Eagle-eyed fans spot futuristic character abilities in Black Ops 6

Eagle-eyed fans spot futuristic character abilities in Black Ops 6
Images via Activision

Written by 

Jack Marsh

Published 

19th Jun 2024 17:15

Before the Black Ops series rebooted with Cold War, Treyarch championed the futuristic warfare style. Remember, even the beloved Black Ops 2 was set in the future of 2025 where robots and drones were used throughout the campaign and multiplayer.

Then, Black Ops 3 and 4 took to the skies and exo suits joined by characters' signature abilities, with the likes of Glitch's flashbacks, Sparrow's explosive bow, and Battery's kinetic armour all being popular choices of advanced technology.

With Cold War and Black Ops 6, though, we've gone back to the past to be fully boots on the ground. So, why are there futuristic weapons in the trailer?

Black Ops 6 fans sport a futuristic Grappling Hook in trailer

In the trailer, one fan has spied what appears to be a Grappling Hook, which appears to be playing some role in either the next Call of Duty Campaign or Multiplayer.

The Grappling Hook was an ability best used in Black Ops 4, exclusive to Specialist Donnie "Ruin" Walsh. It launched him into the air and was often paired with the Gravity Spikes for a massive slam dunk.

Reddit user u/Sammy-Jz spotted the gun at 1:14 in the trailer, and while players appear to be quite excited, it poses a weird dilemma for the '90s title.

Of course, these harpoon-like weapons existed in the period, but they were bigger, heavy-duty crossbow-esque machines instead of a single-handheld dart gun - which is what appears to be pictured.

Click to enlarge

It would be a confusing juxtaposition if we're stealth crawling around Vietnam in one mission and grappling through the skies like Batman in the next. Although it was in Cold War Zombies, too, somehow...

Maybe, this was a placeholder in the wrong place, and maybe it might be a Campaign-only addition, but it could mark quite an interesting complexity for Multiplayer if these Specialists return.

Grappling Hooks were also used in Blackout as a piece of equipment that anyone could find as loot, proving to be one of the more useful bits of kit in the arsenal. Could this be indicative of the direction Treyarch wants to take Warzone? 

Jack Marsh
About the author
Jack Marsh
Jack is an Esports Journalist at GGRecon. Graduating from the University of Chester, with a BA Honours degree in Journalism, Jack is an avid esports enthusiast and specialises in Rocket League, Call of Duty, VALORANT, and trending gaming news.
Trending
MW3's Roblox-inspired mode has fans pleading: 'Please become Call of Duty again'
Warzone faces peril as Fortnite steals Resurgence model
OpTic mocked for worst run in Call of Duty history
Activision just fixed Infinite Warfare as Game Pass rumours gather pace
Helldivers 2 fans beg Arrowhead Games to avoid ‘Call of Duty BS’