The popular slide cancel mechanic in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War has been removed from the game in its Season Three update. The popular movement mechanic, which involves starting a slide move after sprinting before cancelling the animation midway to quickly get back up again, was first seen in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 and became even more popular in 2019’s Modern Warfare and its battle royale complement Warzone. While an originally unintended mechanic, slide cancelling remained part of the series even through the release of the most recent Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War.
The latest title in the Call of Duty franchise just launched its Season Three update, which introduces a wealth of content that developer Treyarch recently shared in a roadmap for the season. Some of the new things that players can experience in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Season 3 include a new battle pass, multiplayer maps and modes, a new scorestreak, and more. Many balance changes have also been made to the entry’s multiplayer mode, some of which might prove quite controversial among players who follow the fast-moving meta.
Call of Duty pro player Attach shared a clip on Twitter showing himself attempting and failing to perform a slide cancel after the Season Three update went live. The clip, which comes from one of their recent streams, reveals that rather than cancelling the slide animation, it simply gets players “stuck in the slide” rather than quickly righting them and allowing ADS. The removal of slide cancelling will mean players will have to be more mindful of when and where they slide or sprint ,as it will now take a bit longer for them to get out of the animation and acquire a target.
Unlike the Season Three weapon balance changes that only affect a select number of weapons and playstyles, the removal of slide cancelling affects a significantly larger number of players given its prominence – especially at higher levels of play. Those who have gotten used to the movement mechanic and have developed the muscle memory to execute it without much thought will be the ones most affected by the change, as they’ll instinctively attempt to perform the move and remember that it is no longer available. That will no doubt be compounded by simultaneous players of multiple Call of Duty games, as the move won’t be nerfed across all titles.
While slide cancelling was never an “official” feature of the series and its removal feels like an inevitability, its popularity will definitely incite reactions from the community. It’ll be interesting to see how the player base, especially competitive and pro players, will respond to this huge change in the game and if slide cancelling will end up being restored later on in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War‘s lifespan.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is available on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC.
