Black Ops 6 Season 5 update patch notes

Although Black Ops 7 is on the way, there are still a couple more seasons of Black Ops 6 to come, with Season 5 up next.

This is the next major Call of Duty update following Season 4 Reloaded, where the devs will add a slew of new weapons, a new Battle Pass, and more.

Treyarch have dropped the full patch notes for the season, so here’s when it starts, the new content, and all the changes.

BO6 Season 5 start date & time

Black Ops 6 Season 5 starts on August 7, 2025, at 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET / 5 PM BST.

CoD seasons typically last eight weeks, so it would have normally ended on July 24, but it was extended by a couple of weeks to end on Thursday, August 7, instead.

New weapons

Four new weapons are arriving in Season 5, two of which will be available right away: the PML 5.56 LMG and ABR A1 Assault Rifle.

The PML 5.56 is a heavy-hitting LMG with a fast fire rate, and the ABR A1 is the classic AUG Assault Rifle that dominated Warzone during the Black Ops Cold War era. It will once again be three-round burst, but with an optional mod that makes it automatic.

Both these guns are available through the Battle Pass, while the Boxing Gloves melee and Gravemark .357 Revolver are event rewards coming later in the season.

Reckoning Zombies map

Activision

Black Ops 6’s final Zombies map arrives with the Season 5 update. We’ve all been waiting for ‘Janus Towers’ to arrive after its tease at the end of the Shattered Veil Easter egg, and it’s officially arriving under the name Reckoning.

This sees the team return to Liberty Falls one last time to visit Project Janus Headquarters, put a stop to S.A.M.’s plan, and bring the story to a close. It also introduces a new elite enemy called Uber Klaus, an armored foe you’ll need to take down as you survive.

For a breakdown of everything we know about the new map, check out everything we know about Reckoning.

Black Ops 6 Season 5 patch notes

Global

Weapons (Multiplayer & Zombies)

Weapon Level Max Level Display

• Your current Weapon Level and the Weapon’s Max Weapon Level will now both be displayed in many locations where previously only your current Weapon Level was displayed. This will make it easier for players to see how many Weapon Levels they have remaining before reaching Max Weapon Level.

Attachments

• Addressed an issue where the Monolithic Suppressor remained locked for some players on the LC10 and FFAR 1.

Maps

• Runway (New)
  • New 6v6 map set in 1992 Kuwait.
• World Motor Dynasty – W.M.D.
  • Reimagined 6v6 map set in 1992 Avalon.
• Exchange (New)
  • New Strike map set in 1992 Avalon.

Modes

• Addressed an issue in Search & Destroy where players would occasionally not spawn in the subsequent round when joining a match in progress.

Perks  

• Addressed an issue with the Shadow Perk when throwing Equipment while near an enemy Shock Charge.

Scorestreaks 

• Addressed an issue where the Archangel could navigate outside of the intended playspace.

UI 

• Fixed a bug where players were able to redirect to the Prestige Menu from the After-Action-Report.
• Fixed an issue in Ranked Play, when switching between certain classes, the primary and secondary weapon icons silhouettes would flash red or green
• Fixed an issue where the Scorestreak widget can incorrectly glow orange and show “Ready for Use” after respawning
• Fixed an issue where users were unable to Prestige in the main Prestige menu
• Fixed an issue where the user would encounter a looping menu error due to tracked challenges in the Challenge Tracker Widget.
• Fixed an issue where the user was unable to unpin weapons whose camo challenges have been completed, and is seeing camo challenges for other game modes for those “perma-pinned” weapons.
• Fixed an issue where the weapon preview fails to display in Weapons tab when a new custom loadout is set to favorite.
• Fixed an issue where users with the Depth of Field setting set to on will see Operators A-Posing in the Winner’s Circle

Ranked Play

Hunt down the competition in Season 05 with new rewards to claim.

Season 05 Rank Setback

• Competitors who are continuing their conquest in Ranked Play from Season 04 will notice that their accounts may have been set back as outlined in previous notes. 
• Every new Season, your Rank may be rolled back based on where you ended the previous season, as follows:
  • Bronze or Silver Rank players are not impacted by the Seasonal setback and will be able to pick up where they ended Season 04 with no SR deduction.
  • Gold or Platinum Rank players will start Season 05 in Tier I of Gold or Platinum respectively.
  • Diamond Rank and above players will start the Season 05 at Diamond I.

Demotion Protection

• Demotion Protection will be active for everyone’s first 3 Ranked Play losses in Season 05, and players can expect 1 free loss per day via Daily Loss Forgiveness like in Season 04.

