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 rich, evolving narrative, significantly expanding with each iteration, including Black Ops 6. Despite a decline in the overall Black Ops 6 player base, the Zombies mode maintains a large and dedicated community. The wave-based gameplay, focusing on increasingly difficult enemy waves for up to four players, often prioritizes weapon upgrades and defense over story completion. Introduced in Season 1, Black Ops 6's Directed mode has proven remarkably popular.

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 fraction since Directed mode's November 14th launch), demonstrates the mode's success in achieving Treyarch's goal of increasing story engagement. While this represents a doubling of completions, Treyarch acknowledges that over 90% of players still don't finish the main quest, indicating ongoing efforts to further improve these numbers.

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

Part of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6's Season 1 update (including three new maps, two game modes, and more), Zombies' Directed mode provides a structured path through the storyline. This guided experience helps players navigate the complex narrative, which over the years has incorporated interdimensional portals, zero-point energy, time travel, and teleportation—elements that can be challenging for newcomers to grasp. Unlike previous installments, which largely left story progression to player initiative, Directed mode actively supports story completion.

With Directed mode, more Zombies fans than ever before are experiencing the main quest. As Treyarch continues to update Black Ops 6, further adjustments to Zombies and Directed mode may further enhance main quest completion rates.