Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is official: 'A dark new chapter' will be revealed in June

(Image credit: Activision)

I really thought Activision and Microsoft would drag it out at least until June, but nope, one day after launching a not-really-cryptic teaser site at thetruthlies.com, it's official: Call of Duty is going back to Black Ops.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, as it's officially known, will—as expected—be revealed on June 9 at the Black Ops 6 Direct stream, which will follow immediately after the Xbox Game Showcase. Details on what we can expect at the show haven't been shared, but Activision said it will be a "full reveal," which will presumably include whether they stick with the numbering scheme in the official title.

A dark new chapter of the Black Ops franchise begins. Call of Duty: #BlackOps6 pic.twitter.com/db3lPR0ibIMay 23, 2024

The current expectation is that Black Ops 6 will carry the series forward from the 1980s setting of the previous game, Black Ops: Cold War, to the Gulf War of 1990-91. That doesn't seem like an unreasonable move, but the teaser site isn't letting anything slip on that front: A third video, added today, features a faux-"breaking news" clip of monuments in the US, UK, and Germany defaced with various "truth-and-lies" graffiti, all of them bearing the orange Cerberus logo. (Which, for the record, I don't think has been officially described as a Cerberus logo by anyone yet, but I've been calling it that and nobody's told me to stop, so I'm sticking with it until informed otherwise.)

Frankly, I think I like the way Activision has pulled back the curtain at this early stage: There's still lots to figure out and speculate about, particularly given the way all the early teasing has focused on a fictionalized homefront. But at least now we can stop pretending we don't know which Call of Duty is coming this year.

One of the shakycam-style videos posted at thetruthlies.com.

The Xbox Games Showcase begins at 10 am PT/1 pm ET/6 pm BST on June 9, available on platforms including YouTube, Twitch, and Facebook, and will be a pretty big deal in itself—it's going to be the first one featuring games from Activision and Blizzard, alongside all its other studios. The Black Ops 6 Direct will follow directly after.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.