Black Ops 7 brings back wallrunning, and introduces an unusual endgame mode to the campaign
Gamescom’s Opening Night Live show has brought us a fresh look at this year’s Call of Duty, Black Ops 7 - just as we were promised.
Image credit:Treyarch, Raven Software, Activision.
We’ve been expecting today’s reveal, of course, ever since Activision confirmed back in July that Black Ops 7 would be part of Opening Night Live’s line-up this year. This is technically the game’s second “reveal”, because its first outing was at the very end of the Xbox Showcase back in June .
Today’s showcase was a lot more detailed, offering a look at gameplay that went beyond just a simple teaser of the game’s setting.
First things first, the leaked November release date turned out to be accurate. Black Ops 7 is set for launch on November 14. As for today’s reveal, its focus was mainly on the larger systems, features, and new mechanics arriving with the game. As previously announced, the co-op campaign (four-player) returns, but Treyarch is adding a pretty unusual twist to that.
The campaign’s final mission is what the developer calls Endgame, and it’s essentially a replayable, open-world section with some RPG and extraction elements. You get to customise your loadout and take on missions and other challenges within runs, where you can also level up and earn new abilities.
We also got a look at some of the futuristic weaponry we’ll be able to wield, and a few of the locations we’re going to be visiting. There’s a big emphasis on movement in Black Ops 7, which builds on Black Ops 6 ’s Omnimovement system with new possibilities, including the return of wallrunning.
Round-based Zombies is a core feature of the game, of course. This year, you can look forward to vehicle-based gameplay, as well as the return of Survival maps. Multiplayer was touched on, but the full reveal won’t arrive until Call of Duty: Next on September 30. There’s going to be a beta following that, too, taking place October 2-8.
Black Ops 7’s story takes place in the near future, a decade after the events of Black Ops 2 . The game is the first consecutive Black Ops release in Call of Duty history, following last year’s Black Ops 6 .
As beloved as the Black Ops name is, however, this year’s game faces tough competition in the form of Battlefield 6 , a game whose beta has been breaking records throughout the month , overtaking even the most popular Call of Duty release on Steam.
There’s still a lot yet to be revealed for Black Ops 7, but community sentiment so far has been a lot more in favour of Battlefield 6 over it. Call of Duty rarely misses, though, and even with it does, it still manages to be the best-selling game in the year of its release.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7
PS4 , PS5 , Xbox One , Xbox Series X/S , PC
Watch Call of Duty: Next here for the big Black Ops 7 multiplayer and Zombies reveal
Image credit:Treyarch, Raven Software, Activision.
Though this continues to look like it may not be another year of total Call of Duty domination, there’s definitely a lot of excitement for Black Ops 7 . This year’s game is bringing a lot to the table, even if you can clearly tell the 2025 shooter mindshare belongs to Battlefield 6 .
If you’re a diehard Call of Duty player, however, few occasions command the same level of anticipation as Call of Duty: Next , the big everything-will-be-revealed event Activision hosts almost every year.
Call of Duty: Next returns this month to deliver the one-two punch of finally revealing Black Ops 7’s multiplayer , as well as its Zombies mode . Both modes are changing this year, which is all the more reason to tune in and see how Treyarch and Raven will be able to sell us on the upcoming game.
What is Call of Duty: Next and what to expect?
As with every CoD: Next, the event will feature dozens of content creators who will all be livestreaming their Black Ops 7 gameplay to the world. This goes for multiplayer, as well as Zombies. Before content creators get to run around the maps and play with the new movement and weapons of Black Ops 7, however, the developers will walk us through what’s on offer, and go deeper into this year’s game than any of the previous reveals .
How to watch Call of Duty: Next
On Tuesday, September 30 , all of us will be swimming in several hours of Black Ops 7 content. If you don’t tune in to your favourite YouTube or Twitch streamer, you’re probably going to have the main broadcast on.
Like last year, tonight’s event will kick off at 9am PT, 12pm ET, 5pm BST . This is the usual time slot for major Call of Duty reveals, so that’s not surprising.
As for where you’ll be able to catch it live, you can do so on Call of Duty’s official YouTube and Twitch channels - and we’ve embedded both below.
What comes after Call of Duty: Next
Once CoD: Next wraps up, the next major event to look forward to is, of course, the Black Ops 7 beta . The beta’s Early Access portion kicks off October 2, just two days afterwards. A lot - if not all of - the beta content will be part of Next, so we’re going to get a much better idea of what we can expect when the beta goes live during Next.
While Activision hasn’t said whether tuning in to Next will offer players a chance to get an Early Access beta key, it’s worth keeping the livestream on in the background, as you may even earn some in-game rewards, if not a beta key.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7
PS4 , PS5 , Xbox One , Xbox Series X/S , PC
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