The pre-release journey for the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is now firmly underway, with the official reveal trailer for the project releasing at the Xbox Games Showcase on June 8. While this trailer gave fans some good insight into the premise of the title, it left as many questions as it did answers. It is clear that the game will be a direct sequel to 2012's Black Ops 2, but it remains to be seen how this semi-futuristic setting will translate over to gameplay. - though fans have gotten some insight into the game's movement system.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 will have some big decisions to make in terms of choosing which Black Ops 2 narrative will be canonized, with the game taking place 10 years after the events of BO2 and 30 years before the narrative of Black Ops 3. This lines up very well with many of the leaks and theories that surrounded 2025's Call of Duty title before it was officially announced, although Treyarch recently shot down one other longstanding theory for the game. It was recently confirmed that Black Ops 7 will not feature either wallrunning or jetpack mechanics, instead doubling down on omnimovement, with this choice already having consequences within the community.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7's Reveal Just Made Another Campaign Remaster Essential
Call of Duty has experimented with a few campaign remasters over the years, and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7's reveal should inspire one more.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7's Movement Mechanics Were Always Going to Be Divisive
Movement mechanics have become an increasingly controversial element of the annual Call of Duty cycle, with each game offering at times wildly different movement systems that create distinctly different gameplay. This is an issue that has been following CoD for quite some time, beginning when 2014's Advanced Warfare ditched traditional movement in favor of its now-infamous Exo Suit jetpack system.
Using jetpacks to burst through the air introduced quite a different dynamic to Call of Duty multiplayer, with a similar system being adopted by the following year's Black Ops 3. Wallrunning in particular was unique to Black Ops 3, allowing maps to be designed around the premise of combining wallrunning and jetpack thrust movement to open up a wide variety of potential travel pathways. Many thought that a similar movement system was going to be introduced to the recently announced Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, with the game also featuring a similar semi-futuristic setting.
A complete wallrunning system was even found in the game files for Black Ops 6, making it seem like a sure-thing that the mechanic would appear in the game's direct successor. Despite this, it has been confirmed by Treyarch that neither jetpacks or wallrunning will appear in Black Ops 7. Instead, it is reported that Black Ops 7 will feature an evolved version of Black Ops 6's omnimovement system, which itself has proven to be quite divisive.
It remains to be seen what an evolution of the omnimovement system might look like. Perhaps Black Ops 7's version could offer the ability to burst in a specific direction akin to BO3's thrust-like mechanics, though this is purely speculation.
Jetpacks or Wallrunning Could Have Shaken the More Predictable Nature of Modern Call of Duty
The "jetpack era" of Call of Duty is the center of some significantly split opinions, with fans either fondly looking back on it as a unique and ambitious time or as a complete dark spot in the franchise. Regardless of the entrenched opinions about this kind of movement system, many fans were seemingly looking forward to seeing some real change to the modern Call of Duty formula.
Past games like Black Ops 3 were defined by their unique takes on movement, with it being clear to see why so many were prepared for similar mechanics in the upcoming Black Ops 7. As the in-between title for Black Ops 2 and 3, it seemed sensible for Black Ops 7 to feature a blend between these past games' movement systems, perhaps only featuring wallrunning while omitting jetpacks. Instead, it seems players will be offered a slightly more advanced take on Black Ops 6's more grounded movement. While some players are pleased to hear that these advanced movement systems will not appear in Black Ops 7, this surprising absence has already caused a notable split in the community's opinions on the upcoming project.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 66 /100 Critics Rec: 34%
- Released
- November 14, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Drugs
- Developer(s)
- Treyarch, Raven Software
- Publisher(s)
- Activision
