Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 preview — The future is NOW

It’s kind of crazy to think we’re finally getting a sequel to one of the best Black Ops games thirteen years later. It might be even wilder that we’re getting it in the same year as the timeline of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. If we’ve learned anything from Top Gun: Maverick, it’s never too late to do a sequel. I took a trip out to Treyarch to take a look at the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, and what I saw leads me to believe the devs have a firm grasp on how to approach a follow up to a beloved title, even so many years later.

My presentation began with Yale Miller, Director of Production at Treyarch, walking us through what the team has been about. With fall around the corner, they're in the thick of development, but it didn’t start a year ago. The concept of this game has been done in parallel with Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, always the intended follow up to their efforts last year.

As with most of these, we heard a lot about how Treyarch and Raven Software want to make a unique experience. Doing things only found in a Black Ops game, pushing the envelope of what those games are, and more. While some may chalk those up to buzzwords, each presenter demonstrated their passion for the series, with some having been on these games since the humble beginnings of the Black Ops series.

Miles Leslie, the Associate Creative Director at Treyarch, Jon Zuk, Associate Creative Director at Raven Software, and Natalie Pohorski, Lead Producer at Raven, were up to talk campaign. This year’s mantra is unleashing the future of Black Ops. To do this, they’ll feed off of what occurred in Black Ops 6, while doing something drastically different from it. Pushing boundaries starts with them embracing the madness, which is exactly what I wanted to hear after playing the stellar Emergence mission from BO6. This world elicits fear, which is shaped by past decisions. If you weren’t aware, these decisions were first made back in Black Ops 2, so it’ll be really interesting to find out which choices are canon from the branching narrative.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 takes place in 2035, a full decade after the events of Black Ops 2. Here’s hoping we don’t have to wait until then for that sequel. Although there will be plenty of new tech and movement available, the teams want to make sure it connects to the past correctly, making this a true sequel to what happened back when. Every mode you play, whether campaign, Zombies, multiplayer, and Warzone will take place in this era, making sure the battlegrounds you’ll fight on all fit within the timeline.

It was at this point we saw the first trailer that was just revealed at gamescom’s Opening Night Live. Call of Duty trailers always bring the hype, and this one doesn’t disappoint. This looks like the Black Ops 2 sequel we’ve all been waiting for. Beyond the moments that put smiles on our faces, like seeing familiar characters from Black Ops 2 return, we were also greeted by one of last year’s crew. Troy Marshall will be a confidant to David Mason, and we’ll see more of the roster make appearances through intentionally pulled threads.

Probably the most epic pieces of the trailer involved the hallucinations from some sort of gas. With fear being the driving force behind Menendez’ schemes, there were several moments where Mason’s team is obviously fighting in some messed up scenarios… all occurring in their heads. When a two-story machete slams into the ground from the sky, something is wrong. The trailer draws on that, with a ton of sequences that just have to be caused by whatever toxin the team is tripping on.

Seems like you’ll be tripping in more ways than one too. Just like previous Call of Duty games, the globetrotting will take you from the streets of future Tokyo, to the jungles of Nicaragua, to the snow-covered mountains of Alaska. Each locale provides a fresh spectacle, so what appears to be a constant change in scenery looks like a great choice. Matched with trippy mind-bending levels, there’s a lot to like here, with a total of eleven missions – with more on an extra surprise shortly.

The narrative will be focused on David Mason, who is played by none other than Milo Ventimiglia. David’s story is where the heart of Black Ops 7 lies, with his struggles with personal demons of the past always in front of him. Sure, he’s the pillar of strength for his team – Spectre One – but the choices made in Black Ops 2 haunt him.

Alongside him returns Mike Harper, who many will remember fondly given his being played by Michael Rooker, who also comes back for the assignment. His personality shines through, with a crass and hilarious outlook that is necessary in keeping things balanced. Eric Samuels and Leilani Tupuola also join the team, played by none other than John Eric Bentley of FFVII fame, and Frankie Adams of The Expanse. Eric is the stoic, no nonsense member of the group, with Leilani filling out the squad as an augmented soldier who’s survived a disease and said augmentation. The expense hasn’t been spared in bringing Spectre One to life, that’s for sure.

