The 2023 release of Modern Warfare 3 has faced harsh criticism, being labeled as having one of the poorest campaigns in Call of Duty history, with a Metacritic score of 56 and a 'mostly negative' rating on Steam.

Eurogamer highlighted the campaign's rushed development, criticizing its poorly conceived open areas and a lack of meaningful storytelling.

IGN echoed these sentiments, rating the single-player campaign a low 4/10, describing it as 'underbaked' and 'cobbled together from multiplayer parts.'

In contrast, Black Ops 6 is set to feature the most varied campaign in the franchise's history, developed by Raven Software.

Despite the reception of Modern Warfare 3, Zuk indicated that Raven Software did not alter their development plans in response, as they were already committed to their story and missions.

Zuk also expressed trust in Activision's business decisions regarding the game's launch strategy, clarifying that he had no input on the business side.

Activision has opted against releasing an early access campaign for Black Ops 6, allowing all players to start simultaneously on October 25.

Notably, Black Ops 6 will be the first Call of Duty title to launch directly on Xbox Game Pass, following Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

Developed under significant time pressure, Modern Warfare 3 was initially conceived as an expansion and completed in just 16 months, contrasting sharply with the four-year development cycle of the upcoming Black Ops 6.

Jon Zuk, associate creative director at Raven Software, noted that the extended development time for Black Ops 6 allowed for more experimentation and refinement of missions.

The campaign for Black Ops 6 will be longer than that of Cold War, with variable lengths depending on player engagement with the safehouse hub.