Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 makes a grand return to the series’ beloved Round-Based Zombies mode with two brand-new maps at launch, and we’ve been learning a lot about what’s in store for our latest bout with the undead.

Ahead of a live gameplay reveal of the upcoming Liberty Falls map at the Call of Duty NEXT event on August 28, the Black Ops 6 team has been teasing us with new information in Intel Drop videos over the past week for their other Zombies map coming at launch: Terminus, telling us more about the story, setting, and systems of the highly anticipated new Zombies experience. To find out everything we’ve learned so far, read on:

Story

Set in 1991, five years after the events of Black Ops Cold War’s own Zombies mode, Black Ops 6’s Zombies campaign begins with a prison breakout – previous heroes Weaver, Dr. Gray, and Carver form an uneasy alliance with new character Maya (who’s on a desperate hunt for her missing brother, and has allied with the villainous Dr. William Peck) and set out to escape the combined jail/research outpost, Terminus Island. Along the way, they’ll discover a lot more about the horrifying work that’s gone into creating this outbreak.

It’s not just a new story for Zombies, but includes new ways of telling that story. While the mode will still allow you to play as any Operator, playing as the four members of the dedicated Zombies crew will open up new in-game dialogue interactions, deepening the plot and revealing more about each character as you play.

Terminus

A remote island in the Philippine Sea, Terminus could have been a tropical paradise – if it hadn’t been used as clandestine location to house prisoners and use them for unethical science experiments. On one of the biggest maps ever made for Round-Based Zombies, players will begin their time on Terminus Island during an outbreak – it’s a chaotic, ruined location, stuffed with the shambling corpses of scientists, security guards, and experiment victims alike.

The team has gone all out to make this feel like a living (or unliving) location, with set pieces built across the island – from testing areas where zombies will break out of their chambers to attack, to seeing the evolutionary cycle of the zombies themselves. Players will even face off against the Amalgam, a grotesque mass of combined body parts that’ll provide a stern challenge.

The team also wanted to make use of the whole island; from the prison, to its jungles, to the beach, to the sea – you can go just about anywhere.

Equipment

You might be fighting against the odds in Terminus, but there are some new ways of evening those odds to find. Most notably, the new Beamsmasher Wonder Weapon offers a very fun way of thinning the hordes you come across. With three attacks to use (a devastating sonic beam attack, a wave-based secondary that slows enemies and has them take extra damage, and a shockwave effect when reloading after expending your ammo) it’s a versatile way to get through the horrors of the island.

A more passive way of surviving is the Tentacle Trap, which is placed over doorways. When activated, the Trap will scoop up any passing zombies with, well, tentacles, reducing them to a far less threatening pile of gore.

Terminus also sees the first ever drivable vehicle introduced in Round-Based Zombies, letting you commandeer a Tactical Raft and zip from island to island – but beware, the open sea might be even more dangerous than the land…

New Systems

As you’d expect, the new Zombies experience makes some key improvements to the winning formula fans are already familiar with. Augments are a major addition, allowing you to upgrade your Perks, Ammo Mods, and Field Upgrades in different ways. Augments come in Major and Minor forms, and you’re able to use one of each per item. A Minor Augment might offer a stat buff to an existing ability, like a more powerful Napalm Burst, while a Major Augment can drastically change how you play. With a Major Augment, you might be able to summon a set of damaging orbs that surround you and damage enemies that get too close.

GobbleGums make a return after last appearing in Black Ops III – each one a consumable item that offers gameplay changes and upgrades. Ahead of a match, you’ll be able to choose from a set of five GobbleGums and, once you find a GobbleGum machine in your match, it will dispense one of your chosen Gums, to be used whenever you like. The effects here can be huge – whole-team revives, temporary unlimited ammo, or unlocking every Perk at once, just as a few examples.

Weapon Builds also help you customize your Zombies experience. Before you enter a round, you can create your ideal build of weapon, including Blueprints, attachments, and more, before specifically designating it a Zombie Build. When in a game of Zombies, if you find that weapon at a Wallbuy or Mystery Box, it will be your build of that weapon you receive.

Fan-Requested Features

Black Ops 6 also brings some improvements that fans have been asking for. Several HUD Presets will allow players to tweak their onscreen experience – you could remove the mini-map if you prefer to play without it, change the location of your health bar, and generally offer exactly the information you need, where you need it. Enemy damage numbers and health bars can even be toggled as global settings in Zombies on day one.

In a major change for solo Zombies players, you’ll also now be able to save and quit your match, meaning you can take a break from a high-round all-nighter and continue the next day, rather than having to commit yourself to a multi-hour session in one go.

Liberty Falls

Terminus may be the starting point for this instalment’s Zombies story, but Black Ops 6 will launch with two Zombies maps – Liberty Falls is the next step. Set almost simultaneously with the events in Terminus, Liberty Falls is a small West Virginian town that becomes the epicenter of a new zombie outbreak. But you’ll have to wait to learn more about that, when the map gets a full reveal at Call of Duty NEXT on August 28…

Call of Duty®: Black Ops 6 – Cross-Gen Bundle

Activision Publishing Inc.

