CoD: Black Ops 6 Adds New Accessibility Options, Including Arachnophobia Setting For Zombies

Ahead of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6’s official launch on October 25, Activision reveals more accessibility features added to the game. This includes HUD presets, customizable high-contrast settings, an arachnophobia setting for Zombies, and more.

Activision says it wants to make it easier for more players to jump into the game, so innovative accessibility options for Call of Duty has “always been a priority.” The publisher also reveals that the accessibility settings menu is accessed by nearly half of all players.

“With the launch of Black Ops 6, we’re excited to share even more accessibility updates and new features which will allow players to further customize their experience,” the publisher says.

All of the familiar accessibility features that were included with Modern Warfare 3 will also be available in Black Ops 6, such as graphical adjustment options to reduce motion blur and joystick setting options. However, new settings aim to improve the customization options.

This includes Black Ops 6’s new asymmetrical hearing compensation setting, which allows players with asymmetrical hearing loss to create a custom audio profile and adjust audio settings for each ear. Activision says this was created with veterans and players with hearing loss in mind, allowing the audio settings to be individually customizable for each ear.

Activision also recently detailed Black Ops 6’s more immersive audio features and discussed the new Reduce Tinnitus Sound accessibility setting. In addition to audio features, Black Ops 6 will also include some new visual accessibility settings.

Call of Duty’s High Contrast mode was first introduced in Modern Warfare 3, giving players the option to highlight allies and enemies during gameplay, but the feature was only available for the campaign. This year, High Contrast mode will be available to use in both campaign and Zombies.

The mode has also been upgraded, so now players will be able to customize the color outline of allies and enemies, which allows those with vision impairment and color blindness to tailor their player experience even more. Players will even be able to enable a “Dark Background” setting in High Contrast mode, which further adds contrast from the background elements to assist with low vision. An example of this can be seen in the image above.

Another newly introduced feature in Black Ops 6 is the ability to adjust the gameplay HUD with a variety of layout presets, as well as color adjustments for the minimap. Activision says that players who wish to reduce visual clutter or find the minimap distracting might want to test out the Target Tracker or Central Command presets.

Black Ops 6’s Zombies maps feature spider-like enemies, so players will have an option to toggle on an optional arachnophobia setting, which visually removes the enemies’ legs. The image shown below reveals how the enemy will look with and without the setting activated. Activision says this setting will change their appearance “without affecting their gameplay,” but it’s uncertain how this will work for the enemy hitboxes.

Another new feature for Zombies is the ability to pause, save, and then load back into games. It’s worth noting that this feature comes with some restrictions. This pause and save feature is only available when playing solo matches, and a player can only save and quit while at full health.

“With the return of round-based Zombies, gameplay is guaranteed to be fast-paced and intense, so providing the ability to pause or save a solo game and return later can make all the difference in gameplay for some players,” Activision says.

Additionally, the publisher confirms that both the Xbox Adaptive controller and Sony’s Access controller will work out of the box with Black Ops 6.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 releases on October 25 for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC. Make sure to check out all the details on how player progression and prestige work in Black Ops 6. We also highlight all the maps, game modes, and weapons available at launch. The game’s campaign rewards can be found here.