It’s also not been spared on the visuals, which still don’t get the credit they deserve from the video game industry. We were treated to one of the in-game cinematics featuring a conversation between David and Troy, and my word it’s gorgeous. We might as well be watching an actual movie at this point. The tone is well set, with both stopping by Frank Woods' grave at a cemetery, discussing Menendez’ return. David thinks he’s dead – which hints at least somewhat at the true ending of Black Ops 2 – but somehow he’s back. Troy sends them on a mission to find out more, and the scene with Spectre One prepping to drop on a plane is great, with plenty of tropey soldier banter that fits perfectly.

While Menendez is being hailed as the villain, I feel like we’re probably going to end up with The Guild being the true enemy. This corporation has stepped in to defend the world after all of the attacks of the past, along with these new threats. CEO Emma Kagan is played by Kiernan Shipka of Mad Men acclaim, and I feel like we all know what happens when big name actors take charge of operations featuring robots in Call of Duty coughKevinSpaceycough. Her philosophies in handling the incoming danger differs from David’s, so the dynamic will be interesting to watch… especially if our initial impressions are incorrect regarding her allegiances.

Treyarch choosing to set up a true sequel to Black Ops 2 by tying it into Black Ops 6 could end up genius. With Troy Marshall becoming a mentor to David and Spectre One, and the campaign having ties to Avalon, these integral parts link it all together. There’s a flow I can see from the outside that has me salivating over the conspiracies that could be uncovered as each chapter progresses. Beyond just this, everything I saw seems like the ideal blending of both worlds; it’s like playing Black Ops 2 with Black Ops 6 framework.

Before our look at the campaign came to a close, we got to see full-on gameplay – which I wouldn’t be surprised to see at gamescom. This is the mission the team was prepping on the plane for: infiltrating a Guild facility in Avalon. As obvious as it is, this looked exactly like a stealth Call of Duty mission, but the co-op aspect has me excited to see how these missions play out. Being able to coordinate with your team about using active camo to sneak through an area, toss a snapshot grenade to get the drop on a few soldiers, or simply set up crossfires will make playing the campaign even better. I’ve been begging for a co-op campaign since Black Ops 3, and Treyarch seems to have their finger on how to do it right.

Once Spectre One is drugged by the “fear toxin”, the mission took a slight turn. That being one with gigantic machetes. Thankfully, this is where new abilities come into play, with the team unlocking the Mega Jump to hop through a small platforming segment in the shared hallucination. From what I could see, the levels are a bit more open to accommodate for the extra players, but they aren’t like the open missions found in Modern Warfare III. Linear is still the aim, but with a bigger playground to fight in.

All of the gunplay looks as excellent as always, with Call of Duty consistently having the best gunplay out there. I was happy to see a lack of futuristic weaponry available, and while some more advanced tech is at your disposal, 2035 is still grounded. You’ll still need to keep an eye on your magazine at any rate – no laser recharging for you. The detail on these weapons is definitely taken from Black Ops 2, with designs that are reminiscent and even pulled from the title.

Arguably the most interesting development came at the end of our campaign presentation, with Kevin Drew making an appearance. Yes, Associate Director, Design and Zombies savant Kevin Drew. This wasn’t regarding Zombies, but a new idea from the team. While there is in fact a definitive end to the campaign narrative at the eleventh mission, you’ll get the opportunity to take everything you’ve learned into a new campaign experience: Endgame. This “final mission” has you and up to three others wingsuit into the Avalon map in a 32 player PVE mode.

I’m reminded a lot in theory of Modern Warfare Zombies. Although you won’t be collecting loot, your main objective in Endgame is to use all the tools and gear you’ve earned along the way to conquer NPC foes. As you complete tasks on this map – not sure how that exactly works as of yet – you’ll level up your skill rating and upgrade skill specializations to beat tougher enemies. There are tiered zones on the map (another similar idea from MWZ), and you’ll want to stay out of them if your combat rating isn’t high enough. If your squad gets wiped, you unfortunately will have to start from scratch, a good enough reason to pay attention to your surroundings.