☆☆☆☆☆
3846

★★★★★

$69.99

Pre-order

Pre-order any digital edition or subscribe to select Game Pass plans* and receive:

– Early access to the Open Beta**
— Early Access is August 30 – September 4
— Open Beta access is available for all players from September 6 – September 9
– Items for immediate use in Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® III, Call of Duty®: Warzone and Call of Duty®: Warzone Mobile***:
— Woods Operator Pack – unlock the Classic Woods Operator Skin. Plus, get access to unlock the Zombie Woods and Numbers Woods Skins.
— Reflect 115 Camo Pack – unlock the Reflect 115 Weapon Camo. Plus, get access to 9 acquisitions for Modern Warfare® Zombies.

Includes:

– Cross Gen Bundle of Call of Duty®: Black Ops 6
— Includes Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S versions of the game

Forced to go rogue. Hunted from within. This is Call of Duty®: Black Ops 6.

Developed by Treyarch and Raven, Black Ops 6 is a spy action thriller set in the early 90s, a period of transition and upheaval in global politics, characterized by the end of the Cold War and the rise of the United States as a single superpower. With a mind-bending narrative, and unbound by the rules of engagement, this is signature Black Ops.

The Black Ops 6 Campaign provides dynamic moment-to-moment gameplay that includes a variety of play spaces with blockbuster set pieces and action-packed moments, high-stakes heists, and cloak-and-dagger spy activity.

In a best-in-class Multiplayer experience, players will test their skills across 16 new maps at launch, including 12 core 6v6 maps and 4 Strike maps that can be played 2v2 or 6v6.

Black Ops 6 also marks the epic return of Round-Based Zombies, the fan-favorite mode where players will take down hordes of the undead in two brand-new maps at launch. Post-launch, players can look forward to even more exciting maps and groundbreaking experiences dropping into both Multiplayer and Zombies.

*Requires active subscription to Game Pass Ultimate or Game Pass Console. Subscribers must login to Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® III or Call of Duty®: Warzone on Xbox One / Xbox Series X|S by October 25th, 2024 to redeem the Woods Operator Pack and Reflect 115 Camo Pack.

**Actual launch date(s) and platform availability of MP Beta subject to change. See www.callofduty.com/beta for more details. Minimum Open Beta duration is 2 days. Limited time only. Internet connection required. Game Pass Core subscription may be required for MP Beta.

***Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® III or Call of Duty®: Warzone on Xbox One / Xbox Series X|S required to redeem. Sold / downloaded separately. Must be redeemed by October 25, 2025.

Activision may modify or discontinue online service in the future, which may impact the continued availability of online gameplay. Online services may be discontinued due to factors including number of players.

Additional storage space may be required for mandatory game updates.

For more information, please visit www.callofduty.com.

© 2024 Activision Publishing, Inc. ACTIVISION, CALL OF DUTY, CALL OF DUTY BLACK OPS, CALL OF DUTY WARZONE and MODERN WARFARE are trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc. All other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners. This product contains software technology licensed from Id Software (‘Id Technology’). Id Technology © 1999-2024 Id Software, Inc.

Call of Duty®: Black Ops 6 – Vault Edition

Activision Publishing Inc.

☆☆☆☆☆
520

★★★★★

$99.99

Pre-order

Pre-order any digital edition and receive:

– Early access to the Open Beta*
— Early Access is August 30 – September 4
— Open Beta access is available for all players from September 6 – September 9
– Items for immediate use in Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® III, Call of Duty®: Warzone and Call of Duty®: Warzone Mobile**:
— Woods Operator Pack – unlock the Classic Woods Operator Skin. Plus, get access to unlock the Zombie Woods and Numbers Woods Skins
— Reflect 115 Camo Pack – unlock the Reflect 115 Weapon Camo. Plus, get access to 9 acquisitions for Modern Warfare® Zombies

The Vault Edition includes:

– Cross Gen Bundle of Call of Duty®: Black Ops 6
— Includes Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S versions of the game
– Hunters vs. Hunted Operator Pack
— 4 Operator Skins: Adler, Park, Brutus and Klaus
– Mastercraft Collection
— 5 Mastercraft Weapons
– BlackCell (1 Season)***
— Includes: Battle Pass, 20 Tier Skips, 1,100 CP and more
– GobbleGum Pack for Zombies
— 12 GobbleGums of high rarities

Forced to go rogue. Hunted from within. This is Call of Duty®: Black Ops 6.

Developed by Treyarch and Raven, Black Ops 6 is a spy action thriller set in the early 90s, a period of transition and upheaval in global politics, characterized by the end of the Cold War and the rise of the United States as a single superpower. With a mind-bending narrative, and unbound by the rules of engagement, this is signature Black Ops.

The Black Ops 6 Campaign provides dynamic moment-to-moment gameplay that includes a variety of play spaces with blockbuster set pieces and action-packed moments, high-stakes heists, and cloak-and-dagger spy activity.

In a best-in-class Multiplayer experience, players will test their skills across 16 new maps at launch, including 12 core 6v6 maps and 4 Strike maps that can be played 2v2 or 6v6.

