Spoilers ahead for Shattered Veil’s main quest Easter egg.
After the response to recent CoD Zombies outings, it is no surprise that Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Zombies returned to the round-based content that fans know and love. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War splitting its focus between Outbreak and survival maps led to a painfully long gap between Firebase Z and Mauer Der Toten. Vanguard Zombies was disastrous, as fans protested so loudly against the complete switch to objectives that Treyarch had to pivot to round-based maps partway through its life cycle. Modern Warfare Zombies, which was essentially an evolution of Outbreak that took players from open zones into a full open-world, had potential but struggled long-term due to an over reliance on Warzone assets and a lack of content in later seasons.
While Treyarch returning to classic Zombies has been an overwhelming success with Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, as Shattered Veil is quickly becoming a fan-favorite, that does not mean it should stop experimenting. It’s clear that the objective-focused gameplay of Vanguard Zombies should never fully replace round-based content again, but it could make for a fine side mode. Similarly, there is a good portion of Zombies players who enjoyed the casual exploration and objectives of Outbreak, with the complaints mainly being about how it distracted from Black Ops Cold War’s round-based maps. Assuming that Treyarch can add a different form of gameplay without it taking resources from the traditional survival maps, then fans should be open to the idea. Intriguingly, the next opportunity might just be presenting itself, as the next Black Ops 6 Zombies map could be the key to a new Outbreak experience.
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Outbreak’s Return is a Logical Progression For CoD Zombies
The end cutscene of the Shattered Veil main quest sees Richtofen leading the Terminus crew toward Janus Towers, a group of skyscraper-like buildings where his scientists are likely working toward the goal of bringing back his wife and child. Naturally, it can be assumed that this will be the next Black Ops 6 Zombies map, and given past games’ release schedules of four new DLC maps per game, it could also be its last one. However, considering the cadence of releases for Black Ops 6 Zombies thus far, this would leave Season 5 (and a potential sixth season) without a new Zombies map. This kind of gap seems unlikely, but if Treyarch wants to build anticipation for the return of round-based content in CoD 2025, then it could focus on alternate game modes in the final Black Ops 6 seasons instead.
Though there are a few side modes that Call of Duty Zombies fans would like to see again, like the beloved PvPvE experience that was Black Ops 2’s Grief, Outbreak would arguably make for the most logical comeback. After all, Outbreak brought many new eyes to Zombies in Black Ops Cold War, and though it lacked legs, MWZ was the most successful side mode in the history of the Modern Warfare subseries. Assuming that DLC 4 is the last survival map for Black Ops 6, then Season 5 and Season 6 (if it still happens given the delay of Black Ops 6 Season 3) can offer an Outbreak map with an Easter egg like the two seen in the original version. If Treyarch does want to revive Outbreak, then a map combining the upcoming Janus Towers, Liberty Falls, and Shattered Veil could make for an ideal play space.
Obviously, it’s only speculation that Janus Towers will be the final BO6 map. Perhaps the crew will go somewhere else after Janus Towers, or maybe another Liberty Falls “filler” map starring generic Operators will be released to hold players over and give Treyarch time to craft a more special finale.
Janus Towers Completes a Trifecta of West Virginia Maps
Janus Towers being within walking distance of Shattered Veil’s mansion is just one example of how Treyarch has fleshed out its fictional version of West Virginia. The first appearance of Janus Towers came in Liberty Falls, as it could be viewed outside that map. Additionally, Liberty Falls can be seen outside Shattered Veil when players call in a Hellstorm missile, reminding them of just how close together these arenas are. Given this closeness, and the scale of the Janus Towers, which suggests there is a fair bit of land between each building, a perfect open-world map that combines these three maps into one could be just around the corner.
One of the most common complaints regarding both Outbreak and MWZ is that the maps players explored completely lacked the environmental details that are typically found within Treyarch’s survival maps. Unlike Black Ops 2’s Nuketown (or BO4’s Alpha Omega) which reused areas from other modes, but gave them makeovers so they looked as if the undead had torn them apart, Outbreak and MWZ simply copied and pasted multiplayer or Warzone maps with minimal changes. An open-world West Virginia map would have no such issue, as Liberty Falls, Shattered Veil, and Janus Towers will already have the proper level of gorey details baked in. From there, it’s just a matter of introducing some fresh quests and cherry-picking the best activities from MWZ and Outbreak to forge the series’ best attempt at open-world Zombies yet. And if it comes after a complete run of round-based content, serving as an epilogue of sorts for BO6 or a prequel for CoD 2025, then fans will undoubtedly be far more welcoming of such a mode.
- 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