns like the Tanto .22. This SMG was seen absolutely melting lobbies at CoD Next, so we expect it to fill the gap left by the Jackal perfectly.

Alternatively, you could switch to one of the other guns that are carrying over, like the C9 SMG or Marine SP Shotgun.