Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Directed Mode Has Been Huge for Zombies

Activision confirms that Call of Duty: Black Ops 6's Directed mode has nearly doubled the number of players completing the main Zombies quest. While many Black Ops 6 Zombies players prioritize survival, Directed mode significantly impacts story engagement.

Since World at War, the Call of Duty Zombies mode has featured a continuously expanding narrative, further developed in Black Ops 6. Despite a decline in the overall Black Ops 6 player base, the Zombies mode retains a large, dedicated community. The wave-based gameplay, focusing on increasingly difficult enemies, often prioritizes weapon upgrades and defense over story completion for many players. Introduced in Season 1, Black Ops 6's Directed mode has proven remarkably successful.

A recent Call of Duty blog post reveals Directed mode boosted the Black Ops 6 Zombies main quest completion rate from 4% to 8.23%. This data, based on 480 million hours of gameplay (a small portion post-Directed mode's November 14th release), demonstrates Treyarch's goal of increasing main quest participation. The doubling of completions is considered a success, though Treyarch acknowledges that over 90% of players still don't complete the main quest, indicating ongoing efforts to improve engagement.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6's Directed Mode: A Significant Improvement

Part of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6's Season 1 update (including three new maps, two game modes, and more), Zombies' Directed mode provides structured progression, guiding players through the latest Zombies storyline. This storyline, encompassing interdimensional portals, zero-point energy, time travel, and teleportation, can be challenging for newcomers to follow. Unlike previous installments, which largely left story progression to individual players, Directed mode actively helps players engage with the narrative.

Directed mode has significantly increased the number of Zombies fans completing the main quest. As Treyarch continues updating Black Ops 6, future adjustments to Zombies and Directed mode may further enhance main quest completion statistics.