Call of Duty is no stranger to unusual collaborations, but this latest one is likely to be one for the books. Activision is teaming up with Netflix to bring the acclaimed Squid Game series to Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Warzone, and you’re invited to join in for limited-time events, suit up with new Operator skins, and unlock in-game rewards.
So — when can we play?
When does the Squid Game collaboration go live in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6?
The Squid Game 2 event for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is expected to kick off on January 3, 2025. The launch date for the collaboration was confirmed in various teaser trailers released by Activision. There has not yet been a specific time announced for when the update will go live, but in the past, these events typically start around 10 AM PT/1 PM ET.
Operator bundles, limited modes, and in-game rewards
Activision, Treyarch, and the remainder of the Call of Duty development team have teased the Squid Game 2 x Call of Duty crossover event through various social media posts and email blasts, but little has actually been confirmed or explained. However, we have seen several potential Operator skins coming to Call of Duty for use in Black Ops 6 and Warzone. The pink-suit-wearing Guards, with their X, O, and Square labels, have been the most prominent Operator skin to be promoted in these trailers, but we’ve also had glimpses at the gilded-mask-and-suit-wearing VIPs and green-tracksuit-clad contestants.
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Trailers have also teased the Squid Game narrator’s voice could be coming to the game, along with the terrifying Red Light, Green Light game played by the contestants in the show. An event reward item styled after the red envelopes from the show can also be floating as elimination rewards to be collected by players. These floating cards are likely to be exchanged by players for in-game reward items.
Players have recently criticized Call of Duty for using AI-generated images as in-game rewards during the Merry Mayhem event and as promotional posts on social media platforms during the holidays. We don’t yet know enough about the upcoming Squid Game collaboration to know if AI-generated imagery will be used for the partnership, but doing so could prove to further player disdain and erode trust in both series.
Black Ops 6 is also at an odd sort of crossroads for the game’s narrative. During an interview at Call of Duty: Next, Treyarch leadership explained that the reasoning behind the team not carrying forward Operator bundles, weapons, and event rewards from Modern Warfare 2 and 3 (2022, 2023, respectively) was because Treyarch wanted to tell its own unique story set in the 90s. The events in Squid Game 2 are set in 2023.
Can you play the Call of Duty x Squid Game 2 collab in Warzone?
The Call of Duty x Squid Game collaboration is not just limited to Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 players. Warzone fans can also enjoy the team-up, with Squid Game-specific changes coming to the free-to-play Battle Royale title simultaneously with its launch on Black Ops 6.
As with BO6, we’ve only seen a few glimpses of what we can expect for this crossover in Warzone. We have seen a couple of potential modes or adjustments to the maps, including that hecking creepy giant doll from Squid Game turned toward a tree while surrounded by sweet, sweet loot boxes that players are dashing for. It does seem evident that we can expect at least some sort of limited mode for the Squid Game x Call of Duty crossover, but we’ll have to wait just a bit longer to find out what exactly that entails.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Call of Duty: Warzone are both available on Xbox, PlayStation, and Windows PC via Battle.net, Steam, and the Microsoft Store. Players can check out the Squid Game crossover event even if they are playing the game via Xbox Game Pass or PC Game Pass. While the Season 1 post-launch content has had a rocky reception for Black Ops 6, the game has continued to dominate sales charts. The Call of Duty HQ ranked at the top of the Circana most-played charts in December with the help of double XP weekends and CODmas events paired with free trial periods.
