Black Ops 6 9/11 campaign mission rumors explained
ActivisionBlack Ops 6 is set during the Gulf War in the 1990s but rumors about a campaign mission depicting 9/11 quickly spread. While these rumors have been debunked by Treyarch, why were so many players convinced it was real?
The Call of Duty series has had its fair share of controversial missions with 2009’s No Russian making the headlines.
Although this event was purely fictional, some missions have been rooted in real-life history like an attempted assassination of Fidel Castro in the original Black Ops and MW19’s Highway of Death which many felt was too close to the real-life area between Kuwait and Iraq.
References in Black Ops 6’s marketing convinced players there would be a 9/11 mission in the game so here’s a breakdown of how these rumors spread and their debunking.
Where did the Black Ops 6 9/11 rumors come from?
The rumors began when Black Ops 6 and its logo were first revealed, where eagle-eyed players spotted “2001” followed by what appears to be “/1” on the blog post’s featured image. Some of the community then assumed the full sequence was “2001/11/9” – the date of the September 11 attacks.
ActivisionNot only that, a Black Ops 6 teaser inside Warzone also appeared to place particular emphasis on the date. The submarine in the Rebirth Island map has a few teasers for Black Ops 6, and a computer screen inside has “911” highlighted in red.
Some even took Black Ops 6’s marketing in the New York Post as further hints towards 9/11 being featured somehow.
All of these apparent ‘teasers’ spread like wildfire on Call of Duty’s corner of social media, and with the word “leak” often becoming (incorrectly) synonymous with “rumor,” many were convinced 9/11 would actually be featured in Black Ops 6.
Treyarch debunks 9/11 mission rumors
Despite all the rumors and speculation, Treyarch put it plainly: There won’t be a 9/11 mission in Black Ops 6.
When asked at a Q&A session in June, PC Gamer reported that Treyarch’s Director of Production Yale Miller simply said “No,” and “That’s a rumor.”
Associate Design Director Matt Scronce added: “Black Ops 6, like every other Black Ops game, is purely fictional.”
Treyarch also confirmed during a briefing CharlieIntel attended, “We’re [Treyarch] not trying to be provocative just to be provocative, we are inspired by reality but take stuff like this seriously.”
So there you have it, straight from the horse’s mouth, 9/11 won’t feature in Black Ops 6.
It wouldn’t make sense anyway
Not only could a 9/11 mission be a step too far toward controversy for Activision (and now Microsoft), but it wouldn’t even make sense within the game’s narrative.
Black Ops 6’s campaign is set during the early 1990s, years before the 9/11 attack. Although prominent figures from 2001 like George W. Bush and Saddam Hussein featured in a live-action trailer, BO6 is firmly rooted in the Gulf War that ended in 1991.
Black Ops 6 acts as a sequel to Black Ops Cold War and the 1980s flashback missions from Black Ops 2, but also brings back the classic round-based Zombies experience, continuing the Dark Aether storyline.