FormaL teases return to competitive CoD—but one feature could thwart his plans

Esports legend FormaL has made it clear he’s considering a return to competitive Call of Duty almost three years after announcing his retirement, but there’s one gameplay feature that Activision would need to get right: CoD‘s “over-the-top” aim assist.

The 29-year-old Halo and CoD veteran has heavily hinted recently he’s keen on checking out Black Ops 6 this September—and he’s so interested he may even pick up the controller and go pro once more. “I am planning on playing [Black Ops 6], I’m planning on playing that fucking shit professionally,” he said in July, though he wouldn’t give anything away when questioned by Scump during coverage of the CoD Championships.

Fuel was added to the FormaL fire in an Aug. 2 stream featuring the ex-CoD legend and 100 Thieves frontman Nadeshot, who all but offered him spot on the LA Thieves roster. “If you want back on bro, you’re in—LA Thieves, book it, bro. You can stay on OpTic with Hector but you’ve gotta rock LAT when you’re playing with us,” Nadeshot declared, then following up by saying he was “not trolling.” We’ll take this one with a grain of salt, but FormaL certainly sounds interested in a CoD return in some capacity.

One thing stands in the way, with FormaL going off while watching older CoD tournaments—just how much aim assist plays into modern-day CoD. “Ever since Warzone‘s been introduced, dynamic aim assist and all this extra shit has drastically changed multiplayer CoD,” FormaL said while showcasing the 2017 final between his squad OpTic and Luminosity. “That is one thing that turns me off about actually returning to CoD and going hard as fuck.”

Part and parcel of the modern CoD gameplay experience is the inclusion and further tweaking of aim assist, especially since crossplay between PC and console became the norm in 2019’s Modern Warfare. FormaL believes it has become a major blight on the game and is hoping the feature is turned down significantly in Black Ops 6.

Given the introduction of omnidirectional movement, a return to pre-Modern Warfare levels of aim assist may greatly hinder those on console. Nadeshot’s stance on aim assist was made clear back in April: CoD needs aim assist because CoD needs the console community.

If Treyarch and Raven Software can find a sweet balance, then perhaps FormaL will actually make a surprise return to competitive CoD. We’ll learn more about Black Ops 6 at CoD Next in August before the game lands in October.