Summary
It’s been a jam-packed 24 hours forCall of Duty: Black Ops 6, the next titlein the annualized first-person shooter franchise. Followingthe Xbox Games Showcase, Activision held its own event for Black Ops 6, where a slew of information was revealed. Then, shortly after that, news aboutBlack Ops 6 not having “Carry Forward,“howthe game will work on Game Passand the factthe game requires a constant internet connection, even for its campaign, began to filter out.
Now, Treyarch has confirmedthat when Black Ops 6 launches on October 25, its campaign will not depict the 9/11 terrorist attacks in any way. In a Q&A session held on Sunday, director of production Yale Miller and associate design director Matt Scronce shot down any rumors. Here’s what they had to say when asked about it (hat tip to PC Gamer for the transcription):
“No,” Miller said. “That’s just a rumor.”
“Black Ops 6, like every other Black Ops game, is purely fictional,” Scronce explained.
“In true Black Ops fashion, it’s not what’s happening up here—‘the stock market’s going crazy and everything’s great’—because we actually know, not everything’s great,” Scronce added “And it’s about Black Ops and the team, what’s happening underground and behind the scenes and the stuff that nobody’s really talking about. But always, it’s purely a fictional story.
While 9/11 won’t be part of the game’s narrative, Miller did confirm that the Gulf War will. Still, there will be segments of the story not rooted in reality. “There’s conflict on US soil, there’s different [events] in Avalon, which is a made-city,” Miller said. “There’s lots of different places where you go.”
To that end, Scronce emphasized that Black Ops as a series has always had “historical touchpoints,” which provide crucial context, but none of the titles are 1:1 depictions of history itself.
Rumors About Black Ops 6 Depicting 9/11 Didn’t Come From Nowhere
Perhaps the most interesting part of this discussion is that the rumors didn’t just appear out of thin air. No. That’s because, in the leadup to the official reveal,the date of September 11 was seen in the teaser imagery. It didn’t help Treyarch’s case that its teasers were also apparently situated in New York.
Beyond that, a teaser video showcased Saddam Hussein. While Hussein was not directly responsible for the 9/11 attacks, he was a major focal point in the Gulf War as well as the ensuing 2003 invasion of Iraq, which came on the heels of fallout from September 11. In other words, even if Treyarch claims it was all just a rumor, those rumors spread because of their own marketing.
While the confirmation is an important clarification for those impacted by 9/11 as well as those who might’ve been hesitant to purchase the next Call of Dutyout of fear of a “No Russian-esque” mission, it does showcase the dangers of teaser marketing. Perhaps Treyarch never intended for people to assume that the September 11 terrorist attacks would be included in the game, but they certainly never helped their cause, either.
