Yesterday, during Gamescom’s Opening Night Live event, Activision officially lifted the curtain on Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, confirming a November 14, 2025 launch and a slew of other, very interesting info on its latest entry in the longtime first-person shooter franchise.
Alongside a new, very in-depth post on the publisher’s own website, we were shown new media and a bunch of information on topics like a co-op campaign, beta dates and times and other tidbits to rival Battlefield 6’s major reveal from a couple of weeks back.
And just like that, the old rivalry between the two franchises is reignited. Hey, we’re not complaining: more stuff for us to report on, but a lot of information to relay to you. So read on to find out everything you need to know about Call of Duty: Black Ops 7.
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All the details you want from Call of Duty: Black Ops 7
So, we’re back to the future
According to Activision, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is set in 2035, centered on a near-future story where fear is weaponized. No, we mean literally: someone (Black Ops 2’s returning antagonist Raul Menendez, actually) figured out how to use fear against people, towards nefarious ends, and it’s up to you to stop this.
That’s pretty much the background of the game’s main campaign, which is playable solo or in co-op mode, in a four-member-gameplay that follows David “Section” Mason and a JSOC team as they chase down familiar villains and a new, more insidious threat. Activision frames the experience as “mind-bending”: mission spaces, character memories and even basic reality will twist as the story progresses.
More importantly, the campaign is not a solo concierge act: although you can play the full campaign alone, development studio Treyarch signaled that co-op is a central pillar rather than an afterthought. Toward the end of the campaign, players reach an Endgame phase — an expanded section set around the Mediterranean city of Avalon, where personalized abilities and emergent challenges bloom. Think of it as the cinematic spine of the story opening up into a more replayable, player-driven finale.
The reveal also introduces new and returning personalities: legacy figures reappear alongside fresh antagonists and corporate players, and the developer blurbs include short bios to orient players to who’s who. The key takeaway: Black Ops 7 is meant to sit in the franchise lineage while leaning into psychological spectacle.
Multiplayer is larger in scope, with more maps and systems
At launch, Activision promises 16 signature multiplayer maps (13 being brand new; 3 being returning classics from Black Ops 2)—an indication that the development team is covering the bases: competitive staples will be present, while larger skirmishes get their own space to breathe.
When it comes to player movement, the publisher claims it to be an “evolution” from the series past entries: called ”Omnimovement”, this system “adjusts Tactical Sprint and extends traversal options without promising a wholesale return to any one historical movement model”. In plain terms: expect familiar Call of Duty pacing with new wrinkles to keep high-level play and map design interesting.
On the customization front, the publisher highlights near-future weapons with updated loadout tech (overclocking equipment, Live-Wire loadouts) and a deeper camo and prestige ecosystem. The company calls out “Weapon Prestige Evolved” and “Mastery Camos” as part of a connected progression plan that rewards play across Campaign, Multiplayer and Zombies.
Zombies: round-based returns, Dark Aether and Dead Ops Arcade 4
Zombies Mode is explicitly back as a core pillar in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. According to Treyarch, the return of the round-based system is just one part of the game, and the reveal ties the new chapter to the ongoing Dark Aether narrative: characters from prior entries are trapped in alternate realities, and fans should expect collisions with familiar icons in new guises.
Beyond the round-based maps, Activision says Survival maps are returning, while also confirming Dead Ops Arcade 4, a top-down twin-stick spin-off with arenas, power-ups, traps and XP progression for up to four players. Much like the Multiplayer section above, it seems Black Ops 7 is gearing up to cater to newer and older audiences by offering gameplay systems for both.
Progression, sharing and quality-of-life features
A big selling point in the reveal is connectivity between modes: Activision teases something called “Connected Progression”, tying XP and weapon mastery across campaign, multiplayer and Zombies, plus features designed to make sharing and community play easier. As we have mentioned earlier, the publisher calls out Weapon Build Codes to let players export and share loadouts, and it emphasizes multiple Mastery Camo tracks across modes.
The “Cerebral-Link” (C-Link) system is presented as a unified UI/HUD layer that standardizes gear and equipment screens across modes. Some veteran players might overlook this as something minor, but we get the feeling that this is a bit of a quality-of-life unifier that reduces friction between modes, bringing new players into Call of Duty’s ever-growing audience.
How does all of this relates to Warzone
Activision confirms carry-forward mechanics from the previous Black Ops title, with important caveats. Certain consumables and tokens move forward at launch, while selected weapons, operators and skins will become available in Black Ops 7 starting in Season 1.
However, weapon camos from the prior title will not automatically transfer onto Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 weapons. The publisher also says Warzone integration is planned for Season 1—expect tuning and a reset cadence tied to that cross-title launch.
In practice this means the studio is trying to balance continuity for long-time players with a fresh slate for the new game: you won’t lose everything you earned, but you shouldn’t expect a one-for-one carryover either.
Beta details
If you scrolled this far—then you got a lot more patience than I do, which I don’t know if I should commend you or get you some help. At any rate, we’re finally getting to a key bit of info: when can you play the damn thing?
Here’s what Activision confirmed about playtest windows: an Early Access Beta opens October 2 (72-hour window) for eligible preorder customers and other qualifying participants, followed by an Open Beta beginning October 5 and running for another 72 hours. Preorders and select retailer codes will grant early access where applicable; the open window is intended to let everyone test combat, maps and systems ahead of launch.
As for the time, the beta testing period for Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is set to start at 2 PM BRT, 10 AM PDT, and 1 PM EST, with each lasting for 72 hours. Those timelines works for both phases.
Preorders, editions and what they DIDN’T reveal
The official reveal points readers to preorder pages on the publisher’s storefront. Activision outlines that preorder packages and edition bundles will carry standard incentives (early beta access, cosmetic packs and bundled content) and invites players to review the official preorder benefits page for edition-specific details.
The core promise for buyers: preorder perks and early access windows will be handled through the publisher’s store ecosystem and select retailers. The announcement intentionally keeps some cards close to the chest: exact map names, full weapon lists, deep Zombies mechanics, detailed monetization and precise platform-specific notes (system requirements, per-platform features) are all slated for the multiplayer deep dive and follow-up reveals. The publisher also reserved broader narrative details for future drops, so expect a steady trickle of specifics between now and launch.
All in all, not much of a surprise there, and no real difference from past releases either.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 will come out on November 14, 2025, on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
This is the first deep-dive in a series of articles we’re planning for each of Gamescom 2025’s highlights: be sure to come back over the following days so you won’t miss any updates on other titles!
