Of all the details that emerged about Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 from the Xbox Games Showcase, one of the most attention-grabbing was “Omnimovement,” a redesigned movement system that will allow players to run or dive in any direction for the first time.
It’s a weird idea – running around corners facing the opposite direction seems silly – but Treyarch is confident it will do wonders for BO6’s movement. Treyarch says OmniMovement breaks “long-established FPS constructs”, allowing players to move in a “more realistic” way than in previous Calls of Duty.
“We truly believe that once you experience OmniMovement, there’s no turning back,” Treyarch said.
Looking in the direction you want to run is as natural as breathing for players who have been playing CoD for a long time. I never wished I could aggressively side-step, though maybe in this case playing really is believing. I already consider Call of Duty to be one of the best shooters out there, so I’m not sure how much camera-agnostic sprinting will move the needle.
I also have concerns that OmniMovement will take CoD in a direction I don’t like. Modern Warfare 3’s movement established itself as a step forward from its predecessor by encouraging slide canceling and bunnyhopping, but those changes ended up being my least favorite part of the game. Now those same frantic corner hoppers can have their scope pointed at my head before I even get around the corner – it’s enough to make your skin tingle.
But Black Ops 6’s movement suite isn’t just about running. You can dive in any direction, which I expect I’ll like as much as Helldivers 2. Then there’s “intelligent movement,” which will automate certain movement techniques like sprinting, mantling, and sliding out of crouch-height holes. Treyarch says the idea is to reduce the friction in getting where you want to go in CoD.
Another way to look at OmniMovement and automatic sliding/mantling is that Treyarch wants to help further level the playing field between controllers and mice. Aggressive aim assist already does a good job of this, but core techniques like turning corners, quick turns, and strafing are undeniably easier on PC.
There weren’t any other multiplayer details in the Black Ops 6 direct stream, but there were a few key takeaways:
16 maps at launch: 12 traditional 6v6 maps and four that support both 2v2 and 6v6. No remakes this time.Return of the round-based zombies: Last year’s open-world Zombies mode is now a thing of the past. Treyarch’s latest version will feature traditional round-based Zombies with two maps at launch.Classic reputation: Black Ops 6 is going back to the Prestige system from every pre-Modern Warfare reboot CoD. There are 10 initial Prestige levels, each of which resets your unlocks to zero, and then there are 1,000 Prestige levels after that.
We also know when multiplayer will get its moment: Call of Duty Next is going to take place on August 26. Content creators will play the game live as in previous years, and the first Black Ops 6 beta will be released shortly after.
Black Ops 6 will release two months later on October 25th.
