Call of Duty Squid Game: Everything About the BO6 Event and the Best CoD Collabs Ever
So Activision kicked off 2025 with something nobody was fully ready for – a full-blown Call of Duty Squid Game crossover that dropped right as Netflix’s Season 2 was still fresh. And honestly? It worked way better than it had any right to. Soldiers dodging a giant robotic doll in a stadium while someone gets erased mid-match? Yeah, that’s exactly the chaos CoD needed after the holiday season cooldown.
The event ran in Black Ops 6 and Warzone from January 3 to January 24, 2025 – three weeks of pure Squid Game energy baked into one of the most popular shooters on the planet. This wasn’t just a cosmetic dump, either. There were actual game modes, a dedicated event pass, and enough lore-appropriate tension to make even casual players feel like they were fighting for 45.6 billion won.
But this collab is also a good moment to zoom out. Because CoD crossovers have become a genre of their own at this point – some legendary, some baffling, and a few that the community still argues about. Let’s dig into all of it.
How the Call of Duty Squid Game Event Actually Worked?
The event launched as part of the Season 1 Reloaded update for Black Ops 6 and Warzone. Treyarch built it to coincide with Squid Game Season 2 hitting Netflix on December 26, 2024 – so the timing was sharp. You’re binging the show, then you boot up CoD and you’re already inside it.
Red Light, Green Light – the Mode That Stole the Show
The standout limited-time mode was obviously Red Light, Green Light, set on the Red Card multiplayer map. Players were placed on a large open field, and Young-hee – yes, the terrifying giant doll from the series – watched over every move. During the Green Light phase, you could sprint toward the finish line freely. The moment Red Light hit, any detected movement got you eliminated on the spot.
The mode ran across three rounds, each two minutes long. Round 1 was pure movement and nerves – no weapons. Rounds 2 and 3 allowed players to pick up melee weapons from envelopes scattered on the field, turning the survival game into something considerably more chaotic. Thin the competition yourself, or just try not to blink at the wrong moment.
Warzone players got their version too. Squads dropped into Urzikstan and took on rotating challenges – if the squad failed, everyone got eliminated together. No second chances. Very on-brand.
The Squid Game Moshpit and Zombie Modes
Beyond Red Light, Green Light, Activision added the Squid Game Moshpit playlist to standard multiplayer. Familiar modes like Team Deathmatch, Domination, and Hardpoint got layered with a Squid Game mechanic – the Red Light, Green Light scorestreak. Call it in when enemies are swarming and anyone caught moving during Red Light gets instantly wiped. It’s the kind of ability that changes a match’s entire momentum in seconds.
Zombies mode didn’t get left out either, with themed challenges added to that mode’s XP progression.
Skins, Bundles, and the Front Man Problem
Here’s where things got a bit layered – but in a way that was actually pretty fair compared to some past CoD events.
Free vs. Premium: What You Actually Got
The event pass had two tracks. The free track gave you real stuff – not just emblems and calling cards. The standout free rewards included:
- Player 006 operator skin (for Niran).
- Player 115 operator skin (for Maya).
- A new Cleaver melee weapon – usable across modes.
- Loading screen, emblem, sticker, and calling card.
The premium track cost 1,100 CoD Points (roughly $4.99 according to the official blog, though some outlets listed $8.99 depending on regional pricing). Premium players earned four additional weapon blueprints – including the High Authority XM4 Assault Rifle, a Knife, the GS45 pistol, and the Saug SMG. The crown jewel was the Front Man operator skin, which sat at the final tier of the premium track. Dressed all in black, mask on, completely recognizable – it’s one of the cleaner CoD skins in recent memory.
If you hit milestones before buying the premium pass and decided to upgrade later, the rewards unlocked retroactively. That’s a small detail, but it showed some thought went into the pass design.
