The non-stop annual release schedule of the Call of Duty franchise is showing no signs of slowing down, with attention already starting to shift away from the highs and lows of Black Ops 6 and towards 2025's major project for the longstanding series. While nothing has been officially confirmed by Activision in terms of what this upcoming title will look like, a series of high-profile rumors and leaks paint a clear image of what fans might come to see from Call of Duty in the near future.
Allegedly, 2025's Call of Duty title will be a direct sequel to 2012's Black Ops 2, being set around the 2030s alongside the outlandish game mechanics that this kind of near-future setting brings with it. While continuing the single-player narrative of a Black Ops 2 sequel is a fascinating prospect, a lot of debate is already circulating about how this 2025 project's multiplayer might handle its ties to BO2 in terms of map remasters and returning weapons. Black Ops 2 possesses one of the most iconic weapon arsenals that the franchise has ever seen, so Activision will have a big choice to make in terms of maintaining or reverting the controversial changes that were made to sniper rifles like the DSR-50.
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CoD 2025's Potential Reliance on Black Ops 2 Content Would Carry the Torch of Some Controversial Weapon Changes
A lot of uncertainty still exists around the development process of 2025's Call of Duty entry, with reports suggesting that the game is still without an assigned main developer, but rumors of the game being a sequel to Black Ops 2 are only growing stronger over time. Of course, this would make the past two entries to the massive Activision franchise back-to-back Black Ops releases, running the risk of emulating the controversy that surrounded the lack of gameplay variety within 2022 and 2023's consecutive Modern Warfare releases.
Like 2023's Modern Warfare 3, there are already allegations that 2025's Call of Duty will rely heavily on remastered Black Ops 2 content, especially in terms of its launch multiplayer map pool. The new feel and identity of CoD may make these maps play very differently compared to their original portrayals. If this is the case, then it only seems logical that 2025's CoD will continue BO2's semi-futuristic setting by adopting the 2012 game's weapon arsenal. Among these, its sniper rifles pose some interesting questions that 2025's release will have to answer.
2023's Modern Warfare 3 was criticized for its launch map pool, composed entirely of pre-existing remasters, as well as its infamously short campaign. Consecutive Black Ops releases potentially face these same issues.
Black Ops 2's multiplayer is largely considered as one of the best in Call of Duty history. The game played a major role in the classic quickscoping era of the IP. Bolt-action sniper rifles like the DSR-50 and the Ballista were a staple of Black Ops 2 quickscoping before some infamous nerfs were implemented late-on into the game's life cycle, with rate of fire and sprint to fire times in particular taking huge hits for the weapons.
Modern CoD's Faster Movement Mechanics Might Work in the DSR-50's Favor
This predictably sent shock-waves throughout large sections of the CoD community at the time, and, while quickscoping is not nearly as prevalent in modern Call of Duty, 2025's release would be in a unique position to either honor the original state of these sniper rifles or to continue their divisive final builds. There is a real possibility that 2025's alleged BO2 sequel will carry forward the high-octane omnimovement system of Black Ops 6, meaning that faster movement and firing speeds with sniper rifles could feel more in place than other recent CoD releases. This would work in favor of the DSR-50's original state.
While 2025's Call of Duty release should aim to foster its own identity, its rumored ties to Black Ops 2 are unavoidable, and the tradition and feel of the 2012 game's original state should still be honored the best it can. Black Ops 2 undoubtedly played a huge role in CoD's long history of quickscoping and unique styles of play with sniper rifles. Therefore, a sequel to the title faces a massive decision in terms of whether it is worth continuing in the franchise's modern identity.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 83 /100 Critics Rec: 91%
- Released
- October 25, 2024
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Suggestive Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
- Developer(s)
- Treyarch, Raven Software
- Publisher(s)
- Activision
- Engine
- IW 9.0
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op
- Cross-Platform Play
- Yes - PlayStation, Xbox, PC
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- FPS
