The Call of Duty Zombies community is voicing strong disapproval following the recent reveal of the “Liberty Falls” map for Black Ops 6, criticizing it for lacking atmosphere and being too reminiscent of Warzone. Fans, who had been hopeful ahead of August’s COD: Next event, were left disappointed by the unveiling of Black Ops 6’s second round-based Zombies map.
Despite a major leak of Black Ops 6 earlier in August, players were still optimistic that the COD: Next event would deliver surprises across multiplayer, Warzone, and Zombies. The four-hour event, which featured content creators from around the globe testing the game’s new omnidirectional movement system, confirmed the return of the popular Warzone map, Verdansk, and offered Zombies fans an in-depth preview of Liberty Falls, set to be available at launch.
However, following the reveal of the Liberty Falls map on August 28, the reaction from the Zombies community was overwhelmingly negative. Many fans took to the Call of Duty Zombies subreddit to express their dissatisfaction, claiming that the mode has “lost its identity” and that the new map feels more aligned with Modern Warfare 3’s Zombies mode than the classic Treyarch Zombies experience they expected.
The complaints varied, but a common thread was the sentiment that Liberty Falls lacks “atmosphere or personality” and that the reveal was “underwhelming.” Many fans blamed the influence of Warzone, arguing that its impact on the overall Call of Duty series has led to the Zombies mode losing its distinctiveness, with recent iterations feeling too similar in tone and gameplay to the battle royale game.
One Reddit user, SolvableJam06, suggested that the main issue stems from the entire Call of Duty series now being designed around Warzone, resulting in modes like Zombies becoming increasingly homogenized. While Warzone remains a leading free-to-play game, the integration of multiplayer and Zombies into its framework has left some fans feeling that each mode has become too similar, lacking the unique appeal they once had.
In response to these concerns, developer Treyarch has tried to cater to longtime fans by bringing back classic features in Black Ops 6 Zombies, such as Gobblegums, round-based maps, perks, and a customizable HUD with a “legacy” preset to mimic the style of earlier titles. Despite these efforts, it appears that a significant portion of the community has already made up its mind, viewing Black Ops 6 Zombies as another casualty of Warzone’s dominant influence.
