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Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 looks like a return to form for the series, introducing a more interesting campaign alongside its signature satisfying multiplayer. While the game feels like a return to the classic 360 era of CoD releases, the game’s single-player appears to require an internet connection to play.
Fans who beat the campaign will receive a special post-game reward, which is always nice. It’s also going to be one of the “smaller” downloads in the series’ modern era, even if that means it’s still over 100GB.
An online-only campaign
Gamers who have received early copies of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 have found themselves unable to play the game’s single player. The back of the physical box informs players that an internet connection and the latest version of Call of Duty HQ is needed to play the game.
Alongside the constant internet connection, the game also takes up a minimum of 137GB of space on Xbox consoles. However, this size will likely increase as the game receives additional maps, weapons and (of course) the slew of cosmetics and emotes.
Publishers have been trying to force the online only requirement for a decade now, often failing due to fan backlash. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League actually patched in offline play after fans were angry at the game for locking the campaign behind an internet connection.
It would be great to see fans react angrily to this, but Call of Duty is a primarily multiplayer series and most players might just ignore the campaign. Obviously, a good majority will still play it due to how promising it looks, but we doubt any fan backlash will get to Activision Blizzard.
The first blemish of Black Ops 6?
Requiring online connections for a single-player campaign is never good no matter how the narrative is spun, so that’s an instant negative against Black Ops 6. Critical reception will have to wait since the game isn’t out yet, but previews were pretty positive until this happened. But with online being the focus, we doubt this will be a major detraction to many.
For more on Black Ops 6, here are some of the free goodies players can get before the game’s launch. An iconic map might also return to the game, which is always good news for older fans.