In the little tidbits of gameplay we saw, you’ll have a lot of awesome tools to use. Mega jump lets you leap buildings in a single bound, good for repositioning in a pinch. The grappling hook is also a similar ability, and it functions like the grapple gun in Black Ops 4. Active camo works exactly like you think it does, allowing you to sneak around unseen to take out a baddie. I also saw a deployable shield that makes me think of the bubble shield from Halo 3, and a drone charmer that deploys attack drones. That seems to be just a taste, and I believe this is what a lot of people online are mistaking for BO4 specialists.

Lawrence Metten (Associate Director, Design), took the stage to talk about progression from here. There were a few great additions to talk about, with campaign progression being the headline. Everything you do in the campaign will earn you progression for your weaponry, kit, rank, and battle pass. This connects to the new Endgame mode, with the team wanting to add a way to incentivize the campaign play and allow fun PVE outside of Zombies.

Camos will be ever present as before, but now with a dedicated campaign track as well, adding up to sixteen mastery camos. While they weren’t ready to share much more here, the Shattered Gold camo looks outstanding. Beyond this, Weapon Prestige is also returning, with three tiers on each one. As a reminder, prestige involves resetting your level for the benefit of rewards. Your first tier will unlock a camo but also a Prestige attachment, the second with another camo and award, with the third being a Master Prestige along with an exclusive camo. Grinding your guns isn’t going away; you’re going to have a lot of reason to use those double XP tokens. Oh, and speaking of grinding, weekly challenges are back, baby!

My favorite part of Lawrence’s chat was the announcement of build codes. This simple addition will keep me from repeating attachments to my friends over and over. You can share your weapon build to your friends directly, or generate a code to share online with others. I cannot talk enough about how great this feature is, especially being someone who follows meta builds and tries out new configurations regularly.

After Lawrence, Associate Director, Design at Treyarch Matt Scronce took the floor to talk multiplayer and Omnimovement. Something I immediately noticed in the gameplay shown to us was a change of pace; players didn’t seem to be in an all out sprint. This is intentional; the team has now made tweaks to how you’ll engage with their movement systems.

New to Omnimovement is a wall jump. It’s not a run, but simply bouncing off a wall. Everything I saw of it makes it seem like a nice addition rather than an overpowered mechanic, and hopefully it’ll assist in Uplink making a comeback. In any case, none of the footage I saw made me think this will take away from the boots on the ground feel we’ve regained the last few outings.

In Black Ops 7, tactical sprint is not on by default. Neither is aiming down sights while sliding or diving. To use these features, you’ll have to utilize the perk system, which is in my mind the best possible decision. Tools aren’t being taken away from players, they’re having to choose what tools they want to use in each battle. Pick 10 may be gone, but the spirit of it lives on in this adjustment.

Perks like Looper for looping scorestreaks, Networked for sharing buffs with your team, and Agility for increased movement speed and recovery time are examples of new additions. Gung-Ho is a familiar perk, but a new change has it offering the player the ability to fire their gun while sprinting. Specialist is coming back as well, giving players the option to eschew scorestreaks for the opportunity to earn extra perks. One change has you unlocking every perk for going on a scoring rampage, which is a sweet bonus.

Your armory is going to be familiar, but with its own 2035 flair. The Eagle assault rifle is inspired by the Rampart, the Puma is a callback to the PDW-57, and much more. The Peacekeeper will even be one of the first post-launch guns. That doesn’t mean there isn’t anything new to write home about, as the team has sixteen total new or variant guns joining a thirty weapon launch arsenal. There will be plenty to play with, along with a full contingent of attachments to figure out.

Speaking of attachments, loadouts largely resemble what you know and what’s in Black Ops 6 currently. Primary weapon, secondary, lethal, tactical, field upgrade, three perks, a combat specialty for those running the right perks, and a Wildcard. Treyarch wants things to stay simple, tweaks without added complexity. The idea is that you need to work to master your loadout, which can open up new avenues for improved and altered gameplay styles.

Combat specialties was one of the ways they did that in Black Ops 6, and that’s why it’s coming back in Black Ops 7. Everyone has different playstyles, but it’s cool to spec out a character, for instance, in Diablo 4 with the intention of an extra bonus. One of these new combat specialties – Overwatch – would give you bonus score from bullet kills when you get assists, perfect for players who rain down damage but don’t always get the benefit of the kill. Captain gives additional field upgrade charge for anything counting as a stealth kill, something a flanker like myself can appreciate, especially if I’m trying to charge active camo.

