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Black Ops 6 Zombies' Fun Pack-a-Punch Names Are the Tip of the Iceberg

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January 18, 2025

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Zombies fans were treated to a very eventful 115 Day this year. Within a massive blog post, Treyarch teased the game’s next Zombies map, with The Tomb set to debut on January 28. Treyarch teased the return of an iconic Call of Duty SMG, hinted at an Origins staff-like Wonder Weapon, and shared an image of the dig site players will be exploring. With story teasers as well as a music snippet shared, and quality-of-life additions unveiled, 115 Day shed a ton of light on Season 2 and made it something for Zombies fans to look forward to.

However, that’s not all that the big 115 Day post provided. Alongside a collection of fan art and weapon replicas designed by the Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Zombies fan base, Treyarch shared some insight into its Pack-a-Punch names, something it has rarely done in the past. Thanks to Black Ops 6’s availability on Xbox Game Pass, there have likely been several players trying Zombies for the first time, and those newcomers may not have expected the silly or referential names for upgraded weapons. Longtime fans will know that this is a Zombies staple, though, with older games also having their share of fun Pack-a-Punch names.

What We Know about Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Zombies’ Tomb Wonder Weapon

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While Treyarch has revealed a fair bit about Black Ops 6’s Tomb, Wonder Weapon info is limited, though there’s still enough to speculate about.

Black Ops 6 Zombies’ Pack-a-Punch Names Explained

Treyarch broke down the logic behind the upgrade names for several Pack-a-Punched guns in Black Ops 6. Some of its explanations included:

Tanto .22 → Kubikiri – Tantos are Japanese short swords, and a version with the blade on the inside curve was used for kubriki, the act of cutting the heads off dead enemies for trophies.
AS Val → AS If – A popular slang term in the 1990s, which serves as the setting for Black Ops 6.
Jackal PDW → Embalmer JNPW – Anubis has the head of a Jackal and is the god of funerary rites like embalming. JNPW is a way to write his name in Ancient Egyptian, showing Treyarch’s attention to detail.
GS45 → Sally & Forth – A nod to the explosive, upgraded M1911 known as Mustang and Sally from the original Zombies modes.
Marine SP → Bakunawa – The Bakunawa is a mythical Philippine moon dragon.
AEK-973 → AOK 5×5 – Per Treyarch, “A-okay, five by five” means someone is receiving a clear radio signal.
Cigma 2B → Ornot 2B – A Romeo and Juliet Reference (2B Ornot 2B? That is the question).
HE-1 → H3-15-H1M – A refererence to the “he’s him.“ meme.
PU-21 → DK Phthisis – Treyarch pointed out that Phthisis is the personification of rot and decay, showing its knowledge of biology.
Thrustodyne Model 23 → Scramjet Model 3200 – With this being the strongest horde-clearing Wonder Weapon in BO6 so far, it makes sense that it’s named after a powerful type of jet engine.

These were just some of the explanations shared in the 115 Day blog post, with future seasonal content drops and Zombies map releases guaranteed to provide even more interesting upgrade names. As shown by the above list, Treyarch’s Pack-a-Punch names do not fall into one category. Rather, they encompass everything from references to biology and mythology, as well as nods to military slang and internet memes. Some names simply strive to be silly or cool-sounding, too, guaranteeing something unexpected every time players pull a weapon out of the mode’s legendary upgrade machine. This trend is unlikely to go anywhere, either, as it’s been around since the very first Zombies game World at War.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Zombies’ Best Season 2 Content Might Not Even Be The Tomb

A huge amount of content was recently announced for Black Ops 6’s Season 2 update, and a new Zombies map is just the tip of the iceberg for the mode.

