Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 got off to a tremendous start, with the number of players far outnumbering those of both MW2 and MW3 when they first released it. It’s always great to see this level of success, especially for fans of the series, and it’s an indication that the folks at Treyarch and Raven Software did something right. For those who languished MW3rather disappointing offers, this is amazing news.
This is especially true for those who wanted a more robust and pleasant environment. Call to action campaign, like Black Ops 6 history is one of Black Ops‘ better campaigns. However, while Black Ops 6 is delivering everything fans wanted for the most part, it has a pretty glaring problem that is causing problems in the community, namely, the requirement to always be online turned a very enjoyable single player experience into a frustrating ordeal.
Black Ops 6 players are being kicked out of single-player modes
They are being disconnected from the campaign
While Black Ops 6 became more popular than the previous one Call to action inputs, still has its fair share of problems, namely that is taking players out of single-player modes because they lost connection to the servers. It’s a modern problem, but still problematic when you consider that people paid $70 for an experience they can’t enjoy unless their Internet connection is stable.
Many players reported that while playing Black Ops 6well-evaluated campaign, they have were unceremoniously disconnected for no other reason than they lost connection to Activision’s servers. Now, it’s fair that most people are confused about why they need an internet connection to play a single-player campaign. After all, virtually every other single-player game out there can be played offline. However, Activision appears to have its reasons.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 uses texture streaming to reduce game file size on all platforms. Essentially, it streams high-resolution textures to the game in real time through its servers to avoid dumping them locally on the player’s platform of choice. Considering Call to action file sizes have increased drastically over the years, it’s no surprise to see Activision use this method to prevent fans from having to delete their entire game library just to squeeze Black Ops 6 in.
However, while it solves the storage problem for players, it is creating a new problem of people not being able to enjoy the game they paid for. The tradeoff really isn’t worth it, especially since Call to action Games in the past allowed people to install specific modes, essentially allowing them to manage how much space it took up in the first place. This seemed like a good solution to the problem, so the switch to texture streaming feels like a strange overcorrection.
Black Ops 6 requiring a constant internet connection sets a bad precedent
It gets players used to it and encourages other developers to do the same
Of course, players not being able to enjoy their games is bad enough, but this over-reliance on an internet connection is setting a bad precedent. Black Ops 6 It’s by no means the first to do this – it’s reminiscent of when the Xbox One almost required players to be connected to the internet at all times. However, a negative trend continues, as the implication that everyone has a good enough internet connection to handle all of the game’s requirements is simply not true.
If Activision decides to pull the plug Black Ops 6servers, so absolutely none of the game will be accessible.
It’s certainly true that more people than ever have access to more reliable internet connections and higher speeds. However, this isn’t the case for everyone, with some players evidently struggling to stay connected to Activision’s servers. Of course, even if everyone had a stable internet connection, they also rely on Activision’s servers never working, something that has historically been unreliable. Then, Pushing for this need to be constantly online presents a series of issueswhether on the player or developer side.
Naturally, there will be players with stable internet connections who have enjoyed the campaign without any issues and are now playing the game. Black Ops 6the best multiplayer maps without any problems. However, this problem affects even them. If Activision decides to pull the plug Black Ops 6servers, so absolutely none of the game will be accessible. It may not be reasonable to believe that a AAA developer would do this, but it has happened time and time again.
People don’t own games that require an Internet connection
Many games have been closed and there is no way to play them
Over the years, many games have had their servers shut downmaking them completely unplayable despite people paying to play them. Gearbox pulled the plug on its ill-fated hero shooter Born in battle in 2021; the beloved PlatinumGames closed The Fall of Babylon 11 months after launch; Ubisoft ended the premium game with triple A pricing, The crew. There are so many examples of this happening in both the live service and non-live service space from double and triple A developers.
Black Ops 6 being online-only, and many other AAA games following suit, is a bit concerning for game preservation and the concept that people own what they buy.
Of course, famously, Sony closed Concordia and its developer after the game had barely been live for more than two weeks. However, most importantly, Activision offline War zone in 2023 before turning to Warzone 2.0which completely deleted all the progress and money that players invested from the beginning. All of these games are completely unplayable right now, and players who own them can’t even launch them. They are effectively dead and, apart from rare examples like Concordiaplayers never get their money back.
Black Ops 6 being online-only, and many other AAA games following suit, is a bit concerning for the preservation of the game and the concept that people own what they buy. This is especially true for developers who are pursuing realistic motion graphics, as they may also start looking into texture streaming to keep file sizes down. While it hasn’t happened yet, it could end up affecting entirely single-player games. If this trend continues, then Ubisoft’s Philippe Tremblay’s controversial words about how gamers should feel comfortable not owning their games (via gamesindustry.biz) will ring true.
Of course, it is possible that Black Ops 6 will introduce some form of offline mode – as Ubisoft did with The crew 2. Some developers are becoming more aware of the issues behind always-online requirements, and in some cases, fan resistance has been enough to change a developer’s mind. However, if Call to action: Black Ops 6 It remains an online-only experience, so players should really feel comfortable with the idea that at any moment, all the money and time they’ve invested in this could be taken away from them.
Sources: Reddit/WintorOperador, Reddit/zmWoob2, gamesindustry.biz