Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is facing significant challenges, despite the success of Marvel Rivals. Prominent YouTubers and competitive players are expressing serious concerns about a dramatic decline in player engagement. Several have ceased creating content for the game, with legends like OpTic Scump openly criticizing the current state. Scump, a highly influential figure in the Call of Duty community, claims the franchise has never been in worse shape, primarily attributing the decline to the premature release of a flawed ranked mode plagued by rampant cheating due to an ineffective anti-cheat system.
FaZe Swagg, another popular streamer, dramatically switched to Marvel Rivals mid-stream, citing persistent connectivity issues and an overwhelming number of hackers. His stream even included a live counter tracking hacker encounters.
These issues are compounded by significant nerfs to the zombies mode, impacting the acquisition of desirable cosmetic items, and an oversaturation of cosmetic microtransactions. While the game offers numerous ways to spend money, substantial improvements to core gameplay seem lacking. This situation, particularly considering the franchise's historically massive budgets, is alarming. Player patience is finite, and the current trajectory suggests a potential crisis point for the game.
