How Black Ops 6 Being Forced To Wipe The Slate Clean Led To Its Biggest New Feature

Black Ops 6 arrives on October 25, and tons of new information was revealed for multiplayer and Warzone during Activision’s Call of Duty: Next event on August 28, including live gameplay featuring Treyarch’s new omnimovement system. GameSpot was able to attend the event and speak with Treyarch about the changes in development for the new shared engine and how it enabled the studio to create Call of Duty’s new advanced movement.

The last Treyarch game was 2020’s Black Ops Cold War, which was a Call of Duty that was created on a shorter development cycle and required a pivot to work-from-home conditions during the pandemic. Now, Treyarch is back in the action again with an extended four-year development cycle for Black Ops 6, and it is the studio’s first game on Call of Duty’s new shared engine, which was introduced with 2022’s Modern Warfare 2 reboot.

This is also the most ambitious Call of Duty game since Infinite Warfare in the jetpack era, with Black Ops 6’s new omnimovement system that allows players to sprint, slide, and dive in any direction. Players can also go prone and spin around 360 degrees, making fancy moves that let them play out their own action-hero fantasy in matches of Call of Duty across multiplayer, Zombies, and Warzone.

We spoke with associate design director Matt Scronce and senior director of production Yale Miller, and while the discussion held a focus on the development cycle and movement system, we were also able to touch a little on Black Ops 6’s integration into Warzone.

When discussing Black Ops 6’s longer development time, Miller provided more insight into the first year of that development, explaining, “Part of that time was just getting the core Black Ops experience, rebuilding that from the ground up, and getting multiplayer to feel like Black Ops.”

Miller stated he’s not sure if Black Ops 6’s new movement system would’ve come to fruition without the transition to the new engine, saying, “I don’t know if omnimovement would have happened the same way, [and] I don’t know if it’s specifically because of the time, but I think part of it was because of the fact that we had to wipe the slate clean and start fresh with rebuilding movement from the beginning.”

“And it really forced the team, and this is my perspective,” Miller clarified, “to think of all the pieces that were really important, and that kind of led us down the path of, well, fluidity is king.”

Putting a focus on fluidity for Black Ops 6 led Miller and the team to consider plenty of questions about movement in the game that eventually led to omnimovement.

“And you maybe wouldn’t have had that [thought process] if you were building from the prior code base,” Miller said.

Treyarch games are also known for having a faster pace, a more arcade-style design, and a vibrant color palette. One of the community concerns prior to seeing Black Ops 6 footage, was wondering if Treyarch would lose its signature style on the new shared engine.

Scronce shared some insight to the studio’s initial thoughts on keeping Treyarch’s style when moving to the new engine. “It was definitely a huge focus,” he said. “I wouldn’t say it was a worry, really. That first year was like, let’s get it feeling like a Black Ops game. Then, we started asking ourselves, what does a Black Ops game feel like? So, asking those hard questions and you come up with some really interesting answers, and it really lets you kind of galvanize what is a Black Ops game?”

“Every Black Ops has its own story,” Scronce said. “And this one was like, oh, we’re redefining what it means to be a Black Ops game.”

Omnimovement is the biggest feature of Black Ops 6, and following the integration into Warzone, it will become one of the main focuses of battle royale for the new year. When discussing how Treyarch and Raven Software will keep Warzone fresh, Miller said, “I think the biggest change to Warzone, frankly, is going to be movement, and that’s where a lot of our focus is. Working with that crew [Raven Software] on how we can make sure this stuff all feels right.”

Unfortunately, for Warzone players hoping to prestige this year, there will be a bit of a disadvantage. Black Ops 6 brings back Call of Duty’s traditional prestige system, which will rest progression and locks all of the guns and attachments from level 1-55.

This might not be a burden for old-school Call of Duty players, but Treyarch confirmed this would be a shared prestige system across multiplayer, Zombies, and Warzone. This will be Warzone’s first year with a classic prestige system, so players who choose to prestige will need to grind to earn all of those weapons and attachments again for their meta loadouts. However, this classic-style prestige choice in Black Ops 6 and Warzone will be optional.

The choice to prestige in Black Ops 6 will offer some rewards, including unique Black Ops-themed cosmetics and permanent unlocks for things like weapons and perks. And the developer said players can choose to protect certain items from the reset with those permanent unlock token rewards, but otherwise all content unlocked from levels 1-55 will be reset with each prestige, regardless of which mode you play.

Black Ops 6 will integrate with Warzone by adding Treyarch’s new Area 99 Resurgence map. In past years, a new Call of Duty integrated into Warzone with a standard, large-scale battle royale map, but this year will focus on a new Resurgence experience with Urzikstan remaining the large map until Warzone’s original Verdansk map arrives in the spring.

Scronce explained this by saying they were really focused on the new Resurgence map, because it was themed around Black Ops lore with it being the birthplace of Nuketown.

“That has been the focus,” Miller added. “Bringing in an awesome new Resurgence map that only Treyarch can do was some of the way that we thought about it. The spring news is pretty big. So, I think it’s going to be nice with Area 99, and then we’re going to have big news in the spring, which obviously we have not had that kind of an opportunity in this way.”

“Before you got a big map in the start, but you didn’t get one in the spring,” Miller continued. “So, I think it’s about pacing the experience.”

Our full GameSpot interview with Treyarch can be found below. For more on Black Ops 6, here are all the announcements for launch-day content. Players can get hands-on with multiplayer during the Black Ops 6 beta, which is live now with week one.

GameSpot: Just looking at the development time, this is the longest development cycle you guys have had. Do you feel like that was more or less pressure, and is there a feature that probably wouldn’t have made it into the game if you didn’t have this extended time?