That leads into another new system that rewards intentional choice: Overclock. This new mechanic gives bonuses to players that level up their lethals, tacticals, field upgrades, and scorestreaks just for using them. It reminds me of the Pro mechanic perks once had, but without as many detractors as that one had. For example, Active camo’s Overclock will give you faster charge speed, with a second boost earned adding a recloak after firing your weapon. I’m extremely interested to see how this system evolves, and hopefully it won’t be too overpowered in practice.

Scorestreaks have also gotten a makeover, like a new robot “Wheelson” in the D.A.W.G. drone. Overclocking it allows you to turn it into a sentry gun, or add a trophy on top. Watching the Rhino, a remotely controlled humanoid robot sprint around the map like a speedy Juggernaut was terrifying. The Gravemaker might be my favorite of the new streaks, a huge sniper rifle with a thermal scope that allows you to not only see enemies through walls, but also shoot them. I assume some of those benefits are locked to the Overclock functionality, but I do hope ammo on this thing is limited.

The only new mode we were privy to was something a bit different from Treyarch: Skirmish. This is a big mode, 20 versus 20, with four player squads that work to do a variety of objectives. These will involve capturing, destroying, and escorting. Given Treyarch’s affinity for faster play, their maps for this mode aren’t going to be on the scale of something like Ground War, but it will feature more verticality than the 6v6 maps. Speaking of that, wingsuits and grapples will be in play (which won’t be in the core multiplayer experience), along with vehicles for traversal and combat.

This is where Brittany Pirello, Senior Producer stepped in to talk about the map set. Launch will feature eighteen total maps, with two of those being Skirmish maps (which are pulled from Avalon) and three remakes in Raid (YESSSSSSSSS), Express, and Hijacked. It wasn’t discussed, but none of the markers in the presentation indicated if 2v2 modes were present in Black Ops 7, or if any of these maps are made for that purpose.

What we do know is that Treyarch has heard our feedback on design. Brittany is all about more medium spaces for competitive play, which is music to my ears as a heavy Ranked Play gamer. The classic, three lane map is being reinforced in Black Ops 7. There also weren’t any doors present that I saw, with a couple of auto-opening ones like we had back in Black Ops 4.

From here, David Duckworth (UI/UX Director), and several of the art team came out to tell us about improvements they’ve made to make Black Ops 7 easier to navigate and better looking than ever. C-Link is what they’re titling the HUD, which has a lot of Black Ops 2 and Black Ops 4 vibes to it. It’s somewhat transparent, with an augmented reality inspired design showing through. This will also bleed into your menus, and in controlling your scorestreaks. Winners Circle is also getting an overhaul, but we’ll have to wait and see what that looks like in the eventual beta test.

Mike Chubb and Rob Moffat also showcased several tech improvements. Maximum particle effects are coming, snow depressing as you walk across it, and getting VBOIT in place for active camo were all stunning advancements in what this engine can deliver. Most impressive might be the fog, which is not only better in an atmospheric way, but in that passing through it moves the fog itself. I’m curious if this physics-based breakthrough might make its way over to the smoke grenades eventually – Treyarch could begin to challenge Counter-Strike 2 in that way if they can master the tech involved.

Of course, we can’t talk about atmospheric fog without getting into Zombies; this is a big reason why they’ve put so much work into it. Kevin Drew returned to the stage, to offer up only the biggest round based Zombies map they’ve ever made. I didn’t catch the name of it, but it stretches around like a big figure eight, with six different zones you’ll visit along the journey. In between these zones are transition spaces which have rules outside of round-based Zombies, and that’s because you’re going to need a vehicle to make the trek from zone to zone.

I heard the words “Wonder Vehicle”, and that caught my attention. The image we were shown is a truck with what looks like an electric turret on top, razor wire on the borders, and the coup de grâce in three abomination heads strapped to the hood. They look active too, that there’s an ability tied to them. Kevin spoke on how TranZit-coded this new map is, and how this Wonder Vehicle is more or less a fifth member of the squad that you’ll need to solve the quest.

You’ll also need a crew to handle it, and our Black Ops 6 group returns… this time with even more help. The original crew is coming back, although it’s mysterious how they’ve ended up in this Dark Aether timeline. That, and this is a new iteration of this group, so don’t expect a full on retelling of the story. This is a new narrative that’s being followed, although the team is hard at work to maintain respect for what came before.

Survival maps are how the team is going to give you more than just a singular huge map. Treyarch saw how heavily new players engaged with Liberty Falls, as it’s a smaller space to just run around and have fun. My guess is that a few of the zones will become new survival maps, with another somewhat remade map coming in what looks like Farm from Black Ops 2. We didn’t get much more on other locations as I’m sure the team has surprises coming. I do question how the seasonal cadence will work with this, but we’ll hear more about that in an upcoming dedicated Zombies brief in early September.

Two last surprises: Dead Ops Arcade is coming back, and a teeny cutscene. Not only that, but just like everything else, it’ll support progression. This twin-stick shooter is one of my favorite easter eggs from Black Ops 2, so seeing it come back in a full fledged fourth entry makes me smile. On the trailer, there isn’t much, but there were heavy footsteps from an individual who is carrying a skull in a bird cage walking towards the new and original crew in what seems to be a lab. Make of that what you will.

To finish up, Yale Miller, Stephanie Snowden, and Ben Lewis took us through the final section of the presentation. First up, date. Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 will be released on November 14th. Call of Duty NEXT is also just a little ways away, coming late September.

Secondly, community response was addressed. For multiplayer, more 6v6 maps were promised, with clear lane definition in them. Building these maps in a way that works for Omnimovement, while slowing things down a bit by taking tac-sprint out by default is another way they’re allowing players to “play their way”, raising the skill gap for Black Ops 7. Zombies is set entirely in the Dark Aether timeline, along with Survival maps and Dead Ops Arcade returning. I really liked this callout – each map will have an intro cinematic.

For the progression piece, the changes are clear cut and appreciated. Weapons prestige offers even more for players to do alongside unique attachments. Weekly challenges coming back are great, and I hope Treyarch will look at what Sledgehammer did with them in Modern Warfare III as a blueprint for success. New camos for campaign progress are also awesome, especially with Endgame now installed as a component for grinding.

Even though I’m not as fond of Carry Forward, I don’t mind some aspects of it. Confirmed during the presentation was that Day One, your Double XP tokens and Gobblegums will be available. I’m all about that. Season 1 of Black Ops 7 will bring even more content over, and from what I know, this should involve everything Black Ops 6 offers. Whether this will be exclusive to Warzone, or bring my Jackal over to BO7 multiplayer is yet to be seen. Personally, I don’t mind operators, but I prefer we don’t mix the ‘90s in with 2035.

On the topic of said cosmetics, Activision is aware of the discourse surrounding the wilder skin options. Although we didn’t get any indication on change, with the broader community to serve, they are at least considering nerfing the choices in the future. Any conversation here is a win, and here’s hoping the skins can get a little less gaudy in Black Ops 7.

Ricochet was also touched on briefly, with mostly details we just recently learned. TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot are coming, and will hopefully help the fight against cheating. This isn’t something that’s been held back until now, but fully investigated to make sure it’s done right. Come Black Ops 7 time, you’ll have to have both of those features enabled, including for Warzone. Speaking of Warzone, we’ll find out more about those future plans at Call of Duty: NEXT, so stay tuned.

I know this has been a lot to digest, and it’s been a lot for even me to take in as I’ve perused my notes. Listening to the passion of the team and watching what they had to show left me all too ready to dive into what Black Ops 7 will offer come November. Yes, you probably wanted Black Ops 3 to follow up on what happened in Black Ops 2. But, even thirteen years later, Treyarch seems to be on the path to the best possible continuation of a story line that left us all exhilarated. With things like Endgame, a new TranZit-inspired Zombie map, pace changes in multiplayer, and more, I foresee another thousand hours of Call of Duty in my 2025-2026.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 will release on Xbox Series consoles, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and PC on November 14th. Day One on Xbox Game Pass.