Call of Duty Black Ops 7 – What you need to know about our return to the future

This article contains officially confirmed information combined with expert industry speculation, rumors, and analysis. We will update this page with the latest news as soon as it’s available.

Action packed sci-fi FPS Call of Duty Black Ops 7 comes as the eighth entry in the Black Ops series, and was actually developed alongside the last entry in the series, Black Ops 6. While Black Ops 6 looked to the past, Black Ops 7 looks to the future and immerses itself in a world of technological warfare.

Being the 22nd installment in the Call of Duty series, Black Ops 7  is poised to take the ball of its predecessors and keep running with it, presenting an interesting new story, a bombastic Zombie mode setup, and multiplayer that will no doubt have players coming back for more. Rival to well-received FPS Battlefield 6,  Call of Duty Black Ops 7 is shaping up to be a worthy contender. Read on to find out everything you need to know about the much-anticipated title. 

✓ VideoGamer Summary

• The Black Ops 7 release date isn’t far off, with a November 14 release date.
• The title looks to offer fast, fluid gameplay with an emphasis on dynamic action.
• The Call of Duty Black Ops 7 Zombies mode looks better than ever.
• Black Ops 7 offers a range of different editions and pre-order bonuses.
• You’ll be able to fight across global maps with a twist in a futuristic world still rife with conflict, or descend into an out-of-time nightmare.

Call of Duty Black Ops 7 release date

The Call of Duty Black Ops 7 release date is November 14. However, some features, such as the directed path mode for Zombies mode, will be released post-launch. Black Ops 7 was developed alongside Black Ops 6, so expect the two to have a complimentary relationship when it comes to gameplay offerings. 

Call of Duty Black Ops 7 gameplay and trailer analysis 

Call of Duty Black Ops 7’s gameplay reveal trailer gives us insight into the main story campaign, the first co-op campaign for Black Ops in a decade. It’s set in 2035 and pits you against oppressive robotic soldiers and terrorist elements. 

One of the big draws here is in the maps, as the protagonists get hit by a psychedelic that warps the real-world locales around them into representations that feel like they’ve been induced by Batman Arkham Asylum’s Scarecrow.

These global playgrounds, freed from the constraints of reality, allow for more vertical gameplay, aligning with Black Ops 7’s increased emphasis on movement. Grapple guns, wall running, and wingsuits work in tandem with the fluid omni-movement system.

The multiplayer trailer emphasizes verticality and smooth movement throughout the maps. The battlefields feel more grounded than the campaign, but with intriguing gadgets and movement mechanics on offer, they look like complicated playgrounds with plenty of ways to choose how to approach each section.

Black Ops 7 also seems to have a strong focus on variety. You seem to be able to quickly change between weapons as you run around the map, moving from a rifle to a handgun to dual-wielding with a fluid grace. Plenty of gadgets add extra choice to your arsenal, including holograms for a little subterfuge, or customisable allied robots for some backup armor.

Call of Duty Black Ops 7 zombies – Into the Dark Aether 

Call of Duty games often feel like they’re a package deal, with the more standard hoo-rah military shooter on one end, and the more off-the-wall Zombie package on the other. 

With the new Ashes of the Damned map, players will once again descend into the Dark Aether, a nightmarish hellscape of ravenous zombies and haunted battlefields. Mobile movement across the map resembles Left 4 Dead’s constant escalation; you hit your objectives in one part of the hellscape before fighting your way to another.

This comes with a new vehicle which acts as your mobile home base: a pick-up truck endearingly titled Ol’ Tessie. You can upgrade Tessie with armour and horde-felling weapons as you make grand entrances or daring escapes. The trailer also emphasizes a new, obviously-not-evil artefact called the Necrofluid Gauntlet, a powerful new weapon to help you face off against that most dreaded of foes: zombie bears.

Call of Duty Black Ops 7 pre-order bonuses and platforms 

On launch, the base edition of Black Ops 7 will be $70 (£70), but if you’re really keen, it has a ‘vault edition’ for $100 (£100). Pre-ordering the base game will also net you a challenge pack and some weapon camo options.

However, the vault edition entices you with more pre-order goodies. As well as some extra character customisation and unlock tokens, it also gives you access to BlackCell, a premium battle pass with some bonuses. 

Call of Duty Black Ops 7 releases on 14 November for PS4, PS5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. Black Ops 7 will also appear on cloud gaming platforms like GeForce Now and Xbox Cloud Gaming. Xbox Game Pass users who are subscribed to either Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass will also enjoy day one access without needing to shell out for the full game.

Call of Duty Black Ops 7 story and setting

Set in 2035, the plot follows Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) Commander David “Section” Mason and his team of agents. The gang is investigating the return of a deceased terrorist who had died in Call of Duty Black Ops 2, 10 years before Black Ops 7. One of the main groups in play is The Guild, a criminal organisation introduced in Black Ops 6, which has evolved into a major tech company with access to a robotic army. 

The multiplayer sets JSOC and The Guild as the main factions facing off across the world. This means that members of The Guild will likely serve as primary antagonists in the story. 

Speculating, they’re possibly staging the return of the dead terrorist Raul Menendez to act as a catalyst in a power grab. Players will be in for a global trek, fighting across dream-like, broken maps of real locations, such as Tokyo and Angola. 

Zombies mode will be taking place in the Dark Aether, where the storyline has been building up since at least 2020’s Black Ops Cold War. It follows directly from Black Ops 6’s Reckoning Map, as you pick up that map’s dimension-hopping government agents, It will also add in playable soldiers lost in time and space. There are alternative versions of old faces, all from Call of Duty World at War and across the previous storylines of the series’ charmingly convoluted Zombies lore. 

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