For Gobblegum’s Return To Work, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Zombies Can’t Be Another Cold War

Call of Duty‘s Zombies mode has evolved quite a bit since its debut in 2008’s Call of Duty: World at War, both for better and for worse. In the early days of Call of Duty: Zombies, innovations came thick and fast, with Perk machines, Pack-a-Punch, and teleporters all being added to the mode over the course of its first few map packs. The longer Zombies has appeared in Call of Duty, the more drastic its new additions and tweaks have gotten, with Black Ops Cold War and Modern Warfare 3 trying to introduce an open-world structure to Zombies. But Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is taking a more reserved approach.

After a few years of divisive experimentation, Treyarch is finally going back to basics with Call of Duty: Black Ops 6‘s Zombies mode. On launch, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will feature two round-based Zombies maps, and a recent bit of marketing for the game has seemingly confirmed the return of Gobblegum. But for Gobblegum to work properly in Black Ops 6, it’s going to need to avoid one Cold War pitfall.

Gobblegum’s Return Means Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Zombies Needs to be Harder Than Cold War

Gobblegum Separates The Casual Players From The Hardcore

Perhaps the greatest strength of Call of Duty: Zombies is the mode’s ability to strike a perfect balance between accessibility and complexity. The vast majority of Call of Duty: Zombies modes have managed to offer an experience that keeps seasoned players hooked with more in-depth mechanics and strategies while not overwhelming new players, and instead allowing them to enjoy the mode at its most basic level without feeling disadvantaged. One such mechanic is Call of Duty: Black Ops 3‘s Gobblegum.

Currently exclusive to Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, Gobblegums are essentially temporary special abilities that players can obtain during a round of Zombies. These abilities range from allowing the player to use their stockpiled ammo rather than their loaded magazine, to being able to teleport to a random spot on the map. Players could unlock new Gobblegums via Black Ops 3‘s loot box system, and before starting a new round, they could select a few to be randomly dished out during the match.

While casual players could easily ignore Call of Duty: Black Ops 3‘s Gobblegums and still enjoy the mode thoroughly, they added a much-needed layer of strategy for the more hardcore Zombies players. For those looking to reach high rounds, it becomes a necessity to use the right Gobblegums at the right moments, and having a wide breadth of knowledge of each Gobblegum helps players to feel ready for any scenario.

Gobblegum Could Trivialize Call of Duty: Black Ops 6’s Zombies Experience

Generally speaking, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War‘s Zombies mode was relatively easy, at least when compared to past Zombies modes. With just about every weapon in Cold War being completely viable until later rounds due to the game’s upgrading system, many found Cold War‘s Zombies mode to be a bit too easy, especially when paired with its larger maps that allowed players to reposition with few issues.

If Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 follows its predecessor’s Zombies formula even a little bit, then the addition of powerful Gobblegums might make the mode much too easy. It’s important to note, however, that fans still don’t know how Black Ops 6‘s Gobblegum system will work. So far, it’s only been confirmed that those who pre-order the Vault Edition of Black Ops 6 will receive an exclusive pack of 12 one-time-use Gobblegums for its Zombies mode. It’s unclear just how this feature will work outside this pre-order bonus, or how extensive it’ll be this time around.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is the next entry in Activision’s FPS franchise, and includes all the modes fans know and love – from an extensive campaign to 2v2 and 6v6 multiplayer, plus the popular Zombies mode.

Released

October 25, 2024

Multiplayer

Online Multiplayer

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