Why Black Ops 6’s Better Split Screen Integration Made It My First CoD Game

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I have played my fair share of shooters in the many years I’ve been gaming, but I have never played a single Call of Duty game. This changed with Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, and it’s all thanks to split screen. The Zombies mode of Black Ops 6 is the very first time I’ve ever played a CoD game, and it made me realize that a functional split-screen mode may be the way for Activision to draw in brand-new players like myself.

My husband and his friends have been playing Warzone and Modern Warfare 2 since they launched, but the release of Black Ops 6 is the first time I’ve been able to join in on the action. The title isn’t the first CoD game to have split-screen multiplayer, but it’s the first in recent years to implement a (somewhat) working version of it. The inclusion of local co-op finally helped me to break into the series, and I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s had this experience.

Call Of Duty’s Spotty History With Split Screen

Local Co-Op Is Frequently Added And Removed Throughout CoD History

The first few Call of Duty entries had couch co-op with four-player split screen, allowing up to four people to play the games together. Many original fans remember playing the games with friends, significant others, and family members, when all they needed was a couple of controllers and a comfy couch. As the market for in-person gaming declined, the split screen functionality was deprioritized and local co-op gaming was all but phased out.

Call Of Duty Black Ops 6 Zombie enemies in front of a flaming explosion

Every Enemy In Black Ops 6 Zombies, Ranked By Difficulty

Black Ops 6 Zombies features some challenging enemies, and there’s a world of difference between the hardest foes and the cannon fodder.

Some modern Call of Duty games do still have split screen. Modern Warfare 2, for instance, has split screen, but it’s very limited, only works in private matches and not multiplayer ones, and is incredibly buggy. Warzone simply doesn’t have a local co-op option at all, although according to an image from darkdaniel57 on Reddit, there were remnants of a potential split screen implementation two years ago (that didn’t actually work).

Black Ops games have had a similar history with split screen, appearing and disappearing at Treyarch’s whims. Sometimes, this happened quite literally and in the middle of the game already being out; according to IGN, the feature was implemented in Black Ops 4 but was removed with no warning. It was later added back in, and apparently can even support four players in Zombies mode.

Black Ops Cold War is even more of a mess, with some reports saying that four-player split screen is possible on Xbox, two-player on PS5, and none on PC. It’s difficult to verify this information, though, as Activision didn’t advertise its local co-op feature since that’s not exactly the series’ main draw for most fans. But with couch co-op being such a mess, it’s easy to understand why my husband and I had never even thought of attempting it before Black Ops 6.

This makes some sense as games have moved to a more online presence, and gone are the days when you had to visit a friend who had a console to be able to play a game together. But it’s unfortunate for me and my husband, as it sometimes feels like we’ve played every local co-op in existence. Which is why we were so excited to realize that Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is the first CoD game in a long time that allows split screen in multiplayer matches.

Black Ops 6 Is The First CoD Game In A While To Have Split Screen

It’s Far From Perfect But At Least It Exists

Before I go any further, let me be clear: the split screen feature in Black Ops 6 is far from perfect. As I was writing this article, my attempts to join a group game in split screen started to repeatedly fail, timing everyone out and booting us from the game after a long loading time. Browsing around online, I found that other players are having similar issues, with glitches preventing the second player from earning XP, various bugs affecting gameplay, and more. On top of all that, I needed to create a new PSN account (though I already had one).

Sadly, modern games don’t often include split screen anymore when the option to play online is so much more appealing to users and lucrative to game makers.

That said, even in this poorly implemented state, the split screen in Black Ops 6 is the first time in years that Call of Duty even had a working couch co-op mode. My husband and I have played plenty of excellent local co-op shooters in the past, like Resistance, Killzone, and even Unreal Tournament (yes, we go that far back). Sadly, modern games don’t often include split screen anymore when the option to play online is so much more appealing to users and lucrative to game makers.

A soldier from Call of Duty Black Ops 6 in front of gameplay from the multiplayer modes.

Can You Play Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6 Offline

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 features plenty of single-player content, but its approach to offline content has changed from previous titles.

Even when we did play multiplayer in shooters, it was usually offline, with just us and the AI. I’m not a game developer, but I also understand that there are many hurdles to making a game playable in both local and online multiplayer. Black Ops 6 is not, by any means, the best co-op shooter we’ve ever played together. But the fact remains that Black Ops 6, specifically the Zombies mode, is the first game in recent memory that allows me to play with my husband and his friends.

How Black Ops 6’s Split Screen Makes CoD More Approachable To Newcomers

Couch Co-Op Lowers The Barrier Of Entry For New Players

I have never had any desire to play Call of Duty. This isn’t because the game doesn’t look good to me. I’ve spent plenty of time watching my husband play and appreciating everything from the attention to detail that each map has, to the ridiculous situations players can end up in (like the time my husband and his buddies prompted a ceasefire and teamed up with an opposing team to take down a third group).

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Zombies – How To Become Aetherella

If you want to become an invincible supervillain in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Zombies, you can now finish a quest to become Aetherella.

Despite this, the game has always seemed like it was too involved, too intimidating, and had too much at stake. Split screen lowers the bar to a much more approachable level. It turns the potentially daunting fear of failing my team into a chance to join in for a round or two with people I know and feel comfortable with.

I love that I’m able to join my husband and his friends in a pastime that we all enjoy, but which I’ve always watched from the sidelines. It’s also great that I don’t have to go at it alone or have a group of strangers relying on me as I fumble around trying to figure out how to be an asset and not a burden. So, while the split screen feature on Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 might not be the best, I’m grateful for the fact that it exists at all.

Sources: darkdaniel57/Reddit, IGN

As tensions rise during the Gulf War, Black Ops veterans find themselves facing a covert group within the CIA, now branded as traitors. Players navigate intense missions across new multiplayer modes, including dynamic environments and innovative features like body shields, while the Zombies mode returns with classic round-based action and new maps.

Released: October 25, 2024
Developer(s): Treyarch , Raven Software
Multiplayer: Online Multiplayer , Online Co-Op
Engine: IW 9.0
ESRB: Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Suggestive Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
Number of Players: 1-4
Local Co-Op Support: 1-2 Players
Split Screen Orientation: Vertical or Horizontal

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