Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Continues Cross-Gen Approach

According to recent leaks, Activision’s highly anticipated Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will continue the franchise’s cross-generational approach, launching on both current and last-gen consoles.

Apparent listings from GameStop’s internal systems, corroborated by sources speaking to publications like Insider Gaming and Kotaku, reveal that the 2024 entry will be available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, and likely Xbox One through Microsoft’s Smart Delivery.

If accurate, this would mark the fifth consecutive year that Call of Duty has straddled console generations since the series made the leap to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in 2013 with Ghosts.

Activision maintained last-gen support through 2015’s Black Ops 3 and Infinite Warfare before dropping PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2016. The decision to extend that lifecycle to over half a decade is likely driven by the massive install base that still exists on PS4 and Xbox One.

“Roughly half of PlayStation users are still playing on a PS4,” explains an industry analyst. “Cutting off that last-gen audience from a marquee, premium franchise like Call of Duty would be leaving an enormous amount of revenue on the table.” Recent sales underperformance from PlayStation exclusives like Spider-Man 2 and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth underscores the implications of abandoning that substantial PS4 playerbase.

For Xbox owners, the impact is mitigated by Microsoft’s Game Pass service, which is rumored to be adding Call of Duty later this year pending Activision’s acquisition. Nevertheless, the $70 pricing listed across all platforms suggests those on Xbox One will need to pay full price if opting to purchase instead of subscribing.

Treyarch, headed up by a new generation of leadership following last year’s departures, is targeting an ambitious open-world experience set during the Gulf War according to leaks.

However, the power disparity between PS4 and PS5 could necessitate a vastly different flavor of Black Ops 6 on last-gen hardware, akin to the separate game Treyarch shipped for Black Ops 3 on PS3 and Xbox 360.

With the official unveiling slated for June 9th, fans should receive confirmation of Black Ops 6’s cross-gen plans in the coming weeks. As anticipation builds, the debate continues over how much longer Activision can justify delaying Call of Duty’s full transition to the latest console generation’s capabilities.

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