Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Interview
At Call of Duty NEXT, I had the opportunity to sit down with Matt Scronce, Associate Director of Design, and Yale Miller, Director of Production, for a group interview where we discussed crossplay, Warzone, Black Ops 6 multiplayer, and much more. Without further delay, lets get to it.
COGconnected: It was mentioned several times during Call of Duty NEXT that Treyarch is listening to player feedback. What are some of the things players want to see in Black Ops 6?
Treyarch: “Movement is always the big one. Players are always asking, ‘What are you doing with movement?’ That’s been a huge focus for us, especially with omnidirectional movement across the game—not just in multiplayer, but also in single-player and zombies.
In multiplayer specifically, time to kill (TTK) is another popular topic. Players don’t want it too fast or too slow. We feel we’re in a great spot with TTK. There’s still enough time to react when you’re getting shot, but it’s not so high that it becomes frustrating.
Another thing players ask for is the return of Classic Prestige. But when we talked to players and fans, it became clear it’s not just about bringing it back as it was—there’s a need to modernize it. The ecosystem now includes Warzone, the Battle Pass, and other systems, so it’s about figuring out how Classic Prestige fits into that.
Overall, most of the feedback revolves around foundational improvements: movement, how the weapons feel, and TTK. These elements have the biggest impact on the gameplay experience.
We want this to be the best Black Ops game ever, so we’ve gone through the list of what that would entail. Things like ‘Best Play,’ theater mode, and Classic Prestige were part of that audit. We asked ourselves, ‘How can we improve these elements?’”
Forbes: Omnimovement is great, but mouse and keyboard feel different from controllers. How did you approach both inputs simultaneously?
Treyarch: “That’s a great question. We have more KBM (keyboard and mouse) players in the studio now, partially due to COVID and work-from-home setups. So, we have a good mix, and we test internally and externally to ensure it feels amazing on both inputs without too much disparity.
Omnimovement reduces button presses and complexity, which is helpful for KBM players as well as controller users. For example, I use sprint assist and crouch assist—it automatically crouches when I approach a crouch hole, making things smoother. Good players appreciate it because it reduces fatigue during long sessions.
It’s about making things easier without sacrificing the gameplay experience.”
Windows Central: You’re still developing the game for last-gen consoles. Are there specific challenges, and when might you consider phasing them out?
Treyarch: “The challenge with last-gen consoles is a horsepower issue. There’s no way to implement everything, especially in terms of graphical fidelity. At some point, if you push the CPU too hard for graphics, gameplay might suffer. Our priority is always gameplay, so on old-gen consoles, we try to maintain smooth gameplay even if we have to dial back the visuals. Some features, like theater mode, won’t be available on last-gen because they’re too complex to implement.
COGconnected: So, you’re releasing 16 maps at launch and stepping away from large maps. Why move away from the giant maps that snipers love?
Treyarch: “We want to focus on what our players love—fast, fluid, tight combat on small-to-medium maps. The core Call of Duty experience is 6v6, with fast-paced gameplay, and we know that’s what our community engages with most.
While there are longer engagement lanes in areas like Area 99 and what Warzone offers, the core multiplayer experience is best with smaller maps.”
Forbes: I’m excited that Gunfight is coming back! Have you considered bringing the Cutthroat mode from Modern Warfare 3 into Black Ops 6?
Treyarch: “We discuss every game mode, but Cutthroat wasn’t part of the plan for Black Ops 6. However, if players keep asking for it, we’ll definitely consider it. For now, we’ve focused on Gunfight 2v2, and post-launch, we may experiment with different numbers like 1v1 or 6v6 Gunfight.”
Windows Central: Now that you’re part of Xbox, will you be collaborating with other core game studios or providing support to any?
Treyarch: “I’m not sure yet. Right now, we have an excellent system with studios like Raven, Beenox, and High Moon, who help out on various aspects of the game. At the moment, we’re able to make the game we want with the current ecosystem, but who knows what the future holds.”
COGconnected: Some Xbox players don’t want to play with PC players. Will there be an option for Xbox players to play exclusively with other Xbox players?
Treyarch: “There are no plans to change the crossplay or cross-platform system. We’re working to make it clearer which input device players are using, but the goal is to maintain large player pools to create the best experience possible. We want people to play together across platforms to maximize the fun.”
Forbes: The menu experience in Modern Warfare III feels clunky. Any plans to improve the user interface for Black Ops 6?
Treyarch: “We’re on a journey to improve the menu experience. We’ve been working on better data management and server integration. For Black Ops 6, we’re introducing a smaller launcher, which will act as an entry point into different games. This will reduce file sizes and improve the ‘Time to Fun’—getting players into the game faster.”
Windows Central: Typically, you have about three years for development, but this time you had four. How did the extra time benefit you?
Treyarch: “The extra time allowed us to experiment and refine features like Omnimovement. It also gave us room to innovate, such as modernizing Classic Prestige. We were also able to use the shared Call of Duty engine, which helped us create the best-looking Black Ops game to date.”
COGconnected: Why aren’t Operators from previous Call of Duty games transferable to Black Ops 6?
Treyarch: “All previous Operators will carry forward into Warzone, but for Black Ops 6, we want it to be a fresh, new experience with a new story.”
Forbes: Will there be an early access campaign this year?
Treyarch: “Nope.”
Forbes: Any plans to bring back the Blackout map?
Treyarch: “We love Blackout, but we have nothing to share at the moment.”
COGconnected: Is there anything you wanted to include in multiplayer but couldn’t due to time or resources?
Treyarch: “There are probably a thousand things on my desktop that didn’t make it, but I’m really happy with where the game is today. The beta is crucial for identifying anything we may have missed.”
Forbes: Anything exciting coming up in Season 1?
Treyarch: “There’s a map we haven’t announced yet, but it wouldn’t be a Black Ops game without it.”
Forbes: “What could it be?”
Treyarch: “I don’t know… Joanna, our game modes lead, mentioned that the launch is right before Halloween, and we’re big fans of Halloween-themed games.”