"People are going to hate this" - COD fans are frustrated with upcoming audio changes in Black Ops 6

Call of Duty recently unveiled the upcoming audio changes in Black Ops 6. Called Spatial Reverb, this audio technology aims to improve immersion and create a more realistic experience. This change mostly pertained to the footstep audio, which is essential in a first-person shooter like BO6 as it gives important cues about the enemies' whereabouts.

Call of Duty showcased these changes in a short clip, where a player can be seen in a hallway being approached by an enemy. While the clip was successful in showcasing the changes, fans were upset as the directional sound in the clip appeared to be worse than how audio already works.

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One of the fans, who goes by the username @subonekd on X despised the audio changes and had to say,

"People are going to HATE this, lets be honest. They tried it in the MWII beta and it was just about the only thing they tried to change, totally ruined audio for the next 2 games".

According to them, fans won't be happy with this audio tweak. They cited the changes implemented with Modern Warfare 2 (2022) for a more realistic audio experience, which was later despised by the community and had a lasting impact on the series.

But they weren't the only ones who deemed the audio changes unnecessary. Another fan, @TheOnlyKoa, was confused with the sound showcased in the video.

"I thought he was running up behind him, gg’s i’m chalked".

In the clip, when the player is being approached by an enemy in the hallway, on a traditional stereo setup, the footstep cues do appear to come from behind the player. This can be confusing as the opponent was actually in front of the player. It was a case of confusion for many and @TheOnlyKoa wasn't the only one to point it out.

While realism was the goal of this new audio change in Black Ops 6, another fan pointed out that this wasn't something that players in the community wanted. User @jay_dale summed up their thoughts about it and mentioned the following,

"They haven't figured out yet that players don't want realistic sounds, they want to not hear their own footsteps and hear every other players footsteps at 100% volume."

According to them, Call of Duty has yet to understand what their fans want. In the comment, they mentioned that CoD players aren't fond of realistic audio and rather want a simple experience, where they can hear the footstep sounds of their audio better rather than hearing their footsteps all the time. While the latter can be more realistic, it isn't something the fans are fond of.

They weren't the only ones who weren't fans of the audio changes in Black Ops 6.

Fans criticizing the audio changes in Black Ops 6 (Images via X)

One Call of Duty fan claimed that developers are trying too hard with each game's audio rather than perfecting what already exists. As a result, each new COD game is plagued with sound issues. They added that a simplified audio preset can also be implemented for players who want to indulge in the latest audio tech.

Another user had some concerns about the new changes that each COD brings to the table. They claim this isn't the first time, and players have previously faced similar audio issues that COD claims to be new technology but it ends up being a nuisance.

However, not everyone was against this change. Some believe the tweaks to the audio were essential in Black Ops 6. @frostbite6680 supported it and had this to say,

"Actual W, implementing SOME realistic elements in an arcade shooter is fun".

Bu-bu *snort* cod was always an arca-" yes we get it... let developers have some creative freedom, they had that in MWII and it was a fun cod to play, MWIII only catered to the players and it was bland".

They saw it as a win for the community. According to them, the inclusion of realistic audio in an arcade shooter is actually fun and will enhance the overall experience. They also added that developers should be given creative freedom so that they can bring their goals to life.

COD fan @t4ctz too praised the audio changes,

"Took em long enough, was sick of people just randomly being on me with 0 audio queue on the early access."

They mention that Black Ops 6 took way too long to implement these audio tweaks in the game. They cited that in the Black Ops 6 beta, they barely got audio cues in their matches and were being attacked from random locations. Hence, they were grateful for the upcoming changes.

COD fans react to the latest audio changes in Black Ops 6

As mentioned Call of Duty will implement major audio changes in Black Ops 6. Hence, the overall experience will be quite different than it was in the beta. They joined hands with Microsoft Project Acoustic to bring these changes to the table. The main focus of this change was to bring more realistic audio to the game that would enhance immersion and bring about a sense of realism in the game.

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However, not everyone was excited about the changes. Fans mostly despised the changes and claimed it to be a letdown. The comments mostly suggested that Call of Duty should focus on improving the audio in general rather than bringing in a realistic audio feature. Since COD is an arcade shooter, these changes were deemed unnecessary and might lead to sensory overload.

On the other hand, a few loved the changes and deemed the new technology to be a step in the right direction to bring more realism to the shooter.

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Edited by Angad Sharma