Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 won't include one big feature on Xbox One and PS4 — here's why

What you need to know

• Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is slated to launch on Oct. 25, 2024 across Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows PC, PlayStation 5, and PlayStation 4. 
• Speaking in an interview with Windows Central, Treyarch's director of production Yale Miller confirmed that the Theater mode won't be included on Xbox One or PlayStation 4 versions of the game. 
• According to Miller, this is because the older consoles didn't have the resources to record and replay matches. 

Players still on older consoles won't be able to review their multiplayer matches in the latest blockbuster first-person shooter from Activision. 

While Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 does include a Theater mode, this feature isn't available for anyone on Xbox One or PlayStation 4, Instead, it's locked to the Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, and PlayStation 5 versions of the game. Speaking with Windows Central in a wide-ranging interview on all things Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Treyarch's director of production Yale Miller says that this is a resource issue, as the last-generation hardware simply can't run the mode well.

“There’s no way, on a last-gen machine, that we can do all the things, especially from a graphical fidelity level. You start getting to a point where you’re looking at visual fidelity and other things. You’re wondering if you want to keep pushing to use CPU or GPU to push on graphics, then you might have to sacrifice gameplay. For us,” Miller says, “gameplay is king.” 

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Treyarch and Raven Software's Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 doesn't have Theater mode on the older consoles, but every platform is getting 16 new multiplayer maps, the return of round-based zombies, and an action-packed campaign. Preorder now to secure Open Beta access, the Woods operator bundle, and the exclusive Reflect 115 camo pack.

Buy for Xbox: $69.99 at Best Buy | $69.99 at Amazon
Buy for PlayStation: $69.99 at Best Buy | $69.99 at Amazon
Buy for PC: $69.99 at Steam | $69.99 at Microsoft Store

🎒The best Back to School deals📝

• 🕹️Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (3-months) | $29.79 at CDKeys (Save $20!)
• 💻HP Envy 16 2-in-1 (Ryzen 5) | $499.99 at Best Buy (Save $350!)
• 🕹️Starfield Premium Upgrade (Xbox & PC) | $27.69 at CDKeys (Save $7!)
• 💻ASUS Vivobook S 15 (X Elite) | $945 at Amazon (Save $355!)
• 🕹️God of War: Ragnarök (PC, Steam) | $51.69 at CDKeys (Save $14!)
• 💻Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon | $1,481.48 at Lenovo (Save $1,368!)
• 🎮 Seagate Xbox Series X|S Card (2TB) | $249.99 at Best Buy (Save $110!)
• 🕹️Hi-Fi RUSH (PC, Steam) | $8.89 at CDKeys (Save $21!)
• 💻HP Victus 15.6 (RTX 4050) | $599 at Walmart (Save $380!)
• 🖱️Razer Basilisk V3 Wired Mouse | $44.99 at Best Buy (Save $25!)
• 🖥️Lenovo ThinkStation P3 (Core i5 vPro) | $879.00 at Lenovo (Save $880!)

Call of Duty's cross-gen cuts are nothing new

The Call of Duty franchise is no stranger to dropping features in order to fit a game on older hardware.

2015's Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 featured a campaign, zombies, and multiplayer across Xbox One, Windows PC, and PlayStation 4. Meanwhile, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game were heavily stripped back, with massively reduced visuals in multiplayer and a complete lack of the campaign mode. 

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is currently scheduled to launch on Oct. 25, 2024. It's also launching day one into Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass, a first for the franchise and coming almost a year after Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard.