Summary
Call of Duty Zombiesplayers speculated that the upcoming release ofCall of Duty: Black Ops 6on older consoles will lead to the return of the infamous “Last-Gen Richtofen.” Since its inclusion inCall of Duty: World at War,Call of Duty Zombieshas become one of the most beloved features of the franchise across multiple entries spread out over multiple console generations. However, its long history also led to a long list of hilarious and, at times, horrifying bugs, with one particularly famous graphical hiccup now possibly making a return in the next major entry in the series.
For context, Edward Richtofen is a recurring major character fromtheCall of Duty Zombiesstoryline, who usually takes on the role of an antagonist. Even in the latest entry, Richtofen remains one of the most important characters in the mode’s lore, typically appearing in everything ranging from snippets to full cutscenes. This included theZombiesmode forCall of Duty: Black Ops 3, which was particularly notorious for its lackluster graphical fidelity on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The subpar last-gen model and animations used for Richtofen were subsequently ridiculed by much of the community, leading to the creation of the “Last-Gen Richtofen” meme.
After rumors sprouted claimingBlack Ops 6was releasing on PlayStation 4 and Xbox Onebased on pre-order details gathered from GameStop, many fans feared this might be a case of history repeating itself and cast doubt on the decision by developers to release the latestCall of Dutyto today’s last-generation consoles. Users specifically cited the “Shadows of Evil” map forBlack Ops 3, pointing out how the disparity between console generations harmed the overall experience for previous-gen players and led to the rise of Last-Gen Richtofen.
Fans Skeptical of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6’s Last-Gen Release
Other fans also questioned the point of upgrading their platforms if studios willingly limitedthe graphical capabilities of the PlayStation 5and Xbox Series X|S down to what was feasible for last-gen consoles. Additionally, commenters were skeptical of the game’s optimization on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. They speculated that this would lead to another subpar experience akin to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions ofBlack Ops 3.
While fans are understandably concerned that the rumored last-gen versions forCall of Duty: Black Ops 6and itsCall of Duty Zombiesmode will fail to meet expectations, nothing has been set in stone and things are notably still subject to change. With that said, players can at least take heart in knowing thelatest live-action trailer forBlack Ops 6promised that developers will unveil more details during the Xbox Games Showcase scheduled for June 9.
