Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 should end the reign of ‘movement kings’ that use slide canceling to dominate competitive play

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 should end the reign of 'movement kings' that use slide canceling to dominate competitive play

What you need to know

  • Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 features a new Omnimovement system that allows players to sprint, drive, and move in any direction.
  • The new system is designed to make the game feel faster and more fluid.
  • Some are hopeful that the introduction of Omnimovement may widen the skill gap in competitive play.
  • Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 also has new accessibility features that help with in-game movement.

As a researcher with years of experience in gaming and competitive play, I have witnessed the evolution of Call of Duty games, particularly their movement mechanics. Having spent countless hours mastering slide cancelling in previous titles, I can attest to its complexity and impact on the skill gap in competitive play.


Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is nearly ready to debut, and it’s been making waves with its record-breaking open beta! It garnered top scores for total players, hours played, time spent per player, and number of matches played. Before the big release, our correspondent Cole Martin sat down with Treyarch Studios’ development team. One fascinating point they touched upon was Omnimovement, a potential game-changer in competitive gaming.

As a tech-savvy gaming enthusiast, I’ve noticed that one standout feature setting Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 apart from its predecessors is the Omnimovement system. Given the immense popularity of competitive play in Call of Duty, gamers invest countless hours refining their skills and discovering intricate ways to optimize movement and maneuvers within the game. One technique that was frequently employed in earlier versions was “slide canceling,” a tactic that required players to quickly press the crouch button during a slide. This would reset the tactical sprint, essentially enabling infinite tactical sprints.

In competitive play, mastering slide canceling was quite challenging and led to a noticeable skill disparity. Players who excelled at it could make themselves nearly untouchable by consecutively performing multiple slide cancels. However, developers of Call of Duty eliminated slide canceling when transitioning from Call of Duty: Warzone Caldera to Warzone 2.0, but this feature reappeared as an exploit in Modern Warfare 3.

With the introduction of Omnimovement in Black Ops 6, players no longer need to slide cancel.

In my perspective, Martin elucidated that the forthcoming update removes the necessity for slide canceling, offering players the choice to stow their firearms for melee weapons and an unlimited tactical sprint. This enhancement keeps gamers feeling as if they’re constantly moving at a rapid pace, particularly when combined with the fresh automatic sprint option in the settings. Consequently, the community is expressing admiration for Black Ops 6, praising its smooth and swift gameplay.

At the Call of Duty: Next event, Martin expressed a contrasting view regarding Omnimovement compared to some players who believed it would widen the skill gap. Instead, Martin stated, “I hold a different perspective. I believe that the incorporation of new accessibility features, an ‘omnimovement training course’, and the inherent limitations of movement itself will result in a narrower skill gap and ultimately enhance the overall player experience.

She explained that with Omnimovement, “everybody can be a movement king” and that “movement potential is no longer gate-kept by those simply more willing to utilize an exploit.” 

Read More

2024-09-12 21:42