Call of Duty: Black Ops 7

With each new entry, Call of Duty pushes the boundaries of all it can encompass that much further. Campaign, multiplayer, progression, cosmetics, and dedicated specialty modes like Zombies all constitute the greater whole of Call of Duty's annual entries. Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, then, looks to continue building up and out.

We got a look at what's in store for Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 in a virtual press preview, going over details big and small about this year's entry. This year's Call of Duty looks to meld its predecessor, Black Ops 6, with a beloved favorite in 2012's Black Ops 2. And Treyarch seems to be taking some interesting swings with how it all ties together.

Set in 2035, the campaign mode of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 will follow David Mason (now Milo Ventimiglia) on a mission into the futuristic cityscape of Avalon. Raul Menendez has somehow returned. Tech conglomerate The Guild, under CEO Emma Kagan (Kiernan Shipka), leads a robotic security force to assuage the world's concerns.

Activision

Mason and his team—Mike Harper (Michael Rooker), Eric Samuels (John Eric Bentley), and Leilani Tupuola (Frankie Adams)—infiltrate Avalon to find out what's going on, only to stumble into a trap, get blasted with a new fear-intensifying gas, and get sent on a mind-bending FPS campaign through surreal landscapes and locales.

The campaign can be played solo or with up to four friends, and Treyarch is pushing its global progression system through it. You can gain XP in Black Ops 7's co-op campaign, same as in Multiplayer or Zombies, and earn mode-specific rewards too.

The greatest change for Call of Duty's campaign is the Endgame mission, which looks like a new mode unto itself. After reaching the finale of Black Ops 7's linear campaign, receiving some degree of "closure" in the process, a new mission called Endgame opens.

Activision

In Endgame, you drop into a fully open Avalon with your Operator of choice, progressing and levelling up all the while. Slowly building out a kit, players in Endgame will be able to venture deeper and tackle tougher foes in a massive, tiered map. If your squad wipes, though, you lose all progress for the Operator. You'll need to escape to keep what you've gained. 

We saw some brief gameplay clips of this mode, and it looked reminiscent of Call of Duty's ever-popular spin-off Warzone. Big maps, lots of mobility, and tons of tension. Treyarch is aiming for a degree of replayability and progression, akin to Zombies, for its campaign. I'm admittedly more curious about this than the linear story, which looks like a more traditional, shoot-and-scoot FPS campaign compared to last year's Black Ops 6.

In terms of unified changes across the foundation of Black Ops 7, there is a wall jump (not run, Treyarch emphasized), and a combat roll. Players can also move while mounted. Both tactical sprint and aiming-down-sights while sliding, diving, or wall-jumping have been moved to respective opt-in perks.

Activision

Weapon prestige returns, with prestige-specific attachments and camos. Treyarch is also lining up tons of arms for your arsenal: 16 of the 30 launch weapons are new. Aspects of your loadout can be "overclocked" as you ramp up in a match, and combat specialties return with three new options for those who still want to mix-and-match perks.

At first glance, Black Ops 7 certainly stirs up memories of Black Ops 2. It's not quite slowed down, but maybe a bit more deliberate and concentrated. You can see some of the reverence in the multiplayer, as some returning maps (Raid, Express, and Hijacked) are on the docket.

We did get a brief look at the Skirmish mode, a 20 vs. 20 option set in larger maps with designated objectives and four-player squads. It's another dabbling in large player count battles, and will undoubtedly draw comparisons to Battlefield. The increased firepower of Black Ops 7's score streaks and overall weaponry might help this not feel like a novelty, but we'll have to get some hands-on time to make a full judgement call.

We only got a tease of Zombies, which looks inspired by TranZit and involves a "Wonder vehicle." More information on that mode is arriving with a later beat.

Treyarch's focus with Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 feels like a unification, in some ways. The lean into co-op, endgame, and progression makes Treyarch's goals feel like one big, unified CoD ecosystem.

It could certainly help in getting some players to dip their toes into other modes. With a strong competitor returning in full-force soon, there's some pressure on Call of Duty to hold its ground. Treyarch's wide design space and universal progression system could be a key to that.