Can’t wait until Friday to play Call of Duty: Black Ops 6? Well, a neat trick might get you access right now.
While the new game is going live everywhere soon, local time zone differences mean it's already out in New Zealand.
And, with a few quick changes to your console and Activision account settings, you can hopefully jump into the action with all those lucky Kiwis.
Although there’s no guarantee the following trick will work, there’s no harm in trying it. Players have been using the so-called ‘New Zealand’ method for years to play Call of Duty games early, with no reports of bans or suspensions.
The chances are Activision is aware of the trick, but is probably turning a blind eye to it.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 release date and time
So, when is it coming out? No matter where you are worldwide, you should be able to play Black Ops 6 on consoles and the Xbox App for PC (Game Pass) at midnight local time on Friday, October 25.
Due to regional time differences, players in some countries will get the game before others, with New Zealand being the first place it will go live.
Meanwhile, PC gamers using Steam or Activision-Blizzard’s Battle.net platform must wait slightly longer than their console brethren. Black Ops 6 will launch in those stores at 5am on October 25.
How to play Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 early with the ‘New Zealand’ method
Firstly, you must change your Activision account settings regardless of your chosen platform.
Now, follow the steps below for your chosen platform:
PS5
You don’t need to change any additional settings on your PS5 console to use the NZ trick. All you need to do is follow the above steps to change your region for your Activision account and ensure the account is signed into your PS5.
Xbox
Once you’ve changed your Activision account region using the steps above, do the following on your Xbox console:
PC (Microsoft Store/Game Pass version only)
Once you’ve changed your Activision account region using the steps above, do the following on your PC:
Black Ops 6 Zombies start time
One of the most talked about additions to Black Ops 6 is the return of round-based Zombies, which sees players teaming up to fend off hordes of the undead flesh-eaters.
To build anticipation for the new mode, the game’s developer Treyarch has announced that Zombies won’t be available immediately at launch.
Instead, it will kick off several hours later at 6pm in the UK (10am PT / 1pm ET) on October 25. That’s when players can start the main quests for Terminus and Liberty Falls on Zombies.
When can you preload Black Ops 6?
Nowadays, it’s pretty common to pre-load a game days before its launch, especially as game file sizes have grown larger and digital games have become more popular.
Like several Call of Duty titles before it, Black Ops 6 continues this trend. Those who pre-ordered the game could pre-load it from 5pm (9am PT) on Monday, October 21 on all platforms.
How to preload Black Ops 6
If you already have installed the Call of Duty HQ launcher, where you play MW3 and Warzone, Black Ops 6 should preload automatically.
If this doesn’t happen, try these steps on PS5: click the options button on your controller in the Call of Duty game on the home screen, select “Manage Game Content,” and then install the applicable files.
Everyone else can download Black Ops 6 via the game listing on their go-to store.
How big is the Black Ops 6 download size?
If you’re on the fence about pre-loading the game, there’s one big reason you should do it.
Like every Call of Duty game in recent memory, Black Ops 6 is bound to be a beast that hogs a considerable amount of your system storage.
While we don’t know the official download size yet, we can estimate how big it will be.
Those who have already pre-loaded the game in other regions have shared the file sizes for Black Ops 6. There are three files, including two campaign packs of 16.45GB and 21GB respectively — and 12.7GB of multiplayer content.
That equals just over 50GB of downloads, but there may be more on launch day, including additional game modes and a potential day-one patch. This could bring the total to more than 100GB when all is said and done.
This also aligns with the released PC specifications, which indicate that you’ll need 102GB of free space for the download.
Thankfully, you no longer have to install Warzone alongside Black Ops 6, or any of the Modern Warfare games as they’re not connected. Those extras are mainly why Call of Duty is a bloated mess that takes up 175GB of space.
What edition should you buy?
Of course, there’s still time to pre-order the game if you haven’t already. If you’re considering buying Black Ops 6, you have two editions on offer.
Here’s how much they cost and the extras they come with:
Standard/Cross-Gen Edition (£69.99)
Vault Edition (£99.99)
Includes everything in the Standard Edition, plus:
Both versions also came with early access to the multiplayer open beta, which has now ended.
Will it be on Game Pass?
Microsoft has confirmed that Black Ops 6 will also be available on Game Pass on launch day.
However, it won’t be offered on every subscription tier. The only way to access the game on consoles and other devices (barring PCs) will be the high-end Game Pass Ultimate plan, which costs £14.99 monthly.
PC players, meanwhile, can grab it through the lower-cost Game Pass for PC tier for £9.99 per month.
Notably, Microsoft has scrapped the £1 Game Pass trial offer in the lead-up to the game’s release date — so you can no longer sample Black Ops 6 cheaply.