Black Ops 6 also marks the epic return of Round-Based Zombies, the fan-favorite mode where players will take down hordes of the undead in two brand-new maps at launch. Post-launch, players can look forward to even more exciting maps and groundbreaking experiences dropping into both Multiplayer and Zombies.

*Actual launch date(s) and platform availability of MP Beta subject to change. See www.callofduty.com/beta for more details. Minimum Open Beta duration is 2 days. Limited time only. Internet connection required. Game Pass Core subscription may be required for MP Beta.

**Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® III or Call of Duty®: Warzone on Xbox One / Xbox Series X|S required to redeem. Sold / downloaded separately. Must be redeemed by October 25th, 2025.

***Battle Pass, BlackCell an Tier Skips will be accessible in Call of Duty®: Black Ops 6 once the Season 1 Battle Pass is made available in game. Battle Pass / BlackCell redemption applies to one Season of Black Ops 6 Battle Pass only.

Activision may modify or discontinue online service in the future, which may impact the continued availability of online gameplay. Online services may be discontinued due to factors including number of players.

Additional storage space may be required for mandatory game updates.

For more information, please visit www.callofduty.com.

© 2024 Activision Publishing, Inc. ACTIVISION, CALL OF DUTY, CALL OF DUTY BLACK OPS, CALL OF DUTY WARZONE and MODERN WARFARE are trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc. All other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners. This product contains software technology licensed from Id Software (‘Id Technology’). Id Technology © 1999-2024 Id Software, Inc.

This past February, Persona 3 Reload introduced a new generation of players to the first “modern” entry in the Persona series, going on to become the fastest selling game in Atlus’ nearly 40-year history. While P3R is a monster of an RPG (providing this writer over 90 hours of entertainment), what’s left for our heroes once they’ve vanquished Tartarus, ended the Dark Hour, and set things right at Gekkokuan High? 

Sadness, mostly.

As Episode Aigis -The Answer-, Reload‘s remake of the epilogue from 2007’s Persona 3 FES, kicks off, the mood is decidedly downbeat. Sure, cultish nemesis Strega is gone, and Apathy Syndrome is abating across Tatsumi Port Island. But with Persona 3 Reload‘s main character falling in the final battle, and Iwatodai Dorm closing its doors for good, the vibes feel anything but victorious. At least things are back to normal, right? Right?

As the surviving S.E.E.S. gang hangs out one last time in the dorm, midnight strikes, there’s an earthquake, in bursts another Aigis-like android named Metis, and a giant hole appears in the floor of the dorm’s lobby leading downward. Stuck in a time loop and unable to leave the dorm, the gang has no choice but to explore the mysterious abyss which has appeared beneath the dorm.

While Mitsuru, Junpei, and the gang aren’t exactly thrilled to be thrust back into the center of a supernatural mystery, I couldn’t be more excited to sample the first hour of Episode Aigis -The Answer-, jumping back into a game that I’ve frankly missed since completing it this spring.

Picking the controller back up for more Persona 3 Reload was as familiar and comfortable as settling into my favorite spot on the couch – with one wrinkle. With our main character dearly departed, Aigis visits the Velvet Room, well known as the place only the heroes of Persona games seem to be able to visit. This also means that Aigis can now swap out personas in battle, just like the hero of the full game.

Unlike the endless staircase of Tartarus, there are clear pathways to choose from in the Abyss of Time; appearing as doors in the middle of a desert. Once inside, the moment-to-moment action plays out as you may remember: exploring labyrinths, exploiting enemy weaknesses, and triggering All Out Attacks; more of what people love about Persona.

As for what else is new, the mysterious Metis does join the team, leading to some fun battle banter – she’s a bit of a weirdo! I noted some new music tracks, joining those already imprinted in my brain. The first hour also offers tantalizing hints that Persona 3 Reload‘s main character may not be completely gone from this world. Regardless of how it plays out, Aigis always had main character energy, and we’re in for a fun ride as she takes the wheel for what promises to be a 30-hour epilogue adventure.

Episode Aigis -The Answer- is part of Persona 3 Reload’s Expansion Pass – which Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members receive as a Game Pass Perk – redeem it now! Persona 3 Reload’s main game is also available now with Game Pass on cloud, console, and PC.

Persona 3 Reload

SEGA

☆☆☆☆☆
371

★★★★★

$69.99

$45.49

Get it now

PC Game Pass

Xbox Game Pass

Step into the shoes of a transfer student thrust into an unexpected fate when entering the hour “hidden” between one day and the next. Awaken an incredible power and chase the mysteries of the Dark Hour, fight for your friends, and leave a mark on their memories forever.

Persona 3 Reload is a captivating reimagining of the genre-defining RPG, reborn for the modern era.

Key Features:
– Experience the pivotal game of the Persona series faithfully remade with cutting-edge graphics, modernized quality-of-life features, and signature stylish UI.

-Fully immerse yourself in an emotional, gripping journey with new scenes, character interactions, and additional voiceover.

– Choose how to meaningfully spend each day through various activities from exploring the Port Island to forging genuine bonds with beloved characters.

– Build and command your optimal team to take down otherworldly Shadows and climb closer to the truth.