The Store Bundles
Three separate Tracer Packs landed in the CoD store alongside the event:
| Bundle | Contents |
|---|---|
| Squid Game 2: Pink Guards Tracer Pack | Pink Guard operators, weapon blueprints, calling card, loading screen |
| Squid Game 2: The VIPs Tracer Pack | Panther Mask and Lion Mask VIP operators, two blueprints, emblem, frag grenade skin |
| Young-hee Tracer Pack | Young-hee operator skin, “Don’t Move” AR blueprint, exclusive emotes |
These packs ran around $20 each – standard CoD bundle pricing. The Young-hee skin was easily the most surreal one; running around Warzone as a giant mechanical doll never really gets old.
Why This Collab Hit Different?
There’s a specific reason the Squid Game crossover resonated in a way that, say, some earlier CoD collabs didn’t – it came with actual gameplay attached. The Red Light, Green Light mode wasn’t just a reskin of existing content. The core tension of that game – don’t move, don’t make sound, calculate every step – translated into a multiplayer format in a way that felt genuinely stressful and fun at the same time.
Season 2 of Squid Game had just recorded over 68 million views in its premiere week on Netflix, shattering previous records. So the timing made perfect sense. Activision wasn’t chasing a cold IP – they were surfing a wave that was actively cresting.
The Biggest Call of Duty Crossovers, Ranked by How Memorable They Are
CoD has been doing these collaborations long enough now that there’s practically a full history to look back on. Some of them are genuinely iconic. Some are deeply weird. All of them say something about where the franchise has gone since going free-to-play and battle pass-heavy.
When Pop Culture Invaded the Battlefield
The Rambo and Die Hard crossover from 2021 was probably the first one that felt like a true event. Both operators came with film-appropriate content – John McClane running around with a Beretta M9, Rambo with his knife and survival gear. Warzone even got a Nakatomi Plaza point of interest for a limited time. For a lot of players, that was the moment they realized CoD crossovers could actually add something to the experience, not just the store.
Then came the music collabs – Snoop Dogg, Nicki Minaj, and 21 Savage all dropped as operator bundles as part of CoD’s 50 Years of Hip-Hop celebration. Nicki Minaj made history as the first female celebrity operator in the franchise, and she came as “Red Ruby Da Sleeze” rather than some watered-down version of herself. Her bundle included the Nicki Whip vehicle skin. People downloaded CoD specifically because of it, which tells you something about the reach of the franchise at that point.
Other notable ones include:
- Attack on Titan – the Titan mode was genuinely creative, letting players control a Titan in Warzone.
- The Boys – Homelander and Soldier Boy as operators felt weirdly natural for a military shooter.
- Godzilla vs. Kong – kaiju in a battle royale, basically.
- The Terminator and Ghostface (Scream) – classic horror/action IPs that fit the CoD tone well.
- Tomb Raider and Lara Croft – underrated addition, Lara works surprisingly well as a tactile operator.
- Fallout – Vaultboys and Vaulties in Modern Warfare III, timed around the Prime Video series.
The Crossover That Still Makes People Argue
The Warhammer 40,000 collaboration that was teased and then arrived got a mixed reaction. On one hand, Space Marines in CoD feels like a lore stretch. On the other hand, Warhammer 40K players were genuinely excited. This tension is basically the defining feature of any big CoD crossover – someone’s always mad, someone’s always delighted.
How CoD Compares to Fortnite at the Collab Game
People bring up Fortnite whenever CoD crossovers come up, and it’s a fair comparison to make – but the games have always approached collabs differently. Fortnite is built around its cosmetic identity; the whole art direction is designed to make any character fit. When Spider-Man shows up in Fortnite, it feels natural because nothing in Fortnite is trying to be grounded.
CoD is a military shooter. The tonal dissonance is kind of the point, and part of the appeal. Seeing Nicki Minaj in full combat gear next to a guy in a John McClane tank top in a Cold War-era multiplayer map is absurd in a way that’s become its own flavor of fun.
| Feature | Call of Duty Collabs | Fortnite Collabs |
|---|---|---|
| Tone | Intentionally contrasting – military vs. pop culture | Naturally fluid – anything fits the art style |
| Game modes | Sometimes adds themed LTMs (Red Light Green Light, Titan mode) | Frequently adds themed LTMs and map changes |
| Pricing | Tracer Packs ~$20, event passes ~$5-$10 | Battle Pass model, some bundles ~$20 |
| Frequency | Several per season, increasing over time | Near-constant, multiple active at once |
| Community reaction | Often polarized, especially for non-gaming IPs | Generally enthusiastic, less friction |
The honest answer is that Fortnite wins on volume and variety. But CoD collabs tend to feel more surprising – partly because the military shooter context makes them weirder, and weird is memorable.
