Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 has now been confirmed as the next game in the shooter series, expected later in 2025 based on previous launch timings (no release date has been mentioned officially, though). As someone who enjoyed Black Ops 6 quite a bit, I should be quite excited to dive back into the spy-tinged world of Black Ops, right?
Well, I find myself thinking back to the last time Activision released two consecutive games from the same sub-series, wincing as I’m reminded of what I consider to be the worst Call of Duty game ever released. Of course, I’m talking about 2023’s Modern Warfare 3.
It was a real low point for the series. It received the lowest score TechRadar Gaming has ever given a Call of Duty game, and frankly put, it was a perfect storm of recycled content, blatant corporate greed, and the worst parts of the live service model all rolled into a $70 / £70 package.
With Black Ops 7 following just one year after Black Ops 6, these are the five things Treyarch has to nail to swerve the mistakes of Modern Warfare 3 and avoid the same disappointment.
A proper Call of Duty campaign
Of all the criticism leveled at Modern Warfare 3, the one that crops up the most regularly is the fact that it’s just a glorified expansion disguised as a full game.
This is glaringly evident upon loading up the campaign, which features open-ended missions that take place in recycled Warzone locations.
The Modern Warfare 3 singleplayer story mode runs three to five hours in total, woefully shorter than the rather excellent blockbuster offerings featured in the games preceding it: most notably Modern Warfare 2 and Black Ops Cold War.
It’s abundantly clear from the outset that the one-year break between Modern Warfare games led to a pared-down campaign experience, a decision that just doesn’t mesh with the game’s $70 / £70 price tag.
We don’t know all that much about Call of Duty Black Ops 7 yet, only that its campaign is set to follow on from fan-favorite Black Ops 2. We also know that the campaign will feature co-op, something that immediately raises alarm bells for me, as I predict more open-ended Spec Ops-style missions that lack a strong story element.
After brilliant campaigns in Black Ops: Cold War and Black Ops 6, Treyarch needs to keep the quality high, regardless of the integration of full squad co-op. If Black Ops 7 follows the extremely consistent launch schedules of the franchise so far (you could set your watch to it), it’ll arrive just one year after the last Black Ops campaign.
As such, I’m concerned about the accelerated development timeline and unconvinced that it could possibly lead to a proper Call of Duty campaign. We’ll have to wait and see.
Brand new maps, designed around Black Ops 7’s gameplay changes
The Black Ops 7 announcement confirms “brand new maps” for Black Ops 7, which should help the game avoid one of the biggest missteps of Modern Warfare 3.
Strangely, Modern Warfare 3 (2023) launched with a set of maps composed entirely of remade environments from Modern Warfare 2 (2009). While it was nice to see maps like Favela return looking better than ever, there was a clear mismatch between the fast-paced gameplay of Modern Warfare 3 and the design of the nearly 15-year-old maps.
Hopefully, Black Ops 7 will feature mostly new maps at launch, especially given that Omnimovement will be returning in a slightly updated capacity.
Now that you can dive in any direction and sprint around with much more control, players need maps designed around enhanced movement, built to accommodate and complement Omnimovement from the outset.
A revised price point
Since Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Call of Duty games now launch day one on Xbox Game Pass. This has alleviated the frustration of having to shell out $70 / £70 each year for a new Call of Duty for those who use the subscription service, but not for players on other platforms like PlayStation.
I do wonder whether Modern Warfare 3 might have been received better had it been positioned as more of an expansion and priced accordingly. If Black Ops 7’s campaign ends up being a pared-down experience, and the multiplayer offering is kept largely the same as last year, then it’d really help if Microsoft could lower the price of the game at launch.
Of course, this would mean having to admit that these annualized sequels are less than their full-priced counterparts, which isn’t something I see happening anytime soon.
I remember loading up Modern Warfare 3 for the first time back in 2023. After a massive download, I was greeted with the same launcher, the same persistent error messages, and only a slight UI change to confirm that yes, this is actually a different game from the one I’d already paid for last year.
It was a tough pill to swallow, one that soured me on Modern Warfare 3 almost immediately.
If Black Ops 7 is to be accepted by the player base as a distinct entry from Black Ops 6, there has to be more time put into setting honest expectations. If Black Ops 7 is a slimmer package, which its potentially extremely quick release cycle would suggest it is, then I’d love to see a $50 / £50 price point at launch.
If it is actually a full Call of Duty title, which it may well be, then that full price needs to be reflected in the launch offering of maps, the scale of the campaign, and the evolution of mechanics like Omnimovement.
At present, we don’t know too much about Black Ops 7, and it’s entirely possible that this is a very different development situation from what happened with Modern Warfare 3.
Treyarch and Raven are leading development here, potentially just one year after launching a mainline Call of Duty, one that’s still being updated as we speak, and that makes me question just how possible it is that Black Ops 7 could release in a state that justifies its status as a sequel.
If we are to see more of these annualized follow-ups to mainstays like Black Ops and Modern Warfare come directly after each other, perhaps it’s time to drop the numbering schemes and switch over to yearly expansions to an ongoing platform.
Black Ops 7 definitely has a lot of convincing to do before I’m ready to shell out another $70 / £70 so soon. Hopefully, whatever it ends up being will be worth it.
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