CoD Zombies Has Been Delivering Clever Pack-a-Punch Names For Years

Call of Duty: World at War’s Der Riese map marks the first appearance of Pack-a-Punch, and by extension, unique weapon upgrade names. While many of the upgraded guns in PaP’s debut follow the “cool” route, like the PPSh-41 becoming the Reaper or the Kar98k becoming the Armageddon, there were still some familiar naming conventions used all the way back in 2009. The Thompson’s transition to Gibs-o-Matic is on the funny side, while the Panzerschreck’s upgraded name of Longinus is the first nod to mythology. Once the original Black Ops rolled around, the number of interesting names only increased, and they continued to appear in every Treyarch Zombies experience. Some of the many standouts include:

Python → Cobra (BO1) – Going from one snake to another.
Commando → Predator (BO1) – Likely a nod to the Predator film franchise.
FN FAL → EPIC WN (BO1) – A funny play on the weapon’s base name reading like “fail,” with the upgraded version being a “win.”
MP5K → MP115 Kollider (BO1) -> One of many upgraded weapons to pay homage to Element 115 from the Zombies storyline.
Mauser C96 → Boomhilda (BO2) – A fun play on Brunhilda, a figure from old German stories, which suits the weapon given its country of origin.
M1927 → Speakeasy (BO2) – A reference to illegal bars run by mobsters during the Prohibition era.
AK47 → Reznov’s Revenge (BO2) – An homage to Viktor Reznov, an important character from the Treyarch Call of Duty games.
Olympia → Hades (BO2) – With the base weapon named after the home of the Greek Gods, its fitting that the upgraded version is named after one of these gods.
Bootlegger → Ein Sten (BO3) – A fun double-reference, both to the renowned scientist Einstein and the Sten SMG, which the Bootlegger is clearly based on.
HVK-30 → High Velocity Kicker (BO3) – One of many cases where Treyarch assigns an entertaining acronym to a weapon.
MX Garand → Leng’s Ping Beast (BO3) – A nod to the Lovecraftian mythos.
Dingo → Dire Wolf (BO3) – From one canine to another.
Welling → King and Country (BO4) – A reference to the British-made pistol’s place of origin.
Koshka → Bakeneko (BO4) – The base weapon means cat in Russian, so it’s fitting that the upgrade variant is a yokai with a cat appearance.
MOG 12 → OMG Right Hook (BO4) – A funny name where MOG is used as an anagram and its letters are rearranged. The 12 is likely for 12 rounds, explaining the right hook boxing reference.
Argus → Ancient Harbinger (BO4) – A reference to Argos Panoptes, a Greek giant covered in eyes.
E-Tool → Ace of Spades (BOCW) – A shovel is also referred to as a spade.
Diamatti → Die-A-Lotti (BOCW) – One of many PaP names that is purely a silly play on words. When dual wielded, the other pistol is called Die-A-Morri.
MAC-10 → Royale With Lead (BOCW) – A reference to McDonald’s Big Mac burgers.
Galil → Gravitas (BOCW) – In Black Ops 4, the Galil was renamed to the Grav, which this upgrade name pays tribute to.

Unique upgrade names are not exclusive to Treyarch’s round-based modes, as MWZ and Vanguard had them, too. Additionally, the non-Treyarch modes Exo Zombies, Infinite Warfare Zombies, and WW2 Zombies kept the trend alive with their own upgrade names.

While many Call of Duty Zombies fans may not think twice about the name change their gun receives once Pack-a-Punched, those that do will not regret it. Whether it’s a silly name that puts a smile on the player’s face, or a deep cut that inspires them to learn something new, there is plenty of love that goes into this small touch. That’s something that deserves appreciation, and with a few hundred Pack-a-Punch names over the years, there is plenty for fans to celebrate. With a bright future ahead for Call of Duty Zombies, too, that list is only going to grow.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Tag Page Cover Art

Forced to go rogue. Hunted from within. This is Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.

Developed by Treyarch and Raven, Black Ops 6 is a spy action thriller set in the early 90s, a period of transition and upheaval in global politics, characterized by the end of the Cold War and the rise of the United States as a single superpower. With a mind-bending narrative, and unbound by the rules of engagement, this is signature Black Ops.

The Black Ops 6 Campaign provides dynamic moment-to-moment gameplay that includes a variety of play spaces with blockbuster set pieces and action-packed moments, high-stakes heists, and cloak-and-dagger spy activity.

In a best-in-class Multiplayer experience, players will test their skills across 16 new maps at launch, including 12 core 6v6 maps and 4 Strike maps that can be played 2v2 or 6v6.

Black Ops 6 also marks the epic return of Round-Based Zombies, the fan-favorite mode where players will take down hordes of the undead in two brand-new maps at launch. Post-launch, players can look forward to even more exciting maps and groundbreaking experiences dropping into both Multiplayer and Zombies.