Black Ops 6 audio: A more detailed, dynamic soundscape
An enemy is firing in the distance and on the move, but they’re out of sight. As an elite Operator, every second counts. Are they down the hall, racing up the stairs, outside? The audio team at Treyarch is enhancing the 3D soundscape to new levels, allowing players to better sense the location, speed, and direction of nearby activity, helping them to respond more effectively and become even more immersed in the world of Call of Duty®: Black Ops 6.
To get a better idea of the audio enhancements going into the game, we spoke with Lead Audio Designer Collin Ayers and Expert Audio Engineer William Cornell. William (9 years at Treyarch) and Collin (18 years at Treyarch) are both long time Treyarch audio wizards, earning credits on multiple Call of Duty titles and acquiring valuable experience resulting in the team’s best work.
As with every Treyarch title, the audio team has redesigned or captured new sound effects for every single weapon in the game, including new reload and firing sounds. How those sounds interact with the environment, however, is being pushed to new limits using the studio’s most advanced audio systems yet.
“The goal for the audio team on Black Ops 6,” Collin said, “is what we’re calling the adaptive battlefield, a more purposeful and directional soundscape that focuses on the information players need when they need it while reducing the clutter of extraneous noise.”
Specifically, the team has been laser focused on distant firing sounds, giving players information on directionality, distance, and threat level so they can more easily identify where the enemy Operator is firing from and then formulate their plan of counterattack. “We want to make sure that the soundscape in this game will adapt to each player as they play, creating a living and breathing play space.”
As an Expert Audio Engineer, it is William’s job to make sure that all the sound design choices that Collin makes are presented to players in the best possible way. “Gunshots and grenades will
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