Black Ops 6 Season 1 – release date, huge Warzone upgrade and Vault Edition benefits explained

Black Ops 6's Season 1 update will finally bring Warzone up to speed with the rest of the game, with Call of Duty's battle royale title set for some major gameplay upgrades.

Warzone players rejoice, because Black Ops 6 Season 1 is almost here, and it will change... well, everything! Here's when it's coming and what you can expect from this significant update.

As updates go, the Black Ops 6 Season 1 update will be a big one. Not only will it bring the usual influx of new maps, weapons, operators and game modes to the Call of Duty title's Multiplayer and Zombies modes, but it will also introduce what is essentially a new edition of Warzone, which itself is getting a new Resurgence map, updated existing maps, new weapons and, of course, Black Ops 6's upgraded gameplay mechanics.

But there'll be plenty for non-Warzone players to look forward to as well, with the new Citadelle Des Morts Zombies map, three new Multiplayer maps, a new Season 1 Battle Pass, a new Ransack game mode and coming mid-season, Black Ops 6 Ranked Play. Here's when Black Ops 6 Season 1 releases and everything we can expect from the new update.

Black Ops 6 Season 1 release date

The Black Ops 6 Season 1 release date is Thursday, November 14. Historically, big Call of Duty content updates tend to go live on a Wednesday, as we saw with the Warzone Season 6 update in September, but with the Black Ops Season 1 update happening on a Thursday, we'll have to see if Activision follows that pattern over the coming months. However, what is more certain is that this update will have the usual release time of 5pm GMT / 12pm EST / 9am PST, and it will go live simultaneously on all platforms.

However, the preloading process for the Black Ops 6 Season 1 update may differ depending on your chosen platform. Players on PlayStation and PC (via Battle.net) can preload the update 24-48 hours beforehand. But, based on previous updates, it's likely that players on Xbox or PC (Steam) won't be able to preload and will have to wait until the update goes live to begin their download.

Black Ops 6 Season 1 – huge Warzone upgrade

Warzone players have been stuck with the MW3 edition of the game ever since Black Ops 6 launched, but don't fret, because it's time to get excited about the title's new era. Having played it early at COD: Next, trust me, Warzone is about to get a huge upgrade.

Once Black Ops Season 1 launches, the superb Omnimovenent gameplay mechanics will be fully integrated into the Warzone experience, whether you're playing Battle Royale or Resurgence. Activision has revealed via a blog post that Warzone will also get a redesigned loadout system, the ability to grind towards Prestige, and new cinematics for infill, exfil, the Gulag, and the winner’s circle, which should freshen things up.

Three new weapons will also be available at launch, including the Krig C assault rifle, the Saug SMG, and the Maelstrom shotgun. The AMR Mod 4 sniper, the SIrIn 9mm secondary, and the Power Drill and Cleaver melee weapons will come in-season for both Warzone and Multiplayer.

But it's not all good news, as if you're expecting a new big map for Warzone, you're going to be disappointed. The return of Verdansk is still a few months away, and while we're waiting, Activision has given us a new Resurgence map to tide us over, with Area 99 set to launch for Black Ops 6 Season 1.

The Warzone Area 99 map reintroduces Nuketown in a dramatic new way, with the map set in the Nevada desert mere miles away from the original Nuketown. It features reactors, cooling towers, factories, floating apartment blocks and thousands of discarded mannequins, in what could be a brilliant, nostalgia-laced addition to the map rotation.

Speaking of map rotations, both Area 99 and Rebirth Island will be available to play in Resurgence solos, duos, trios and quads following the launch of Season 1, with the Urzikstan map returning as the only playable Battle Royale map, albeit with a few interesting changes. Activision has confirmed that the Urzikstan map is reverting to an earlier version of itself, so Popov Power makes its return, but the bunkers and the much-loved Atlas Superstore won't feature, as they were only added in during later seasons.

Black Ops Season 1 – Vault Edition benefits explained

Players who pre-ordered the Black Ops 6 Vault Edition will receive a number of pre-order benefits following the release of the new edition of Warzone, including:

• The Hunters vs. Hunted Operator Pack featuring skins and accessible Operators for Adler, Park, Brutus, and Klaus.
• The Mastercraft Weapon Collection (five weapons)
• The GobbleGum Pack (12 single-use consumables)

In addition to the above, players with the Vault Edition will also get all of the content included in the Season 1 BlackCell offering, which includes:

• Access the Season 01 Battle Pass via the exclusive BlackCell Page, instantly unlocking the following items:
• 20 Tier Skips.
• 1,100 COD Points.
• The “Boiling Point” Mastercraft Blueprint for the Goblin Mk2 (Assault Rifle).
• The “Who’s Laughing Now” Finishing Move with Pet Hyena.
• The “BlackCell” Clan Tag (showcased in Lobbies and Winner’s Circles).
• The “Goliath” BlackCell Operator.

As you progress through the Black Ops 6 Season 1 Battle Pass, BlackCell owners (or Vault Edition owners) will be able to obtain the following items throughout the season:

• Seven BlackCell-exclusive skins for Sev (two Skins), Bayan, Bailey, Carver, Alvarez, and Stone.
• Six BlackCell-exclusive Weapon Blueprints; for the XM4 (Assault Rifle), Marine SP (Shotgun), Tsarkov 7.62 (Marksman Rifle), GPMG-7 (LMG), Saug (SMG), Krig C (Assault Rifle).
• BlackCell Page Unlock: The ability to unlock any Page from the Battle Pass, ignoring the usual minimum Tier requirements. From here, you can unlock the Tiers within that page, and progress forwards (or backwards) from the Page providing the subsequent Tier unlock criteria is met. Or you can progress from the start of the Battle Pass Page 1 as normal.
• Exclusive access to BlackCell-themed rewards available during Season 01 Events, offering you earnable content throughout the Season.
• Over 130 item rewards (Battle Pass and BlackCell related) for those who fully complete the Season 01 BlackCell Battle Pass.

Call of Duty rarely disappoints when it comes to seasonal updates, and the very first one for Black Ops 6 looks like it could be an absolute banger. Stay frosty out there in Area 99. It sure does get warm in the irradiated desert.