Call Of Duty Shuts Down Horribly Dark Black Ops 6 Story Rumor

The internet's been abuzz with news about the next "Call of Duty" game, which is set to debut on October 25, 2024. "Black Ops 6" is yet another installment in the long-running sub-series that's become known for exploring conspiracy theories from the recent past. As a whole, "Call of Duty" has made a name for itself by not being afraid to wade into controversial historical territory, but the devs at Treyarch recently spoke out to shoot down a rumor about the latest game potentially diving into an event that many deem off-limits.

As reported by PC Gamer, Treyarch held a Q&A session on June 9, during which the company's director of production decided to address reports that "Black Ops 6" would depict the 9/11 terrorist attacks. "No, that's a rumor," said Yale Miller. That's a pretty succinct way to shut the rumor down. Miller went on to say that the game will focus on the events of the Gulf War, which began a full decade before 9/11, but he clarified, "It's about Black Ops and the team, what's happening underground and behind the scenes and the stuff that nobody's really talking about. But always, it's purely a fictional story."

"Call of Duty" missions, most famously "No Russian" from "Modern Warfare 2," have sparked outrage in the past, but the people at Treyarch probably thought that getting into 9/11 would be a bridge too far. Despite that, Miller's comments might not have completely shut the rumors down.

The rumors that "Black Ops 6" would touch on the events of 9/11 were kicked off by the game's reveal trailer. Real-life world leaders like George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Margaret Thatcher, and even Saddam Hussein are all featured in the trailer, which sells "Black Ops 6" as a dark story full of global political intrigue. Considering the historical context, it wasn't the biggest leap to think the World Trade Center attack might be depicted. In fact, some fans also thought they spotted a few hints about the tragedy in the trailer.

"Call of Duty," and "Black Ops" in particular, has tackled sensitive topics and pushed boundaries in the past. There's the aforementioned "No Russian" mission (which tasked players with participating in a massacre at an airport), but the original "Black Ops" also touched on the assassination of President Kennedy. It's been over 20 years since 9/11, but the attacks are still fresher in the minds of players than the aforementioned assassination. Treyarch probably didn't want to risk creating the biggest failure in "Call of Duty" history, but fans online seem surprisingly open to the idea of their favorite franchise exploring these events.

The original tweet that kicked these rumors into overdrive picked up tons of comments. Plenty of people pointed out that 9/11 is likely too recent and too close to home for "Black Ops" to explore. Many weren't opposed to the idea of "Black Ops 6" going all in on the controversy, though, and some people even made favorable comparisons to the "No Russian" mission. After all, the controversy arguably boosted the game's profile back in the day.

Dude I'd love to see it

No Russian's controversy was insanely cool, and gathered more attention to COD, hope it pans out cool

— porque tao serio🃏 (@raposonaopeguek) May 23, 2024

As the discussion migrated over to Reddit, more people seemed intrigued by the possibility of a 9/11 mission. Fans even started speculating about how "Call of Duty" might be able to address the event respectfully. "As long as you're not playing a terrorist, I don't think it should [be] too controversial," wrote one commenter. Another jumped in with an idea of how it could play out: "Maybe you're a bystander on the ground and the level involves you saving people or helping evacuate, or anything along those lines." 

The general consensus among fans seems to be that 9/11 isn't entirely off-limits for the game, which is potentially good news for the "Black Ops" series. Although "Black Ops 6" is going to steer clear of this topic, since the series is already up to the Gulf War in the timeline, another sequel might have to address 9/11 in one way or another. We'll just have to wait and see if the series handles the issue respectfully — or avoids it entirely.