If there’s ever been a time to say ‘we’re so back’ in Call of Duty history, it’s now. The launch of Black Ops 6 Season 3 is proving to be a hit, largely due to an array of fantastic new multiplayer maps and the debut of the Zombies map Shattered Veil. Oh, and there’s the small matter of Verdansk returning to Warzone. Now, you can play Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 without spending a single dollar, and so can your friends.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is free to play across all platforms from Monday, April 7, 2025, through to Friday, April 11, 2025, until 10am PDT / 1pm EDT / 6pm BST / 7pm CEST. Whether your mates are hopping in for some Black Ops 6 Steam Deck action or you’re booting up a PlayStation 5 or Xbox console, anyone can jump into the hit FPS game. All you need to do is head to Steam Marketplace or the respective storefront on your console and download the ‘Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 – Free Multiplayer Access’ pack. The only catch is that you need the Call of Duty HQ app installed, which is acquired by installing Call of Duty: Warzone.
You need at least 80 GB free, though, as Black Ops 6 is quite a hefty install on your system. The free trial includes full access to every multiplayer map currently in the shooter, alongside the recent addition of Firing Range – a classic map from the first Black Ops entry. Currently, there’s a Firing Range 24/7 playlist to sink hours into, giving you a perfect battleground to grind camos, rank up, and relive the Call of Duty glory days.
Personally, the true highlight of Season 3 is Shattered Veil, the follow-up to the divisive Zombies map The Tomb.
With Terminus and Citadelle des Morts providing thrills on par with the Black Ops 3 golden era, The Tomb is a woeful misstep plagued by a disappointing easter egg quest. Due to SAG-AFTRA strikes last year, it also saw the Zombies crew noticeably absent vocally during the quests’ finale cutscene. Shattered Veil rectifies a lot of The Tomb’s failings, honing in on vibes we haven’t seen in Zombies since Black Ops 4’s Dead of the Night. Wonder Weapons such as the Ray Gun MK II and Wunderwaffe DG-2 return to the mystery box, and fan favorite perk Double Tap is back after a whole decade!
There was a time when I thought that Zombies wouldn’t reach the heights of past games. Aside from the confusing design ethos of Modern Warfare Zombies, Black Ops Cold War and Black Ops 6 are doing a mostly great job of pushing the mode forward. I often switch between playing Black Ops 6 on my PlayStation 5 and Asus ROG Ally, thanks to the game’s unified progression system.
Playing on Asus’s portable gaming console is breezy and runs fantastically while looking the part, too. However, performance on the Steam Deck has obstacles to overcome. If you still want to play Black Ops 6 after the free trial, then you can buy an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription to play it across console and PC.
For more of the latest mobile hardware and gaming news, whether you’re diving into the best Steam Deck games or the best Switch games, follow us on Google News to stay in the loop.