Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 developers say the avalanche of weird skins is to 'maximize fun for players', whatever that means

GamesFPSCall of DutyCall of Duty: Black Ops 6Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 developers say the avalanche of weird skins is to ‘maximize fun for players’, whatever that meansWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

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black ops 6 season 1

For the past handful of years, Black Ops has been increasingly—as our own Ted Litchfield put it—suffering from a case of ‘Fortnitification’. That is, whatever core aesthetic identity it had is due to vanish into the hole ofcrossovers and garish skins. While there’s been a quietmurmuring of fury from the communityover these things, these games' developers must be making an absolute boatload of money, because the cruise liner’s still chugging.

But why, fans might ask? Because it’s fun, reply Black Ops 6’s developers. No, really. In a recentinterview with Dexerto, Treyarch’s associate creative director, Miles Leslie, says it’s all about cramming the most ‘fun’ into the game.

“Fun always comes first for us,” Leslie states. “Of course, we want to stay grounded in the DNA that makes a Black Ops game unique when it comes to core gameplay, but we also like to break the rules if it’s going to maximize fun for players.”

Still, Leslie insists, it’s just a natural evolution of the kind of zaniness found in the ever-popular and longstanding CoD Zombies mode: “When it comes to cosmetics, the Black Ops series naturally lends itself to some pretty outlandish themes when you consider we’re the birthplace of Call of Duty Zombies, and all of the crazy mindf*ckery that comes with the storytelling in our games, so we like to have fun there too.

“The team has already delivered some of my all-time favorite Operator Skins, and we’re only in the first season.” In the original article, this is posted above an operator wearing a giant plastic rubber duck mask.

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You’re not about to see Nicki Minaj guest-star in the game’s campaign mode, though, Leslie promises: “The Campaign has a tightly defined cast of characters with an era-specific look to them that fits the story … This is something we take very seriously at the studio, and those who remember the continuing story with Stitch and Perseus throughout Black Ops Cold War’s seasons will know what I’m talking about. That doesn’t mean we can’t have some fun with cosmetics along the way!”

So—there you have it. If you were yearning for those days where Call of Duty was just about gruff-looking guys doing cool war stuff, the great engine of microtransactional nonsense isn’t fading any time soon. At least Hunt: Showdown is safe—wait,why is Ghost Face here?Post Malone?What are you doing in the 1890s?Aw, man.

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