What Made the Squid Game Event Worth Playing Even If You Don’t Watch the Show?
This is the real test for any crossover – does it add value for people who have zero connection to the IP? And the Squid Game event mostly passed that test. Red Light, Green Light was genuinely fun as a standalone mode because of the tension loop it created. The free-tier rewards were solid enough that casual players had a reason to grind. And the premium pass cost less than five dollars at entry, which is a reasonable ask.
The event also came during a quieter patch window – January, post-holiday, before Season 2 launched. Having fresh content with a built-in cultural conversation around it kept the player count active without needing a massive balance patch to do the heavy lifting.
If you missed it, the skins from the Tracer Packs can sometimes cycle back through the store – CoD occasionally brings back popular crossover content during themed events. The event pass rewards are gone for good, though. That’s just how it works.
FAQ
What was the Call of Duty Squid Game event?
It was a limited-time crossover between Black Ops 6, Warzone, and Netflix’s Squid Game Season 2, running January 3-24, 2025. It included new game modes, an event pass with free and premium rewards, and three Tracer Pack bundles.
What game modes did the Squid Game event add to CoD?
The main mode was Red Light, Green Light on the Red Card map – three rounds, with melee weapons appearing in later rounds. Warzone got squad-based Squid Game challenges, and a Squid Game Moshpit playlist added a Red Light, Green Light scorestreak to standard modes.
Were the Squid Game skins free in Black Ops 6?
Partially. The free event track included two operator skins (Player 006 for Niran and Player 115 for Maya) plus the Cleaver melee weapon. The premium track with the Front Man skin and weapon blueprints cost 1,100 CoD Points.
What was the Front Man skin in the CoD Squid Game event?
The Front Man was the top-tier reward on the premium event pass – a fully masked operator in all black, directly based on the show’s masked antagonist. It was the most sought-after cosmetic from the event.
How does the Call of Duty Squid Game collab compare to other CoD crossovers?
It’s one of the stronger ones because it added actual gameplay content, not just skins. The Red Light, Green Light mode replicated the show’s tension well. Most CoD collabs are purely cosmetic, so having themed LTMs made this one stand out.
What other big crossovers has Call of Duty done?
Plenty – Rambo, Die Hard, The Terminator, Nicki Minaj, Snoop Dogg, Attack on Titan, The Boys, Godzilla vs. Kong, Tomb Raider, Fallout, Ghostface from Scream, and more. The franchise has been running collabs heavily since Modern Warfare’s battle pass era began.
Will the Call of Duty Squid Game skins come back?
The event pass rewards are gone permanently, but the Tracer Pack bundles (Pink Guards, The VIPs, Young-hee) may return to the store during future seasonal or themed events – CoD occasionally brings back popular bundles. Nothing has been confirmed for a rerun as of writing.
The Bottom Line
The Call of Duty Squid Game event wasn’t trying to be subtle. It dropped right as Season 2 hit Netflix, built actual game modes around the IP instead of just slapping logos on things, and gave free players something real to work toward. That combination made it one of the better-executed crossovers in the franchise’s increasingly long list of them.
CoD collaborations aren’t going anywhere. If anything, they’re accelerating. But the ones that stick – Die Hard, Attack on Titan, Squid Game – are the ones where the gameplay actually borrows something from the source material rather than just wearing its clothes. Red Light, Green Light worked because the core anxiety of the game maps perfectly onto a multiplayer shooter. That’s the formula worth repeating.
Whether Activision will find the next one that hits that same note is the real question. Given the pace of the collab calendar, we probably won’t have to wait long to find out.
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