Black Ops 6 'New Zealand Trick' Is Going Viral For This Week's Xbox Launch

Look, it's no secret at this point that Xbox has a 'New Zealand trick' that often allows people to play new releases earlier than in their own region, and it's already been figured out that the trick will work for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.

If you want to risk it, Black Ops 6 buyers and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members should be able to get access starting this Thursday rather than Friday as intended, and it doesn't actually require much effort to get it working.

Let's take a look at how the New Zealand trick works on Xbox, and all the details you need to know:

Black Ops 6: What Is The New Zealand Trick?

For the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Activision is scattering the release times for each region. New Zealand is the country that gets access first, and Xbox fans are obviously eager to begin playing the game as soon as possible.

The way it works by changing your region to New Zealand in the Settings menu on your Xbox, and then restarting your console so you appear as though you're in New Zealand. It's not difficult at all, but Microsoft technically frowns upon it.

You may also need to change your Activision account region to New Zealand before you're able to play.

Black Ops 6: New Zealand Release Date & Time

Black Ops 6 launches in New Zealand at 4am PT / 7am ET / 12pm BST on Thursday, October 24th.

This is well over 10 hours earlier than the unlock times for these regions, all of which are set at 00:00am on the 25th.

Should I Use The New Zealand Trick For Black Ops 6?

So, here's the thing. We've been watching people use the New Zealand trick on Xbox for years now, and we've never heard of Microsoft taking any action against them. They've also never closed the loophole that allows it to happen.

That said, it's not something you're really supposed to do, and it's within Microsoft's (and Activision's) power to issue a warning, a ban, a region block, or whatever else they decide to impose. Is it likely? Probably not, especially considering how many people will be using this trick for Black Ops 6. It's always a possibility though, so it's at your own risk!

The safest option with all of this is just to wait for the official launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 in your region, and don't forget you can preload it right now so it's ready to go on Friday - you'll need to make some room for the install!

You can check out more details about that down below, along with our recent impressions of the BO6 beta.

What are your plans for Black Ops 6 this week? Let us know down in the comments section below.

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