Black Ops 7, outta nowhere! In retrospect, I’m not surprised it turned up at the Xbox Summer Showcase. Microsoft invested a substantial amount of time and money acquiring Activision, so of course, it’d want the publisher’s pièce de résistance to appear.
I don’t think anyone could have predicted the way it showed face, however. It’s a contender for the strongest Call of Duty reveal trailer since the first Black Ops in 2010. It looks more like a Remedy game than a Call of Duty one! Admittedly, I missed the tell of the Black Ops 2 era tech in the build-up to the Mason reveal, but when the penny dropped, I shot out of my seat.
The closing seconds ramp up the Black Ops 2 vibes, featuring advanced technology and wingsuits alongside the familiar hues of blue and orange. The choice of Nine Inch Nails’ “The Hand That Feeds” was sublime, given Trent Reznor’s connection to the game.
Turning off my COD brain for a second, the trailer’s placement as the show closer was a slight oversight from Xbox. For anyone not invested in Call of Duty, Black Ops 7 isn’t an exciting title. It might entice some to try out the game, but I think having it earlier in the show, potentially even as the opening reveal, would have drawn less ire.

I don’t love the title Black Ops 7. It makes sense, but we’re bordering on parody at this point. There’s got to be a better way to continue the Black Ops sub-series than pushing the number dangerously close towards double figures. Or, y’know, start a new sub-series!
Treyarch is the first studio to release back-to-back Call of Duty titles since Infinity Ward developed Call of Duty 1 and Call of Duty 2. That sounds like an exciting premise until you remember what we know about the perils of Call of Duty development.
A tweet from CharlieIntel does suggest that development for Black Ops 6 and 7 started simultaneously. This builds confidence that BO7 won’t arrive in a subpar state. Nevertheless, it’s frustrating that Treyarch gets the short end of the stick once again.
The revelation that two games have been worked on in tandem could explain why Black Ops 6’s post-launch support has felt inconsistent (particularly in multiplayer). It also renders the “they had 4 years” argument useless (not that it was a particularly compelling piece of criticism in the first place, but I digress).

I can understand the cynicism surrounding the game, but I’m feeling pretty good about it, all things considered. I’d have preferred a Year 2 of Black Ops 6, but you know how it goes: death, taxes, and a Call of Duty every year.
It’s been a while since Call of Duty has had a co-op campaign. It’s something Treyarch often pushes for, so I’m not surprised that it’s co-developing it with Raven. I wonder if some of the concepts from the scrapped Black Ops 4 campaign will feature, or if this is an entirely new design.
I rank Raven’s Cold War and BO6 campaigns on the same level as the classic COD campaigns, so I have no reason to doubt them at this stage. That said, I do expect the campaign to be shorter than that of Black Ops 6. Maybe that’s just the Modern Warfare III PTSD kicking in, though.
I appreciate a campaign that tries something different. Black Ops 3’s campaign was a clusterfuck and, by all accounts, thrown together at the last minute, but it was provocative and had some unique ideas for a Call of Duty game. I’d take another campaign like that over the tedium of the Modern Warfare reboot trilogy any day.

Focusing on David Mason is smart. He’s a fan-favourite character despite only appearing in one game, and it will be interesting to see how similar he is to the Mason we saw in BO2. Milo Ventimiglia is an excellent bit of casting and puts us one step closer to a Rory Gilmore operator.
The confirmation of brand-new maps coming to Multiplayer is welcome, considering many assumed we’d see a boatload of BO2 maps. I’m sure we’ll see a few, but as long as there are some fresh ideas too, I’m fine with a dose of nostalgia.
To cap things off, we even got a glimpse of Zombies. While it’s difficult to make much out, I’m not going to ignore the clear insinuation that Tranzit is returning. After years of rumours, it might finally be time! I love when Treyarch goes back and tries to improve on the past (Grief is a timely example), but making Tranzit an enjoyable experience feels like a gargantuan task. Godspeed, if true.

Before any BO7 Zombies reveal, I expect to see events unfold at Janus Towers in Black Ops 6. After Shattered Veil turned up the heat on the story, I’m looking forward to it! S.A.M. has control of the fully charged Sentinel Artefact, Panos is up to no good for his mysterious benefactor, and Richtofen has a plan. What could go wrong!?!
Black Ops 7’s tagline is “Embrace the Madness”, and honestly, that’s sound advice for everyone. The Call of Duty machine rolls on with or without us. As long as I can find something enjoyable to grab hold of, I’ll accept the chaos that surrounds it. I’ve never played a Treyarch Call of Duty that I haven’t loved. Sure, I’ve had problems with each of them, but the positives always outweigh the flaws. I’m excited about the prospect of another year of Black Ops, come what may.