The story of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 was one of its highest-praised features around the time of its launch, with many players enjoying how the game’s campaign blended high-octane CoD combat with slower spy-like sequences. While discussion around the game’s campaign has waned as time has passed, the in-game multiplayer seasons of Black Ops 6 are still offering some great insights into the narrative future of the subseries.
The end of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6‘s second season was marked with its own cinematic, featuring appearances from fan-favorite characters like Frank Woods and Russell Adler. As expected, this cinematic loosely sets up the story beats of Black Ops 6‘s third season and beyond, with long-time Black Ops figure Jason Hudson being mentioned as a driving force in this upcoming narrative. While it is almost certain that Hudson will not appear in the flesh during the ongoing storyline of Black Ops 6, the character has built a reputation over the years that is deserving of more representation within future Black Ops releases.
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There is Still Room For Jason Hudson to Have a Narrative Presence in Black Ops Going Forward
Jason Hudson first appeared in the Black Ops franchise from its very beginning in 2010, being a central driving force of the game’s story alongside the likes of Frank Woods and Alex Mason. Hudson would go on to play an even more important role in the fan-favorite narrative of 2012’s Black Ops 2, with the character famously dying at the hands of Raul Menendez.
While Hudson’s mysterious nature and ulterior CIA motives often painted him as a stand-offish figure, his ultimate sacrifice in Black Ops 2 cemented him as a revered character among many fans, with his important contribution to the sub-franchise’s earlier narratives being undeniable. Hudson would go on to appear in the early-1980s story of Black Ops Cold War, although some players felt his inclusion in the game felt unrepresentative of the driven and relentless version of Hudson that fans had come to love from previous titles.
The ending cinematic for Black Ops 6‘s second season is the most direct mention of Hudson that fans have seen for some time, beyond brief references to the character in the game’s campaign, and this is hopefully setting up a big future involvement for Hudson in the sub-franchise’s future. While it may be possible for Hudson to appear in flashback cinematics or as a non-canon operator for Black Ops 6‘s multiplayer, there is a better case to be made for the figure to appear in 2025’s Call of Duty release.
2025’s Call of Duty Release Might Be the Perfect Stage For a Partial Hudson Return
This year’s Call of Duty project will reportedly also be a Black Ops entry, with all signs currently pointing toward the game being a direct sequel to Black Ops 2. This would place the bulk of the game’s narrative around the year 2030, following on the story of David Mason, but it seems likely that the game could feature its own flashback gameplay sequences in the same way that the 2025-set story of Black Ops 2 did.
While most rumors and reports point towards 2025’s Call of Duty release being a Black Ops 2 sequel, nothing about the project has been officially confirmed by Activision, meaning that this is subject to change.
There still seems to be plenty of missing links between Jason Hudson’s involvement in the CIA, the enigmatic Pantheon group, and the plans of Raul Menendez himself, and it only seems right that fans are given more than bits of Black Ops 6 dialogue to reveal this part of Hudson’s story. Hudson’s ties to the wider Black Ops narrative are so strong that he could even be deserving of a featured protagonist role for some of the flashback missions in this year’s CoD, assuming it has them, with the recent cinematic reference to the character in Black Ops 6 hopefully just being the start of a more fitting send-off going forward.
- Released
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October 25, 2024
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Suggestive Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs