Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Isn’t Lazy, It's The Series’ Biggest Swing In Years | gamescom 2025

Remember those messed-up missions from the Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 run wherever you’d instrumentality connected a shapeshifting molecular monster oregon interruption into someone's representation situation to hunt for the truth? Well, things are lone acceptable to get weirder successful Black Ops 7. Set 10 years from now, it’s looking arsenic mind-bending arsenic it is mold-breaking, arsenic Treyarch and Raven Software’s latest shooter steps adjacent further retired of the series' accepted subject boots and backmost into a adjacent aboriginal afloat of snazzy tech and otherworldly horrors. It’s not conscionable successful the run that things are changing up either, with some multiplayer and zombies receiving galore caller additions and impactful changes. The assemblage is inactive retired connected however galore of these volition marque the desired impact, with large overhauls to however online play works and an extended caller acceptable of communicative missions promised, but from archetypal impressions, the past happening I’d imagination of calling this year’s effort is lazy.

“Did a elephantine machete conscionable driblet retired of the sky?” yells Michael Rooker arsenic a 30-foot spinning leaf stabs the crushed earlier him. Yes. Yes, it did, Michael. The seasoned quality histrion plays Mike Harper, 1 of 4 members of Black Ops 7’s SEAL Team Six squad who was archetypal seen successful Black Ops 2, but is adjacent grizzlier successful his caller 2035 form. Also connected the squad are the returning Eric Samuels and David Mason, with the second sporting a caller look and dependable courtesy of Heroes’ Milo Ventimiglia. They’re joined by New-Zealander “50/50”, a decorated worker with a bionic limb augmentation. She completes the squad connected a ngo which is being kept mostly nether wraps for now, but takes them crossed the satellite successful a communicative that besides includes Kiernan Shipka of Netflix’s Sabrina arsenic CEO of The Guild, a self-declared past enactment of defence against an imminent threat.

But what astir those elephantine falling machetes? Well, Black Ops 7 doesn’t conscionable instrumentality spot successful our world, but successful realms conjured by a fearfulness toxin seemingly unleashed by returning bid antagonist Raul Menendez – a elephantine mentation of whom tin adjacent beryllium seen looming implicit immoderate levels. Yes, Associate Creative Director Miles Leslie did so corroborate that Batman Arkham’s Scarecrow was an inspiration for specified encounters. This peculiar marque of biologic warfare grants the improvement squad the quality to warp missions to their originative volition and interruption escaped of the real-world constraints that Call of Duty made its sanction with. I’ve seen glimpses of wildly overgrown corridors that look astir post-apocalyptic successful design, and looping Tokyo freeways that bend-over-backwards, Inception-style, stretching into the sky. I’ve seen adjacent to thing of the existent ngo plan yet, but astatine slightest successful presumption of ocular style, it’s surely adjacent to past year’s lauded effort, arguably displaying a wider spectrum of ideas. Mission assortment is promised to backmost up those visuals, and if the squad is looking to emulate past year's premix of free-form sandbox plan with espionage-infused encounters, past that tin lone beryllium a bully thing.

These unorthodox surroundings beg for caller sci-fi tech-infused gameplay mechanics too, and, portion appearing not to veer arsenic futuristic arsenic Call of Duty did successful its Advanced and Infinite Warfare days, Black Ops 7 does person immoderate caller toys to play with. The ones that caught my oculus were mostly movement-based, whether it beryllium the Mega Jump, which lets you emergence precocious into the aerial earlier landing with an impactful thud, oregon the quality to some grapple to ledges and partition leap to distant platforms. It’s not rather the parkour splendour of Titanfall 2, but thing that reminds maine of that peculiar masterpiece of a shooter run gets a thumbs up from me.

So these levels that propulsion our protagonists into paranoid twists of memories service arsenic the mind-bending information of Black Ops 7, but what astir the mold-breaking? Well, that comes successful the signifier of 2 large changes coming to this year’s campaign. The archetypal is the information that this year’s single-player mode isn’t wholly that. In an echo of Black Ops 3, it is afloat playable solo, but besides successful teams of up to 4 players successful co-op, with each controlling a antithetic subordinate of the squad. As a large instrumentality of co-op games, arsenic good arsenic idiosyncratic who yearns for the heady days of Modern Warfare 2’s Special Ops mode, this excites maine greatly. Each of the 11 missions from commencement to decorativeness tin beryllium played with friends, including the brand-new endgame.

The 2nd of Black Ops 7’s large shake-ups, this last “mission” is designed with replayability successful mind. Taking spot successful an unfastened satellite called Avalon, you and your friends marque your mode done steadily unlocked areas that summation successful trouble and enactment your skills and chosen loadouts to the test. The purpose is to past for arsenic agelong arsenic imaginable earlier getting retired – and portion that whitethorn dependable similar an extraction mode, Treyarch explained to maine that this is really much of a proving ground. “There's nary loop, there's nary taking worldly out. It's truly astir surviving,” explains Leslie. “That's what the endgame is; survive, instrumentality your worldly in, and really, you're going to get launched backmost into Avalon each opened up now, and you're going to effort to enactment done these benignant of mysteries that unravel.”

From there, you’ll statesman a full caller powerfulness curve travel arsenic you look to physique your chosen quality up to a powerfulness level worthy of taking connected its last challenge. You’ll beryllium capable to equip caller perks and abilities not recovered successful the modular communicative missions and make an relation tailored to your circumstantial playstyle. The snag? If your squad is wholly wiped retired portion connected an excursion, you suffer each advancement for that character. It’s designed to make a consciousness of jeopardy not recovered anyplace other successful Call of Duty, creating the consciousness of a genuine endgame enactment connected par with thing similar a Destiny raid.

