I Want Everyone to Know about Black Ops 6’s Most ‘Pointless’ Feature That Makes it Overcomplicated

Look, I’ve been playing Call of Duty since the days when quickscoping was considered an art form and Mountain Dew sponsorships were the height of gaming culture. I’ve weathered every controversial change, every questionable design decision, and every “game-changing” feature that’s come along. But there’s one thing about Black Ops 6 that I simply cannot stay quiet about anymore.

What started as Call of Duty HQ and eventually “evolved” into what we have to deal with now is perhaps the most unnecessary addition to the franchise since supply drops. And while it might look a bit prettier than its predecessor, it’s still about as useful as a chocolate teapot.

The worst part? We’ve been dealing with this particular headache for years now, watching it get progressively worse with each new release. But this time, with Black Ops 6, it’s reached a new level of absurdity.

A Solution in Search of a Problem in Black Ops 6

Let’s call a spade a spade here. The Call of Duty launcher isn’t just bad—it’s an exercise in frustration that would make Sisyphus himself throw up his hands in defeat. And I’m not alone in this sentiment:

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Truer words have never been spoken. But it gets worse:

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And don’t even get me started on the infamous “Update Requires Restart” message that greets us more often than our own teammates. Launch the game? Restart. Install shaders? Restart. Breathe in the general direction of your PC? You better believe that’s a restart!

At this point, I’ve probably spent more time restarting the game than actually playing it. It’s like the launcher is stuck in an endless loop of digital bureaucracy, making us jump through hoops just to get to the actual game (don’t quote me on that).

I can’t count the number of times I’ve sat down for a quick gaming session, only to spend more time wrestling with the launcher than actually playing. And apparently, this is a universal experience:

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The most infuriating part? There’s absolutely no reason for this complexity. We managed just fine launching games directly for decades. But here we are, forced to navigate through a labyrinth of menus just to play a single match of team deathmatch.

A Pattern of Overcomplication

Some might wonder why Activision insists on maintaining this system. Well, one cynical player might have hit the nail on the head:

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It’s a depressingly plausible explanation. But what’s even more depressing is the community’s resigned acceptance of the situation:

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And you know what? They’re right. We do say this every year.

We complain, we rant, we make memes—and yet, here we are again, clicking through multiple screens and sitting through useless transition animations just to launch a single game. It’s like Groundhog Day, except instead of learning valuable life lessons, we’re just learning new ways to be disappointed.

The saddest part is that this isn’t rocket science. All we want is to be able to launch Black Ops 6 directly, without having to navigate through what feels like the digital equivalent of the DMV. Is that really too much to ask? Apparently, for Activision, it is.

Do you share my frustration with the Call of Duty launcher? What’s your worst experience with the endless restart cycle? Let me know in the comments below—misery loves company, after all!