Ranked Play Unlock Requirements

• Competitors that are returning after an extended period of inactivity may need to Win 10 Matches to requalify for Ranked Play in Season 05.
• New Ranked Play competitors will need to win 50 match-made multiplayer matches like previous seasons.
• Game Pass Free Trial accounts on PC will not be able to participate in Multiplayer Ranked Play.
  • NOTE: Game Pass Free Trial accounts on PC will still  have access to the Campaign, Multiplayer, and Zombies modes in Black Ops 6. Read the RICOCHET Anti-Cheat Season 05 Progress Report for more details.

Ranked Play Season 05 Rewards

• Rank Weapon Camos
  • Each Rank Gold and above has a unique Rank-themed Weapon Camo that you can earn to show off your rank.
  • Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Crimson & Iridescent: Start in (or above) or reach the applicable Rank anytime in Season 05 to instantly earn the corresponding Weapon Camo.
  • Top 250: Finish Season 05 in the Top 250 to earn the “Top 250” Weapon Camo.
• Rank Calling Cards
  • Each Rank Silver and above has a unique Calling Card reward:
    • Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Crimson, Iridescent: Start in (or above) or reach the applicable Rank anytime in Season 05 to instantly earn the corresponding Season 05 Rank Calling Card..
    • Top 250: Finish Season 05 in the Top 250.
    • Top 250 Champion: One-of-a-kind Calling Card awarded to the single player who finishes Season 05 in the #1 position on the Top 250.
• “Pro Reissue Jackal PDW” Weapon Blueprint: Unlocked by winning 10 Ranked Play matches in Season 05.
• 100 Season 05 Wins Large Decal: Unlocked by winning 100 Ranked Play matches in Season 05.

Stability 

• Addressed various stability issues.

ZOMBIES

New Map

• Reckoning
  • Looming over the once-sleepy settlement of Liberty Falls, the Project Janus Headquarters—three edifices known locally as Janus Towers— now teeters on the verge of collapse.    

Maps 

• Addressed an issue where players would take damage while standing on a coffin in Citadelle des Morts.
• Addressed an issue where zombies would not drop down near the dumpster in Pump & Pay in Liberty Falls.
• Closed an exploit where players were able to reach a safe spot using Aether Shroud in Liberty Falls.

Modes 

• Addressed an issue where the Grief capture zone was not showing for players who joined a match in progress.
• Addressed an issue where players were not receiving the correct amount of Essence and reserve ammo when joining a Grief match in progress.
• Addressed an issue where the Crafting Table would display the Self-Revive limit as 3 instead of 1 in Grief. 
• Addressed an issue where the Dark Flare beam will remain active while the player’s weapon is being swapped during Weapon Carousel grief.

Weapons 

• Addressed an issue where the additional explosion from Shatter Blast’s Blast Chain Augment would detonate on a zombie instead of the initial detonation point.
• Addressed an issue where players may receive the same weapon twice in a row in the Mystery Box.
• Addressed an issue where players would not receive ammo on the left weapon when purchasing a Wall Buy with an Akimbo Zombie Build.
• Addressed an issue where Shadow Rift may warp zombies outside of the Church during the lockdown event in Liberty Falls.

Perks 

• Addressed an issue where players are able to trigger Jugger-Nog’s Reactive Armor Augment using PHD Flopper.
• Addressed an issue that prevented the user’s Perk order to be maintained after using Mutant Injection.
• Addressed an issue where Death Perception’s Extra Change Augment lacks SFX when used on certain machines.
• Addressed an issue where Melee Macchiato’s Hidden Impact Augment would refill ammo on certain Support Items.
• Addressed an issue where the player’s fist may not appear when using Melee Macchiato.

Field Upgrades 

• Addressed an issue where players are able to charge their Field Upgrade rapidly when leaving and rejoining the match in progress during a quest step.
• Addressed an issue where Trials would progress when getting kills with Frenzied Guard’s Retribution Augment.
• Addressed an issue where the player was not able to activate the Pack-a-Punch machine after picking up the Blood Aetherium Crystal while Dark Flare was active.

Scorestreaks 

• Addressed an issue where the AFK timer would be active while using a Support Item.
• Addressed an issue where the Chopper Gunner would face the wrong direction in Shattered Veil.

GobbleGums 

• Addressed an issue where the Free Fire GobbleGum would not apply to the left-hand weapon with the akimbo attachment.

Enemies 

• Addressed an issue where the player’s arm will be misaligned during the Amalgam Game Over scene.

UI 

• Fixed an issue where users would encounter a menu error in the Zombies Purchase menu in the Arsenal
• Fixed an issue where the Gobblegum store would display a black screen when accessing it.

Stability 

• Addressed various stability issues.

You can also check out all the buffs and nerfs in the update to see how Season 5 has changed the meta.

While you wait for Season 5 to kick off, you can check out the best guns in Black Ops 6, as well as the best PC and controller settings to lock in.