A lot of players are already considering the Zombies experience ofCall of Duty: Black Ops 6as a true return to form for the franchise’s longstanding survival mode, with its launch content and fast pace of updates being a real breath of fresh air. While the mode is still rough around the edges in some areas, its two launch maps and its focus on mechanics and storytelling devices from past Zombies portrayals have created an excellent start that Treyarch can hopefully maintain over the coming months.
A lot of new content was introduced to Zombies with the recent launch ofCall of Duty: Black Ops 6’s first in-game season, with other things like a brand-new map being set to launch over the coming weeks. Some of these recent changes offered some shake-ups to how the Gobblegum system ofBlack Ops 6Zombies works, with Gobblegum as a mechanic having gone through many different tweaks and iterations over the years. 2015’sBlack Ops 3, as the first game to introduce Gobblegum to Zombies, had one of the most in-depth portrayals of the system, andBlack Ops 6should adopt something similar toBO3’s Newton’s Cookbook to give much more freedom and personal choice to the player.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Zombies' Gobblegum System Can Be Taken to the Next Level
The addition of Gobblegums toCoDZombies throughBlack Ops 3marked a huge change in the core experience of the mode, seeming like a logical evolution of the randomized power-ups and perks that remain as Zombies staples to this day. Gobblegums act as largely temporary power-ups that players can unlock and use in-game, with the single-time use and differing rarity of the many Gobblegums making them a fascinating and complex addition to the iconic survival mode.
Despite garnering quite a positive reception throughBlack Ops 3, Gobblegums would not appear again directly inCall of Dutyuntil the recent release ofBlack Ops 6, with there being some key distinctions between these two iterations of the mechanic. For example,Gobblegums are earned naturally through survival inBlack Ops 6, whereasBlack Ops 3saw players have to exchange the Liquid Divinium in-game currency for certain Gobblegums.
The natural acquisition of Gobblegums inBlack Ops 6seems to make the mechanic much more accessible, with the title also allowing players to hold up to three Gobblegums at once compared to the singular Gobblegum slot ofBlack Ops 3. Despite these stark changes,Black Ops 6recently introduced the option to purchase Gobblegum packsthrough microtransactions, emulating one of the most controversial aspects ofBlack Ops 3’s approach to the Gobblegum system.
Newton’s Cookbook Would Make Black Ops 6 Zombies' Gobblegum System Much More Rewarding
With this still not allowing players to purchase the most sought-after Gobblegums directly, it only seems fair thatBlack Ops 6adopts the same Newton’s Cookbook system fromBlack Ops 3. Newton’s Cookbook was the saving grace ofBO3’s microtransaction approach to Gobblegums, primarily by allowing players to exchange the large quantities oflower-tiered Gobblegumsthat they had amassed for much more powerful ones.
The requirements and recipes of these potential Gobblegum exchanges would change every day, being another incentive for players to consistently check in onBlack Ops 3’s Zombies experience, and this itself could prove to be very valuable toBlack Ops 6if the game chooses to adopt its own Newton’s Cookbook. It seems unlikely that every in-game season ofBO6will feature massive Zombies updates like new maps, and the introduction of the Newton’s Cookbook feature could maintain player retention during this down-time, while crucially allowing fans to get more value out of Gobblegums earned either naturally or through microtransaction bundles.
