Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will be free for gamers to try out during Battlefield 6‘s launch week. The hype around EA’s answer to Activision’s long-running FPS franchise is undeniable, and the rivalry has seemed all the more intense with both series aiming to release their next installments in Fall 2025. While Battlefield 6 may launch a bit before Black Ops 7, fans can play 2024’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 without paying anything that same week.

Activision is gearing up for the final season of Black Ops 6 before the next entry arrives in November. On October 6, the company announced that Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Season 6 will start on October 9 and is fittingly dubbed “The Haunting,” matching its near-Halloween release. Now that the full details of the update are up on the official Call of Duty blog, it’s also become clear that the new season will also debut with an unexpected promo for anyone who hasn’t bought the game yet.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Will Be Free to Play From October 9 to October 16

The official overview and roadmap for the final season of Black Ops 6 revealed that there will be a free trial starting on October 9 at 9 AM PT and ending on October 16 at 10 AM PT. Apart from being a surprise free week, that’s notable because Battlefield 6 launches on October 10, less than 24 hours later, depending on players’ time zone. Anyone who signs up for the trial will be able to play Black Ops 6‘s campaign in its entirety, as well as all multiplayer and Zombies content, apart from Ranked Play.

It’s also worth noting that Activision recently extended Call of Duty: Black Ops 7‘s open beta until October 9 at 9 AM PT. So, as soon as the preview of the next Black Ops game concludes, fans can jump right in to the free trial and new season of the last one. It could be a coincidence that there will be back-to-back free Call of Duty experiences right around Battlefield 6‘s launch, but the timing is hard not to notice.

It makes sense why Activision would want to promote Call of Duty so heavily around this time. While final sales figures are still uncertain, Battlefield 6 already surpassed Call of Duty in terms of Steam player counts, with its open beta drawing a whopping 521,079 concurrent users, compared to CoD‘s peak of 491,670. Regardless of which series fans prefer, though, all this content coming out at once makes it a good time to be an FPS fan.