Campaign release date and other launch information

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 releases on October 25th.

Users thirsting for some sort of BO6 experience will have to accept this new launch approach and wait a week to get their hands on the latest adventure.

While preloading began on October 21st, the game's campaign, zombies, or multiplayer options will not be available until BO6's release. Many in the community have already started or completed the preload process and shared some details.

A pre-installed UI can now also be downloaded if you have pre-ordered the game.

This update is primarily cosmetic. From a functional perspective, it will allow users to jump into the game when it goes live in their region. The live date and time is expected to be October 25th at midnight ET, 9:00 PM PT, or 11:00 PM CT.

Aside from the pre-load information, some other important details revealed on October 21 relate to the prestige system and the rewards available at launch. In many ways, there seem to be several areas of BO6 that are intended to act as a love letter to the more hardcore members of the series' fanbase.

This starts with the return of the prestige system that many BO6 fans loved from previous versions; The only intention was to expand these concepts.

According to the latest entry on the Call of Duty blog: “Players who reach and complete the maximum level 55 will be given the choice to enter Prestige and restart their leveling journey in exchange for some Prestige and exclusive rewards.”

In addition to the maximum level 55 system, prestige players will receive rewards and themes based on titles from the Black Ops story.

The blog presented Nacht Raider for Prestige 1 as an example.

As in the past, there is give and take in the choice of prestige. Here you can find out what you can give up and what you can keep.

The giving

• Reset to player level 1.
• All level unlocks are relocked and must be unlocked again, with the exception of basic operators, emotes and Zombies gumballs, and anything you permanently unlock (more on that later).
• Your loadouts will be reset.
• Lifetime stats remain visible in the Battle Log, but your stats elsewhere in the game only show stats for your current Prestige.

The fortress

• Weapon advancements, camouflages and reticles.
• Weapon Builds – Your favorite weapon may be locked again, but any builds you created for it will be waiting for you when you reach the required level to unlock it again.
• Challenge progress and unlocks.
• Store and Battle Pass content.
• Operator and Emote Unlocks.
• Zombies devour chewing gum.

The Mastery Badge system is another new element that might encourage you to play another round every night. There are now Mastery Badges for every weapon, gear, field upgrade, and point streak, challenging users to progress through three badge levels to earn rewards.

Each weapon and piece of equipment has its own mastery badge tied to multiplayer and zombies.

Here are the three stages:

• Badge I (bronze)
• Badge II (Silver)
• Championship Badge (Gold + Stat Tracker)

Based on my experience with first-person shooters, it will take me at least a year to get every mastery badge attached to a sniper rifle, but I digress.

If you're like me and are more excited about the campaign than the multiplayer experience, here's a look at the trailer that will get you up to speed or get you in the mood for the latest big budget story in the Call of Duty universe.

Look out for a full review of the campaign when it releases on or after October 25th.