Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 lands as the largest entry in the series, despite releasing just a year after Black Ops 6. Built across several studios alongside its predecessor for years, that quick turnaround undersells the sheer volume of content here. Black Ops 7 features a fully cooperative campaign that flows into a new extraction-driven, large-scale Endgame mode, an expansive Zombies suite, and a refined and slightly expanded multiplayer experience.
In addition to the seven modes of content, notable improvements across the entire game include the most layered progression and rewards system the franchise has ever seen and the evolution of Omnimovement, which adds in wall jumps and more for a smoother flow that make traversal and encounters more dynamic, agile, and fluid, without feeling complicated or overwhelming.
Black Ops 7 is rich in content, but it also spreads itself thin, delivering good experiences here and there instead of great ones. At least, for the most part. It delivers something for almost every type of Call of Duty player, for better or worse.
Black Ops 7’s Campaign Is A Sci-Fi Detour That Never Fully Clicks
The campaign is the biggest departure from classic Call of Duty storytelling so far. It embraces science fiction, psychological horror, and shifting realities even more than its predecessors. Much of the story unfolds inside the minds of its characters, while the external plot ties back to Black Ops 2 and the 2025 timeline through the influence of a tech-driven group known as The Guild whose motivations are as expected, unclear, and cliché as can be.
The narrative focuses on personal stories. Missions dig into the backstories, trauma, and fractured memories of the squad, with a few little twists that feel true to Black Ops tradition. The cast does a lot of heavy lifting here. The performances are excellent across the board, supported by an impressive and memorable lineup of actors who add emotional weight, or at least, cool moments, even during surreal or goofy missions.
However, some squad members who are central to major plot beats are not developed enough to carry them. No spoilers here, but a few playable characters barely receive any build up, which makes certain turns and sequences land with less impact than they should.
Missions are built primarily for co-op play, and the lack of AI squadmates creates awkward storytelling gaps and gameplay moments when playing solo. Cutscenes reference characters who are not present, wield weapons that don’t match what the players are using, and in-mission dialogue assumes a full team that never appears beside you. It feels broken or incomplete in this regard, most notably so when interacting with mission objectives with no one to hold off enemies. You can hear them shout at you, but they are only there via voiceover until the next cutscene. It’ll make you miss the old days of fighting alongside of NPCs.
The always online structure of the co-op campaign creates more friction. There is no pausing or mid-mission checkpoints, and a disconnect or update can erase progress. While the global progression system being included is welcome, the campaign struggles to stand alone as a tightly crafted narrative, nor is it trying to be immersive or serious.
Combat leans heavily into arcade mechanics and the plethora of boss battles adds to this theme. Enemies have armor and health bars, many serving as bullet sponges. Loot chests provide color coded weapons. Ammo comes from universal pouches dropped from enemies. Upgrades unlock at fixed moments rather than through attachments, customization, or scavenging. Abilities like the grapple hook keep things lively, but the entire structure often feels more like onboarding for the game’s PvE modes and Warzone than a classic blockbuster Call of Duty experience.
There are moments of atmosphere and strong performances, but the campaign never fully comes together. It’s stylish yet fragmented and unable to give its cast the development they deserve, nore does it offer much in the way of commentary of what war may look like a decade from now like Black Ops II did successfully.
Endgame Is A Promising Sandbox With Long Term Questions
As Black Ops 7’s campaign concludes, the story sets up how the fight will continue in Avalon against The Guild. During the credits there are a few extra scenes about this continuation of the campaign, a first for the series. In practical terms, Endgame is the extraction style PvE mode that hosts up to 32 players and fills the space left behind by DMZ and MWZ.
The large-scale map, featuring unlimited enemy NPCs and big enough to host a battle royale, splits Avalon into four difficulty zones with locations inspired by earlier Black Ops titles. Each area ramps up difficulty and encourages players to explore, loot, and take on challenges at their own pace with the primary goal of leveling up the Combat Rating of operators.
Progression in Endgame is very rewarding. Each operator has a combat rating that increases as you play, and leveling up feels meaningful. At every level you are presented with a binary choice between two upgrade paths. You do not choose which two options appear, only which one to take, which gives operators some identity without offering true, full customization. And you can level up each of your operators differently.
It should be noted that Season 1, the largest season content drop in Call of Duty history, will deliver the first-ever campaign-related DLC included in a Call of Duty season, along with limited-time events and giant bosses. Endgame is flexible, entertaining, and full of potential, but its long-term appeal will depend on how the development teams expand its missions and challenge structure. DMZ and MWZ felt relatively unsupported and quickly abandoned to have much value in the later seasons so here’s hoping Endgame gets much more love.
Zombies is A Wild Ride and Packed With Content
Zombies is one of the strongest aspects of Black Ops 7 and long-time Zombies players are in for a treat. Or treats, I should say. The main map, Ashes of the Damned, is the largest round-based zombies map ever. It’s divided into zones with roads connecting them, each with its own challenges. Vehicle play, especially the Wonder Vehicle, a truck that we can consider the fifth player, adds an awesome, new strategic layer.
