Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. News

You might want to wait a bit to play Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 on Steam

Add as a preferred source on Google
A player runs in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 multiplayer.
Activision

It’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 launch day, which means potentially millions of players are hopping into the new single-player campaign, the updated multiplayer mode, and Zombies. While posts online about the performance of the game seem to be minimal, there have been reported issues on PC, specifically via Steam.

It’s been a common story lately about players being mad at third-party launchers on Steam, and that remains the case for Black Ops 6. Call of Duty’s is called Call of Duty HQ (COD HQ), and it’s a hub for players to manage their game installs, whether they want to only download certain game modes or launch a specific game. It seems as if players can only switch between modes through the launcher and have to go through multiple menus to boot the game up. In the worst cases, they can’t launch the game at all.

Recommended Videos

“The COD HQ is the worst thing to ever happen to cod. I don’t want to navigate 10 menus to get to the single thing I want to see,” said one Redditor, who also mentioned that it’s “constantly just bugging out.” Multiple people in this thread say the the HQ crashes at launch.

Vault Edition owners on Steam are also having an issue where they can’t equip the Woods Operate Pack. The team is currently working on a fix.

Still, Black Ops 6 is currently sitting on Steam at a “Mostly Positive” rating. It’s likely you won’t run into any problems, but if you wanted to immediately hop in and play, you might have to wait a bit longer.

Beyond those issues, Black Ops 6 is still shaping up to be another uber-successful Call of Duty release. Analysts told GamesIndustry.biz that while the game coming to Xbox Game Pass will reduce overall sales, it could bring 2.5 million to 4 million new subscribers to the service.

Carli Velocci
Carli is a technology, culture, and games editor and journalist. They were the Gaming Lead and Copy Chief at Windows Central…
Your GTA 6 ‘physical copy’ could expire before you even play it
Rockstar has confirmed that Japanese PS5 download codes won't remain valid forever.
Poster for GTA 6 game.

The debate around GTA 6's "physical" edition just got another twist. Rockstar has confirmed on its official website that PS5 download codes included with physical copies of Grand Theft Auto VI sold in Japan will expire 170 days after the game's November 19, 2026 launch date. That means players who don't redeem the code before roughly May 8, 2027 could be left with nothing more than an empty game box, even though they purchased a physical copy. The company says the policy is required due to regional regulations in Japan.

Why only Japan?

Read more
God of War Laufey finally has a release date, and there’s some good news for Kratos fans too
Santa Monica Studio confirmed the game will launch February 16, 2027, and revealed a new mainline Kratos title is already in development.
God of War: Laufey

Sony gave fans their first look at God of War Laufey during June's PlayStation State of Play, but the company did not share a release date at the time. Speculation about the launch window followed almost immediately, with industry insider NateTheHate pointing to a release in the first half of 2027. Santa Monica Studio has finally ended the guessing game, confirming that the title will launch on February 16, 2027.

Physical copies are locked in

Read more
Lenovo’s $99 280Hz gaming monitor is built for the ramen-budget crowd
Lenovo is selling a 280Hz monitor for less than GTA 6 Ultimate Edition
Lenovo gaming monitor render

Fresh off launching a metallic Hall-effect keyboard and a 59g gaming mouse for flashy esports setups, Lenovo has turned its attention to gamers working with much tighter budgets. The Legion 24-1r looks made for broke college students who spent way too much on their first gaming rig and now have instant noodles doing most of the heavy lifting at dinner. It costs just 669 yuan, equivalent to around $99, yet offers a 23.8-inch IPS panel running at up to 280Hz.

Lenovo is also offering the 27-inch Legion 27-1r with the same core specifications for 789 yuan, or roughly $116. For the ramen-budget crowd chasing competitive frame rates, both look like seriously tempting deals. (via NotebookCheck)

Read more