The impending launch of Battlefield 6 has worried Activision enough to make Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6 free for a short time, so here’s when you can download it.
While Call Of Duty: Black Ops 7 will likely outsell Battlefield 6 by a significant amount, there’s been a lot more positive buzz around the latter – particularly in the last few months.
This began with the beta for EA’s shooter in August, but it has only grown through promises of a ‘gritty, realistic’ experience in comparison to Call Of Duty’s divisive crossover skins. While adverts for Battlefield 6 have directly mocked Activision’s style of marketing.
Activision might be sitting pretty with its sales juggernaut, but it’s clearly been rattled by Battlefield 6, as made evident by a free giveaway set to launch a day prior to EA’s shooter.
As announced in a blog post to promote Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6’s Halloween event, The Haunting, the entirety of Black Ops 6 – including the campaign, multiplayer, and Zombies modes – will be free for a whole week starting from Thursday, October 9.
What time does the Black Ops 6 free trial come out?
The free trial for Black Ops 6 will be released across PlayStation, Xbox, and PC, at 5pm BST in the UK on Thursday, October 9.
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It will be available until Thursday, October 16 at 6pm BST, which translates to 10am PT in the US.
What does the Black Ops 6 free trial include?
In the trial, you’ll get access to the full campaign and the full multiplayer and Zombies suite (excluding Ranked Play). This includes over 40 multiplayer maps, all six Zombies maps, along with the Directed mode, and The Haunting event which launches at the same time.
The Haunting spans several new maps, including Gravity, Rig, and Mothball, along with a new limited-time mode called Haunted Havoc Zombies.
It’s a bold move considering you can beat the Black Ops 6 campaign very easily within that timeframe, as it only lasts for around nine hours.
Battlefield 6 launches on Friday, October 10, and while this freebie will no doubt attract some players, it’s unlikely there’ll be many people interested who haven’t already picked it up – so it feels like a cheap tactic to throw off Battlefield 6’s launch numbers.
Based on a new survey though, Activision might have a reason to be concerned. According to Circana’s PlayerPulse, which surveyed 5,100 players, 47% of people intending to buy Battlefield 6 are aged between 18-34, while 32% in the same bracket plan on buying Call Of Duty: Black Ops 7.
This suggests Battlefield 6 is perhaps drawing in a younger audience, which isn’t good news for Call Of Duty’s longevity if it wants to remain at the top.
However, these statistics also show 56% of Battlefield 6 buyers intend to purchase Black Ops 7 as well, while the reverse is much lower, with 24% of Black Ops 7 buyers also looking to pick up EA’s shooter.
With over a month between Battlefield 6 and Call Of Duty: Black Ops 7, Activision is giving its rival a big chance to steal its thunder, or – if previous Battlefield launches are anything to go by – plenty of time to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
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