Summary

  • GameStop is doing a midnight release for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.
  • Fans on the West Coast can pick up the game in person starting from 9pm PT on October 24.

GameStop will be holding a midnight release for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, the retailer has confirmed. Some fans will even be able to grab Black Ops 6 from GameStop a few hours before midnight.

Midnight launches have long been in steep decline, a trend closely linked to the ongoing decrease in physical game sales, which is observed every year nowadays. GameStop, for its part, has significantly scaled down midnight launches in recent years, only reserving them for the most highly anticipated AAA titles in the vein of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and God of War Ragnarok.

The U.S. Retailer has now announced that it's bringing back the practice for the next Call of Duty game. As is sometimes the case, this "midnight" release will actually start up to three hours early, with GameStop intending to adhere to Activision's Black Ops 6 release schedule. Fans on the West Coast will hence be able to grab their physical copy of the shooter from GameStop starting at 9pm PT on October 24. Meanwhile, those on the East Coast will be able to do the same starting exactly at midnight ET on October 25. Those interested in attending the nationwide event can find the closest participating store using GameStop's Black Ops 6 midnight release locator.

While many attending the midnight release will likely have already pre-ordered Black Ops 6 from GameStop and will just be coming to pick it up, it should also be possible to buy it in person during the event. Given that the golden age of midnight launch events is long past, the chances of stock shortages seem slim. The majority of day-one players will likely opt for the digital version of the game. PC players don't even have the option to buy a physical copy, which has been the case for years now.

COD: Black Ops 6 Could Set New Digital Player Record

Another reason why the digital version of the game is likely to be much more popular is the fact that Black Ops 6 will be a day-one Xbox Game Pass title. As the first-ever Call of Duty entry to be available on Microsoft's subscription service from launch, the shooter will likely amass even more digital players than it normally would, maybe even to the point of setting a new record on this front.

Microsoft would certainly not be opposed to such a turn of events, as the company will be looking for Black Ops 6 to boost its Xbox Game Pass subscriber numbers, whose growth has been slowing down in recent years. According to the company's most recent update, Xbox Game Pass had 34 million members as of February 2024, up 36% compared to two years earlier.

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Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Tag Page Cover Art
9 /10

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
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FPS
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Systems
PlayStation-1 Xbox-1 PC-1
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Top Critic Avg: 83 /100 Critics Rec: 91%
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Released
October 25, 2024
ESRB
Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Suggestive Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
Developer(s)
Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher(s)
Activision
Engine
IW 9.0
Multiplayer
Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op
Cross-Platform Play
Yes - PlayStation, Xbox, PC
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WHERE TO PLAY

SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL
PHYSICAL
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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.

Franchise
Call of Duty
Genre(s)
FPS