Miller: We moved from the Treyarch engine to the shared Call of Duty engine. So, part of that time was just getting the core Black Ops experience, rebuilding that from the ground up, and getting multiplayer to feel like Black Ops. That was a huge part of it. And I think with that huge transition of even just the tech change, how we needed to rebuild stuff, but also just all the really talented people at all the studios working on the stuff who came from working on the Treyarch engine to the Call of Duty engine. We were learning all the new tools and all those things. So, that was a big part of it.

I think the other one there is just like, because of how we rebuilt the stuff. I don’t know if omnimovement would have happened the same way, but I don’t know if it’s specifically because of the time, but I think part of it was because of the fact that we had to wipe the slate clean and start fresh with rebuilding movement from the beginning. And it really forced the team, and this is my perspective, to think of all the pieces that were really important, and that kind of led us down the path of like, well, fluidity is king. Because you’re reimplementing only sprint forward. You’re like, why does that work that way? Why don’t we try this? And you maybe wouldn’t have had that [thought process] if you were building from the prior code base.

Is omnimovement something you guys would be open to tweaking later on?

Miller: Probably during the beta and probably beyond, that’s probably the reality of it, because we’ll try things.

I think a lot of people were worried that with this new shared engine, Treyarch would maybe lose their signature style, but it definitely still looks like a Black Ops game. Were you guys worried about making the move over?

Miller: It was a focus.

Scronce: It was definitely a huge focus. I wouldn’t say it was a worry, really. That first year was like, let’s get it feeling like a Black Ops game. Then, we started asking ourselves, what does a Black Ops game feel like? So, asking those hard questions and you come up with some really interesting answers, and it really lets you kind of galvanize what is a Black Ops game?

It was fun. I’ve worked on every single Black Ops game. Every Black Ops has its own story. And this one was like, oh, we’re redefining what it means to be a Black Ops game. So, I’m glad it’s come through.

For the Gunsmith, you talked about the global builds, but it seems like a more simplified version of the Gunsmith. Does this mean what we’re seeing is what we’re getting, or will there be additional features like aftermarket parts, or anything like that coming to the Gunsmith?

Scronce: I think what you’re seeing is what you’ll be getting in the beta. We’re still working on some things, but you’re right that it is a more simplified approach.

Which I don’t think it’s a bad thing!

Scronce: Absolutely not. It was a big goal.

Miller: Intentional.

Scronce: Every single thing we’ve done in Black Ops 6 is like, how do we streamline? How do we make it easier to get into? I mean, on the attachments, right? We talked about it. We have almost no cons on our attachments, right? We just want it to always feel great to put an attachment on your weapon. Now, some like a magazine, if you’ve got a big mag, you’re gonna reload a little bit slower, but for the large majority of things, it’s just gonna they’re like, don’t worry about it. What’s your play style? Do you want ADS fast? You wanna move fast? Slap that on, put five attachments on, or throw a Wildcard on, go for eight attachments, and just have fun.

But that’s not set in stone, right? That’s just what we’re seeing for the beta, but you guys might still have other things to change it up?

Scronce: Yeah, for sure.

Are there any game modes that we haven’t seen today that are more centered around the omnimovement? I feel like this would play well with a mode like Blitz or Gridiron. Are there any other modes you can talk about today?

Scronce: Nothing to talk about right now. It’s definitely a topic of conversation within the game modes team. And since omnimovement is a big part of Black Ops 6, we feel like it is a part of every game mode, just like you know, the weapons team make sure that it sits well within that world, but specifically movement based game modes and how can we lean into that? And some of the fun post launch stuff, we’ll definitely talk about it.

Miller: New seasons will have new maps and modes.

It’s so important to have loadouts in battle royale, but if you prestige in Black Ops 6, do you lose your gun and attachment unlocks across all modes, including Warzone?

Miller: You can choose, and you can also choose to protect items.

Scronce: Yeah, permanent unlock tokens. But yeah, it’ll, it’ll reset your level 1 to 55 content.

Being four years into Warzone and once Black Ops 6 integrates, what do you plan on doing to keep it fresh content wise?

Miller: So, I think for Ted [Timmins, Warzone Senior Creative Director at Raven Software] and all the folks at Raven, I think some of the big things are quality of life and improving the experience. And they’re doing a lot of work looking at loot and even little things like zip lines and ascenders. Just improvements, improvements, improvements. We’re excited.

I think the biggest change to Warzone, frankly, is going to be movement, and that’s where a lot of our focus is. Working with that crew [Raven Software] on how we can make sure this stuff all feels right.

And then taking an intentional pass across all the perks, gear, and all those things. Just because Black Ops 6 stuff is coming, doesn’t mean if there’s this awesome piece of gear from a previous title or something that it should go away. So, it’s like the best of everything.

The foundational change, though, I think is a big one. Really talking about Season 1, it’s movement. Movement is going to be a huge change. And then I think they have a ton of plans, which we can’t talk about here, on how to take it forward.

With Warzone in past years, we’ve gotten a big map within the integration during Season 1 or Season 1 Reloaded. But it looks like we’re getting Verdansk in the spring, and we’re keeping Urzikstan. Are we keeping that for the entirety of the time? Is there a reason you can provide for why a new big map isn’t coming early on?

Scronce: I can, I mean, we were heavily focused on Area 99 as the birthplace of Nuketown for Resurgence.

Miller: So, yeah, I think, that has been the focus. Bringing in an awesome new Resurgence map that only Treyarch can do was some of the way that we thought about it. The spring news is pretty big. So, I think it’s going to be nice with Area 99, and then we’re going to have big news in the spring, which obviously we have not had that kind of an opportunity in this way.

Before you got a big map in the start, but you didn’t get one in the spring. So, I think it’s about pacing the experience.