I've always been a fan of Call of Duty's campaigns. Long before I had Xbox Live, I was replaying Call of Duty: World at War and Modern Warfare 2's campaigns on repeat, loving their intense atmosphere and bombastic set pieces. I've even managed to thoroughly enjoy the objectively bad campaigns, with a few playthroughs of Call of Duty Ghosts still haunting my past self.
But 2023's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 broke me. As an avid fan of 2019's Modern Warfare and a defender of 2022's Modern Warfare 2, I was really looking forward to Modern Warfare 3's campaign. But even I couldn't get past its disappointingly short length, its severe lack of set pieces, and its lackluster rehashing of decade-old twists.
Thankfully, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6's campaign restored my faith in the franchise, offering a suitably fun globe-trotting adventure filled with some genuinely intriguing twists and turns. Now Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 has reared its head, putting its campaign at the forefront of its marketing. And while that's normally a promising sign, there's something about this new campaign that's setting off alarm bells inside my mind.
All The Right Pieces Are There for Call of Duty: Black Ops 7's Campaign To Be an All-Timer
Nostalgia Is At The Forefront of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7's Campaign
Set 10 years after Call of Duty: Black Ops 2's campaign, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is bringing back David "Section" Mason, son of Black Ops 1 protagonist Alex Mason. Raul Menendez is back as well, and with the game's plot revolving around some kind of Batman: Arkham Scarecrow-like fear toxin being unleashed on the team, there's plenty of room to bring back other past Black Ops heroes, villains, and locations as in-game hallucinations.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 has the rare opportunity to deliver as much fan-service as it wants without risking the story's believability, and that's an exciting prospect for a long-time Call of Duty fan.
Co-Op Is Back in Full Force in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7
I've got a strong personal connection to Call of Duty's co-op modes. Much like any other long-time CoD fan, I've put countless hours into Call of Duty Zombies' various iterations over the years, roping in just about anyone and everyone I could to play a round with me, from siblings who were way too young to be playing, to Uni friends, to my wife. I even tried to get my grandparents to join me atop the balcony at the back of Der Riese many moons ago.
But Call of Duty's co-op campaigns also hold a special place in my heart. I have fond memories of playing through Call of Duty: World at War's campaign twice in one day with my cousin, and I remember making the most of Black Ops 3's divisive campaign with my university pals.
All that's to say that I'm excited by Call of Duty: Black Ops 7's return to four-player co-op. Each Specter One member looks fairly distinct, and the story looks like it'll suit co-op gameplay well. But it's where Call of Duty: Black Ops 7's co-op leads that's worrying me.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7's Endgame Is Ringing My Alarm Bells
Avalon Is Bringing Up Some Bad Memories
In the recent Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Direct, it was stated that the campaign will feature 11 missions in total, and between these "specialized missions," players will "go back to Avalon." Described in the Direct as a "massive space" where players discover the truth behind Menendez's reappearance, Avalon is a futuristic city run by tech conglomerate The Guild.
It's unclear exactly what players will be doing during these Avalon-set missions, but the gameplay shown during the Direct gives me big Modern Warfare 3 Open Combat Mission vibes, with players gunning down a horde of NPC soldiers in a large open area. The vague description of these levels makes me a little cautious of Black Ops 7's campaign.
Call of Duty campaigns are usually at their best during mostly linear missions where set pieces can be timed and used effectively to create memorable moments. These moments are even more impactful when they're tied with key narrative beats. Call of Duty: Black Ops's 'Vorkuta' is a perfect example of this.
My worry is that, much like MW3's Open Combat Missions, Black Ops 7's Avalon levels won't feature strong story moments or hand-crafted set pieces.
A 32-Player Endgame Could Be Fun, But At a Price
But by far my biggest fear for Call of Duty: Black Ops 7's campaign revolves around its "Endgame," which seems to be set entirely in Avalon. The campaign's "final mission," Black Ops 7's Endgame will see players' team of four expand to a whopping 32 real-world players. All co-existing at the same time, these 32 online players will complete various open-world activities, defeat Guild enemies, earn loot, earn XP, and extract.
On paper, this sounds like it could be a lot of fun. Players will have access to a bevy of powerful new abilities in the Endgame, some of which have never been seen in Call of Duty before, such as a super jump that allows players to leap several stories. Each Operator comes with a unique set of skills and progression system as well, which sounds quite enticing. It sounds like Call of Duty: Black Ops 7's Endgame could be a strong evolution of Modern Warfare 2's short-lived DMZ mode.
The entirety of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7's campaign will also feature Global Progression for the first time in Call of Duty history, allowing players to level up their weapons and earn XP, which carries over to Black Ops 7's multiplayer and Zombies modes.
But this isn't a new standalone mode. It's the final mission of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7's campaign, and that worries me. Black Ops 7's Endgame is simultaneously being touted as the campaign's final mission and an infinitely replayable mode that players are expected to drop countless hours into. These two things seem to be, at least to me, antithetical to one another. How can a climactic finale be infinitely replayable?
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7's story needs to have a proper ending, and I have serious doubts that Endgame is going to offer one.
I Know It's Too Early to Judge, I just Don't Want to Get Burned Again
Of course, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 isn't out yet, and I personally haven't played it. These are just my own personal thoughts following the game's showing at Gamescom ONL, and by most accounts of the press who have actually gotten hands-on with Black Ops 7, it's shaping up to be a promising game. It just isn't the first time a Call of Duty game has promised to "break the rules of what you thought a campaign could be" and not stuck the landing.
-
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
