Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 was part of Gamescom's Opening Night Live event, with gamers getting a deeper look into what to expect from the upcoming entry. With its predecessor not even being a year old yet, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 sets itself apart from the last game by taking place in the near future.
Set in 2035, Black Ops 7 follows David Mason as he takes on a not-so-dead Raul Menendez. The story of Black Ops 7 is teasing plenty of mind-bending psychologically-focused moments, which could prove to be a game-changer for the series. Despite this intriguing change of pace, a major competitor waiting around the corner may take some of the wind out of Black Ops 7's sails: Battlefield 6. According to reports, though, Activision isn't too worried about the competition, claiming that Call of Duty is "too big to fail." This may be the case, but there is still the possibility that Call of Duty has to change its course, thanks to how fast the FPS genre is evolving.
Black Ops 7 and Battlefield 6 Could Set in Motion a New Era for the Call of Duty Franchise
Warzone is Quickly Growing Stale, and Activision Needs to Address the Frustration
On paper, Warzone seems like a success. If one were to go completely by player numbers, the free-to-play battle royale spin-off is doing solid, but the feedback from a lot of the community paints a different picture. Between complaints of stagnant maps and issues with cheating, Warzone has serious problems that have yet to be solved.
The keys to a long-running battle royale game are found in the consistent release of exciting new settings, content, and evolving gameplay. Season 5 of Warzone just launched, but for many, it still feels like the same formula. Black Ops 7 has been teasing some compelling ideas. One of the most eyebrow-raising features promised for Black Ops 7 is Endgame. Endgame turns the finale of the Campaign into a 32-player PvE Co-Op mode. This could either be a strong leap forward or a flop, but either way, Black Ops 7 and its inventiveness could mark the end of Warzone and its outdated approach.
Black Ops 7 launches on November 14.
Battlefield 6's Embrace of the Future Could Force Call of Duty Into a Corner
While Battlefield 6 is looking toward the future, Black Ops 7 is still clinging to the past, as the latter is still set to release for last-gen consoles. The new trailer for Black Ops 7 has already ignited plenty of backlash because of its futuristic approach, which is really ironic, considering that Activision is still relying on old hardware.
Newer Call of Duty games are quickly beginning to look dated because of this, and it's only going to hurt the franchise more if Activision doesn't pivot to current-gen platforms. Whether it's Warzone or Black Ops 7, performance and appearance need to meet modern standards, and refusing to leave the Xbox One and PS4 behind is keeping the series from evolving in any meaningful way.
Black Ops 7 stars Milo Ventimiglia, Kiernan Shipka, and Michael Rooker.
Activision's Confidence Could Be Call of Duty's Downfall
There's no doubt that Call of Duty is still one of the most popular series around, but Activision hopefully realizes that the franchise isn't invincible. Other battle royale games like PUBG have a significant lead over Warzone on Steam, and Battlefield 6's open beta amassed a jaw-dropping number of players. After Black Ops 7's trailer, some gamers are even claiming that it helped them decide on Battlefield 6 over the former. Yearly Call of Duty games will still make money, but letting games like Warzone grow stale and keeping new entries from reaching their full performance potential is bound to drive players away over time.
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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
