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 has significantly impacted story engagement.

Since World at War, the Call of Duty Zombies mode has featured a continually 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 leads players to prioritize upgrading weapons and defenses over completing the story. Introduced in Season 1, Directed mode has proven remarkably successful.

A recent Call of Duty blog post reveals that 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 launch), demonstrates Treyarch's goal of increasing story engagement. While the doubling of completions is considered a success, Treyarch acknowledges that over 90% of players still don't complete the main quest and are actively exploring further improvements.

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

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

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