There’s no sign of Call of Duty’s beloved Nuketown map in Black Ops 6 – except for its “birthplace” in Warzone’s Area 99 and a nuked version in Sandhouse

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 had its big multiplayer reveal today, and among all the other details one thing stood out – we’re getting a whole lot of Nuketown without actually getting any Nuketown.

Nuketown is a map that goes back to the original Black Ops, and has regularly appeared throughout the series. It’s based on the real-world model towns that were used as nuclear test sites, and its miniscule size means that it’s one of the most action-packed maps in all of Call of Duty. It’s a fan-favorite, and everybody’s been wondering if we’d get it back in Black Ops 6.

Today’s Call of Duty: Next event revealed that we’re getting Area 99 as a new Resurgence map in Warzone, which Treyarch describes as “the birthplace of Nuketown.” In a blog post, the devs show it all off in great detail, and the map will include the factory where Nuketown’s mannequins are manufactured, the shipping yard where the model homes are sent out, and the test site where all those nukes were fired. 

In traditional Black Ops 6 multiplayer, we’re getting Nuketown in the form of Sandhouse, a Strike Map that’ll be available at launch. The difference here is that Nuketown’s been nuked. Sandhouse is made up of the ruins of Nuketown, with sand piled all over and familiar locations knocked askew by what sure looks to have been a nuclear blast. It’s unclear exactly how many similarities Sandhouse has with old-school Nuketown in terms of map layout, but you can get an idea of what to expect with the few seconds of footage in the video below. 

Traditional Nuketown won’t be part of Black Ops 6 at launch, but there’s no telling if a more familiar version of the map might be added sometime later on. Certainly, with Area 99 and Sandhouse serving as such effective nostalgia bait, we’re well primed for a proper Nuketown comeback.

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