Call of Duty is one of the most prolific video game franchises ever released. 

The first-person shooter series now boasts over 21 titles—spanning multiple settings and story arcs—and is now considered a billion-dollar brand. That’s why it’s no surprise that Call of Duty’s 2024 release, Black Ops 6, was immediately successful upon its release on October 25. 

The game broke multiple records, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella calls it the “biggest Call of Duty release ever” for good reason. It saw a record number of players on launch day, and it even boosted subscriptions for Xbox’s Game Pass when it became available. On PlayStation and Steam, it handily surpassed the franchise’s 2023 release, Modern Warfare 3—beating the latter’s sales by over 60%. Despite its late release, Black Ops 6 also easily became the best-selling game for October 2024, continuing a tradition where Call of Duty titles top the rankings for whatever month they debut in. 

Ultimately, Black Ops 6’s release effectively secured Call of Duty’s continuing success and is even driving the franchise to new heights. To understand why, here’s more on the rise of the Black Ops story arc—and how this latest installment improves upon it.

The rise of the Black Ops sub-series 

The original Call of Duty series placed players in World War II, allowing them to act as paratroopers in the middle of historic European campaigns. The franchise’s games continued to follow this theme for most of the early 2000s. With the release of Black Ops in 2010, Call of Duty began to expand into new and exciting territory. The sub-series revolved around the more contemporary, helping both budding and long-time Call of Duty fans look forward to something new with every yearly release. The first three Black Ops titles take place both during the Cold War and in future scenarios set in 2025 and 2065. 

Of all the games preceding the story arc’s 2024 installment, however, the 2018 release of Black Ops 4 arguably stands out the most. During the game’s beta testing phase alone, players found the revitalized gameplay to be more intense, with a smaller map guaranteeing matches start sooner—and an increased health gauge ensuring those conflicts last longer. An updated arsenal and the introduction of a specialist system inspired by Overwatch further made each match more tense and exciting. All these features resulted in universal acclaim for the game. Primarily, they improved the potential for competitive gameplay, facilitating a rebound for Call of Duty in streaming and esports. 

Black Ops 4’s enhanced mechanics made it great material for content creators, resulting in popular names like Dr Disrespect, Damon “Karma” Barlow, Ninja, and Shroud regularly streaming the game on platforms like Twitch. The title’s mechanics also helped introduce newer formats into major esports tournaments like the Call of Duty League (CDL), making matches more exciting to both play and watch. By 2024, it helped Call of Duty draw in a significant number of teams and players to events related to the franchise. It saw the likes of Atlanta FaZe and 100 Thieves competing for a prize pool of over $1.8 million—one of the largest in esports history—and garnered both over 2.68 million hours watched and an average of 86,400 viewers over 31 hours of airtime. 

This can largely be attributed to the franchise’s exclusive streaming partnership with YouTube, which allowed fans to earn viewership rewards like Beta Code Sweeps Tickets. Spectators also had the ability to participate in Call of Duty betting for not just CDL events, but also Call of Duty Challengers and World Series of Warzone. Popular platforms like Thunderpick allow bets to be placed before and during live matches. The crypto betting platform has built a reputation for facilitating seamless deposits and withdrawals for both fiat and cryptocurrencies, which has allowed fans to further engage and immerse themselves in each tournament with a more active viewing experience. 

Now that Black Ops 6 is out, even newer features can see Call of Duty building on that hype even further—for both viewers and gamers alike. 

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Black Ops 6: the right move for Call of Duty

One of the main reasons why Black Ops 6 is considered a refreshing addition to this Call of Duty sub-series is its new and improved gameplay. Set amid the Gulf War in the ‘90s, it boasts a more detailed story campaign, easily navigable maps, smooth gunplay, and tiers of unlockable assets players can work their way through over time. Uniquely, 2v2 and 6v6 modes give gamers more ways to play. Black Ops 6 also introduces a new “omni-movement” mechanic, which allows players to take action in whatever direction they choose—unlike older Call of Duty games, where they could only do so in the direction they’re facing at any given time. 

Perhaps more importantly, the latest installment in the Black Ops story arc brings back classic Call of Duty features fans have been clamoring for in previous releases. Black Ops 6 makes it easier for gamers to unlock assets with the reintroduction of XP tokens, which speed up the process of leveling up. Now, players can carry over any tokens they’ve earned from previous Call of Duty games, including World of Warzone. The title also brings back “prestiging.” Unlike more recent releases, where players can continuously increase their levels, Black Ops 6 brings them back to Rank 1—re-locking all advanced skills, weapons, and score streaks in the process—once they hit Rank 55. That makes the game even more exciting, and it provides more opportunities for players to unlock exclusive challenges, rewards, and even custom graphics. 

More notably, however, insider tips from SemtexLeaks find that Call of Duty fans can expect Black Ops 6 to bring back a feature that hasn’t been seen since Black Ops 2 over a decade prior—classic mode. Also known as Sharpshooter, it gives players a random weapon and challenges them to defeat as many enemies as possible in seven 45-second rounds. In Black Ops 1 and 2, these weapons aren’t just limited to Call of Duty’s regular Create A Class guns—gamers could also be given “lethal streaks” from the arsenal, including the Grim Reaper rocket launcher and the War Machine. High-performing Sharpshooter players would then be rewarded with unique perks that allowed them to further customize their classes in the game. 

However, these aren’t the only efforts Call of Duty is making to further engage gamers and fans through Black Ops 6. In early December, it announced an incoming crossover event with the popular Netflix series Squid Game, helping bolster its fanbase and building up hype for both Call of Duty and Squid Game’s incoming second season. The franchise isn’t easing up on Black Ops 6 updates, either. In mid-November, it launched rank mode for the game itself—and, a few weeks later, hinted at the release of Black Ops 6 Season 1 Reloaded, something that would give fans even more content to explore. These updates are expected to improve competitive Call of Duty gaming as a whole. That’s probably why it was recently confirmed to be part of the Call of Duty events lineup for the Esports World Cup 2025, and the game’s addition is likely to draw in even more professional gamers and viewers next year. 

Ultimately, Black Ops 6 combines the best of both classic and new Call of Duty mechanics, attracting more fans and driving the series to even newer heights. With high-profile collaborations and even more updates to the game expected to roll out soon, this title continues to exist and improve upon itself as the best move made by the franchise thus far. 

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