The excitement aroundCall of Duty: Black Ops 6is reaching a fever pitch with the game’s release only being a few weeks away, and fans are keen to finally experience the long-awaited title. While a lot of attention is understandably being placed on the core multiplayer and Zombies modes of the upcoming game, the title’s single-player campaign is setting itself up to be one of the most intriguingCoDnarratives that players have seen in quite some time.
The campaign forCall of Duty: Black Ops 6will involve elements of past narratives from the likes ofBlack Ops,Black Ops 2, and the more recentCold War, with many beloved characters from the sub-franchise taking up prominent roles in the title. Fans ofCold Warin particular were delighted to hear that Russell Adler is front and center in the narrative ofBlack Ops 6, although the figure’s allegiances are quite vague as things stand. Despite this, a recently revealed loading screen forBlack Ops 6paints Adler in a very damning way, potentially hinting towards his role as a villain before the game has even launched.
Russell Adler’s Role in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 May Have Been Revealed
Russell Adler was first introduced to theBlack Opsfranchise with 2020’sCold War, having to compete against the star power of returning iconic characters like Alex Mason, Frank Woods, and Jason Hudson. Despite being a fresh face, Adler is considered as one of the stand-out characters ofCold War, playing a captivating and prominent role throughout the game’s mind-bending single-player story.
The narrative ofCall of Duty: Black Ops 6is set to take place roughly a decade after the events ofCold War, with Russell Adler deservedly making a return to the franchise. WhileCold Warfamously featured multiple endings, the ending where Perseus is successfully stopped will be canon going forward, with this helping set up some of the key story points ofBlack Ops 6.
Russell Adler is a decorated CIA agent who will seemingly stop at nothing to accomplish his goals, with it being strongly hinted thatAdler killed the brainwashed protagonist ofCold War, Bell, once the character had fulfilled their usefulness to Adler. The cut-throat nature of Adler’s style of operation makes him a tentative ally in the eyes of the player, with his true intentions always being questionable at best.
In a recent live stream, Treyarch confirmed that Adler killed Bell inBlack Ops Cold War’s ending.
The Trust Around Adler Will Seemingly Be Key to Black Ops 6’s Story
This apprehension surrounding Adler will only continue into the story ofBlack Ops 6, which sees the Central Intelligence Agency be corrupted by a disastrous spy infiltration at the hands of a group named Pantheon. Adler, along with the likes ofWoods and a new character named Troy Marshall, form a rogue task force to eliminate the threat of Pantheon, with the majority ofBO6’s story being centered around this. While this sets up Adler to be an ally throughout the events ofBlack Ops 6, things are not always as they seem with the character, and a recently revealed loading screen forBlack Ops 6may just confirm this.
One of the manyrewards for completing theBlack Ops 6campaignis a stylized loading screen of Adler’s face with fire reflected in his glasses, which boasts the title “A Good Look at the Devil.” This seemingly implies that Adler could end up playing a more antagonistic role inBlack Ops 6, with the “devil” reference otherwise being a potential nod to how Adler was framed and forced to leave the CIA and go rogue. Of course, players will not know for sure what role Adler plays untilBlack Ops 6releases on October 25. Still, with Treyarch seemingly hoping to keep players guessing about Adler until the very end, much like it did forCold Warin 2020, it’s a bit surprising to see such a clear hint that Adler could be an enemy being shared before release.
