Key Highlights:
- Call of Duty has made Black Ops 6 free to play for a limited time.
- This happens to coincide with the release of Battlefield: RedSec.
- The timing is suspect, and likely a strategic move from Activision.
Battlefield 6 has been a massive success, and has for the first time in years managed to beat Call of Duty at its own game. Battlefield 6 is a largely superior game when compared to Black Ops 7, and Activision has likely acknowledged the same.
After all, the publisher has released a free trial for last year’s Call of Duty Black Ops 6, which so happens to coincide with the release of Battlefield: RedSec, a battle royale spinoff of Battlefield 6, likely designed as a free to play spinoff.
Call of Duty Releases a Free Trial for Black Ops 6
As mentioned in a very recent X post from the official Call of Duty account, Black Ops 6 is going to have a free trial between October 28, 2025 to November 3, 2025.
Grab your squad. We’ve got Black Ops 6 💥
— Call of Duty (@CallofDuty) October 27, 2025
Get access to Black Ops 6 Multiplayer and Zombies for free starting tomorrow 🎮 pic.twitter.com/xTZv7VQlnP
Unlike previous free trials, this version includes the multiplayer and Zombies game modes in it as well, making for what is essentially a complete package.
Also Read: Battlefield 6 Goes Free to Play With Redsec; Check Complete DEETS Here
It’s a great way to try out Black Ops 6 for free, and yet another way to build hype for the upcoming Black Ops 7 release, which is scheduled for November 14, 2025 worldwide.
Whether this will be enough to turn the tide over and tip the scales in favor of Call of Duty remains to be seen though. All things considered, this is quite unlikely.
The Timing Is Quite the Coincidence
It’s no mere coincidence that Activision chose to willfully drop the Black Ops 6 trial right ahead of Battlefield 6’s own RedSec and Season 1 launches. October 28 is the day when both the free trial and Battlefield 6’s Season 1 begin, after all.
This was a willful decision from Activision, and perhaps an attempt to counter Battlefield 6’s rising popularity. After all, the game had managed to cross over 700,000 concurrent players worldwide on Steam alone, making it the fastest selling Battlefield game in history.
Battlefield 6 has Activision quaking in its boots, and this might be the first time in years that Call of Duty has had any real competition to speak of. In a sense, Activision is right to be afraid, and their recent string of free playthroughs speaks for itself.
Battlefield 6 Has Problems of Its Own
Battlefield 6 is not a perfect game by any definition of the term. The game has quite a few glaring issues that can sour the overall experience, making it feel frustrating to play through for a lot of players.
This is well represented in its Steam reviews, which have dropped to an average of 69.87%, (Mostly Positive) a far cry from the Very Positive rating it held earlier. Much of the discourse has to do with the fact that a large portion of the userbase is pretty much frustrated with Activision’s refusal to lower EXP progression requirements.
This was made worse by the fact that EA decided to take down bot farms, where players participated in bot matches to gain EXP quickly.
However, assuming that these problems are addressed quickly, Battlefield 6 should rise up to the top of the charts once again, where it rightfully belongs.
