Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Season 3 will kick off on April 2, Activision has announced. The next Black Ops 6 season is hence starting earlier than previously—but later than initially—announced.

Call of Duty Season 2 Reloaded originally launched on February 20. Activision subsequently said that Season 3 would start exactly a month later, on March 20. However, the publisher later changed those plans, pushing it back to April 3. The company cited the need for more development time as the chief reason for the delay.

Activision has now revised those plans once again, rescheduling the previously delayed Black Ops 6 Season 3 for April 2. This time around, Activision offered no official reasoning for its change of plans. The extra day that Black Ops 6 players will get with Season 3 will also double as a free trial period. This won’t be the first demo period offered by the first-person shooter, which was also available to try free of charge in mid-December 2024 and early February 2025. However, with a planned runtime of only 24 hours, the April 2 promotion will be the game’s shortest free trial to date.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Season 03 Start Date and Times

Like Season 2 Reloaded, Black Ops 6 Season 3 will start at 9am PT / 12pm ET / 5pm CET. The launch date of the upcoming content drop hasn’t been rescheduled for Warzone, whose Season 3 is still planned to kick off on April 3, as previously announced. Moreover, the battle royale game will be taken offline for 24 hours in the run-up to the next season’s release. Activision cited backend preparations for the start of the new season as the reason for this rare move. As compensation, anyone who launches Warzone during the offline period and reaches its main menu will receive the Kilo 141 free of charge. While the assault rifle has relatively modest stats (751 RPM, 28 damage, 639ms TTK), it’s still one of the most devastating Warzone weapons in its class from up close.

With the launch of Season 3, Black Ops 6 will enter the final stretch before being exactly in the middle of its life cycle, as Activision previously committed to releasing six seasons for the game. New entries in the series are historically announced a few months ahead of release, often in June or July. If this pattern continues, the 2025 Call of Duty game could be officially revealed during Black Ops 6 Season 4 or 5.