Black Ops 7 offers multiple Zombies experiences in addition to the massive, main round-based map. There’s the returning Survival mode for classic endurance play, and the punishing Cursed mode to be unlocked that’s evne more difficult. For me though, I fell in love with Dead Ops Arcade 4 which brings back the top-down classic (which has appeared in every odd-numbered Black Ops to date) larger than ever, complete with new systems and dozens of levels. There’s lots of playability here in the volume of locations and you can even play first-person and take advantage of most perks, ammo mods, augments, and GobbleGums too.
Boss battles are bold and visually wild, and Season 1 will introduce the directed, guided mode to help players follow the main quest more easily. I’ve said this before in past Call of Duty titles, but more than ever, Black Ops 7’s Zombies offerings could easily be packaged as own game. The variety of modes and progression paths is impressive.
Black Ops 7’s Multiplayer is Polished, Competitive, and Loaded With Content
Multiplayer is the most complete and consistent part of Black Ops 7. The movement system blends sliding, diving, omnidirectional traversal, and the new Wall Jump into something fast and responsive, and most of all, smooth. The 2035 aesthetic gives gear and maps a clean and more vibrant identity – something that holds true across the entire game – and visual clarity is strong throughout matches.
Black Ops 7 launches with the largest set of 6v6 maps in franchise history. The rotation includes a healthy mix of new locations and returning favorites, with more on the way. It feels like a confident lineup from day one.
Loadout building is a bit more flexible this year. Perks are more clearly defined, some even have been tweaked since the multiplayer beta sessions, and new Hybrid Specialties combine two perk categories to create more distinct playstyles, something that benefits players like me who want more choice in defining buffs that match my play style. It is a simple system on the surface but that change, even as something passive, offers more depth to build upon Black Ops 6’s systems.
In terms of new features, Black Ops 7 also introduces the Overclock system, letting equipment, Field Upgrades, and Scorestreaks improve through use. It adds a small but noticeable sense of progression within each match and encourages players to think more strategically about their gear, though in most cases it’s unnecessary and distracting.
If you love Call of Duty multiplayer, Black Ops 7 totally delivers.
There are nine core modes and eight hardcore variants at launch, including the new Overload mode, which I find to be an unexpected highlight. The most notable mode, however, is Skirmish. It is a wild 20v20 experience with fast redeploys, vehicles, wingsuits, and rapidly changing capture points. There are two maps for Skirmish, and one embraces verticality and is so much fun. Whereas core multiplayer mostly focuses on 6v6 competitive play in tighter areans, Skirmish is the answer to players like me who love the larger player count Ground War modes from older Call of Duty games.
Black Ops 7 Has The Most Layered Progression System in Call of Duty History
Progression spans the entire game. Players level from 1 to 55 across all modes, and then, as I detailed in my preview coverage, enter a ten-tier Prestige ladder. Each tier awards exclusive cosmetics and a permanent unlock token. After all ten Prestiges, the level cap extends to 1,000 with additional mastery rewards.
Weapons have their own level paths and prestige tracks. There are unique camos to unlock, not only through multiplayer and zombies, and Warzone again, but for the first time, in the co-op campaign. Players and weapons earn XP across every mode, even Dead Ops Arcade 4 and again, the co-op campaign. And we already talked about the Endgame combat rating progression and in-game Overlock system.
There’s so much to do that players will not be able to earn all the camos across every mode.
Black Ops 7 Is A Massive, Ambitious Package That Mostly Comes Together
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is enormous, and it’s fun, even if so much of it is familiar. Zombies is expansive and inventive, Multiplayer is polished and competitive, and Endgame is freeing, fun, and promising. The progression systems are the most layered the series has ever offered, and the overall mobility and gameplay fluidity benefit from meaningful Omnimovement upgrades. On PC and PS5, the game runs smoothly with strong optimization, fast loading, and stable online performance across most modes, although the campaign occasionally delivered freezing and enemy animation stutters.
The weak point of the package is the campaign. Its always online structure, mismatched plotting, and loot-focused arcade mechanics prevent it from reaching the narrative or emotional heights expected of a Call of Duty story. Its aim at being personal ended up feeling too small, and as a result, its bold ideas are not capitalized on.
Black Ops 7 is ambitious, feature packed, and often enjoyable, but a bit uneven. It offers more content than any Call of Duty before it, most of it adequate, some great, and some not so much. Players who love the traditional multiplayer or love bouncing between modes will find huge value and variety. Those looking for a cohesive narrative or a more focused identity may be left wanting.
- Released
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November 14, 2025
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Drugs
- Developer(s)
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Treyarch, Raven Software
- Engine
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IW Engine
- Multiplayer
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Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op