How successfully this volition play retired is, of course, yet to beryllium seen, but it each feels successful work of Black Ops 7’s tendency to support each of its modes connected and, crucially, to support you coming backmost to play them arsenic overmuch arsenic possible. This is further supported by the information that you’ll present gain conflict walk XP from playing the campaign, arsenic good arsenic circumstantial limb camos that tin lone beryllium unlocked done progressing heavy into the endgame. All of BLOPS 7’s modes are connected, and it's thing the studios person gone to large lengths to emphasise, having begun enactment connected this year’s Call of Duty astatine the aforesaid clip arsenic Black Ops 6. This parallel improvement is what gives maine hope, having been antecedently acrophobic astatine the perchance less-than-12-month accumulation clip the studios whitethorn person had. To perceive this has been a semipermanent task and not a hastily stuck unneurotic 1 fills maine with confidence, particularly considering however overmuch I enjoyed past year’s campaign.

But, of course, the run is lone 1 portion of the feast being enactment connected by Raven and Treyarch, with some multiplayer and zombies making up the remainder of the menu. We’ll beryllium capable to delve deeper into some of these modes successful greater item astatine a aboriginal day erstwhile we get to spell hands-on, but for now, we cognize that determination are galore top-level changes. Of course, for MP, determination are a full big of caller weapons, scorestreaks, and maps to play with. These see the Echo 12, a caller dual-burst shotgun with a rotating underbarrel magazine; the Rhino scorestreak, which is fundamentally a controllable mech juggernaut; and 16 maps astatine launch, of which 13 are brand-new. This excavation volition people beryllium added to post-launch – I was teased that 1 known arsenic the “Stakeout Killer” is presently being tested wrong of Treyarch’s walls. Black Ops 6’s fashionable tiny flat has the imaginable to beryllium usurped, it seems, by 1 that is arsenic “fast and frenetic”.

Then there’s a full caller benignant of multiplayer mode called “Skirmish”. This 20 vs 20 showdown takes spot successful 1 of 2 specially designed arenas that are larger than the average. Almost similar mini slices of Warzone locations, teams volition vie against each different to unafraid objectives and implicit missions successful a mode that resembles Cold War’s Fireteam mode and the much caller DMZ endeavours to varying degrees. I person my doubts astir however fashionable this mode volition become, however. Call of Duty doesn’t needfully person the top way grounds erstwhile gathering multiplayer modes connected a grander scale, with their mastery coming astatine adjacent quarters arsenic opposed to city-wide sniper battles. This benignant of enactment is amended suited to their competitors, and successful the aforesaid twelvemonth arsenic Battlefield 6 seems to beryllium returning that bid to a erstwhile glory, I fearfulness Skirmish whitethorn conscionable go different failed experimentation by comparison.

Outside of large caller additions, determination is besides a long, agelong database of tweaks and changes being made to the multiplayer formula. These include, but aren’t constricted to:

• The instrumentality of looping scorestreaks, but arsenic a perk.
• The demotion of tactical sprint to a perk alternatively than a halfway skill.
• Not being capable to purpose down sights erstwhile sliding, diving, and partition jumping.
• Being capable to strafe erstwhile mounting a gun.
• Being capable to prestige idiosyncratic weapons to unlock caller camos and exclusive attachments.
• Scorestreaks tin beryllium “overclocked”, meaning the much you usage them, you’ll beryllium capable to unlock alternate versions with tiny boosts to however effectual they are.
• Three caller hybrid playstyles are being added truthful you tin premix and lucifer antithetic categories of perks, but not beryllium punished for doing so, and inactive get bonuses.
• A caller specializer wildcard replaces your scorestreaks with 3 perks of your choosing that unlock astatine circumstantial people totals during a match.
• Weapon physique codes tin present beryllium shared with others and easy copied into your game.

That’s conscionable a sensation of what multiplayer has successful store, with a scope of small-to-big sweeping changes making their mode to Black Ops 7. And past there’s Zombies. Taking spot wholly successful the lore-centric Dark Aether for the archetypal time, this year’s undead mode pits the archetypal Zombies formed of characters against yet much hordes of gruesome threats. Very small was shown to maine astatine this stage, but if you’re a instrumentality of the mode, the committedness is that you’re going to person plentifulness to get stuck into. There’s adjacent the instrumentality of the fan-favourite, top-down, twin-stick Dead Ops Arcade mode, which promises to connection yet different furniture to this game-within-a-game-within-a-game behemoth that is this year’s Call of Duty.

Believe it oregon not, I’ve lone conscionable scratched the aboveground of what’s coming with Black Ops 7. Its operation of the chaotic caller attack to its campaign, its revamped and retooled multiplayer, and the fan-service flourishes of Zombies makes for a precise breathtaking prospect. Whether it each comes unneurotic and ends up firing connected each cylinders remains to beryllium seen. But with this overmuch to beryllium excited about, it’s looking highly unfair to statement this year’s Call of Duty arsenic lazy.

Simon Cardy is simply a Senior Editor astatine IGN who tin chiefly beryllium recovered skulking astir unfastened satellite games, indulging successful Korean cinema, oregon despairing astatine the authorities of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Follow him connected Bluesky astatine @cardy.bsky.social.