Call of Duty Brings Things Full Circle With New Announcement, Leaving Mixed Feelings

Let’s talk about Call of Duty, yeah? It’s like this yearly tradition now. Every year, without fail, they drop another one of these games—except, you know, that one time in 2018. Been at it for over two decades. Some real gems have come out of it, too. Remember Call of Duty 4? Total game-changer. Nukes going off, the whole “All Ghillied Up” stealth thing, they snagged awards for that magic. And Modern Warfare 2? Took it up a notch with epic scenes and the notorious “No Russian” level that got everyone talking.

Now, let’s chat about Black Ops because that’s my jam. Historical vibes, mind-bending twists, yup, they hit the spot for me. As the years rolled by, Black Ops kept breaking the mold. And I hear Black Ops 7 is aiming to crank it up a notch.

So, Sledgehammer and Infinity Ward, they stick to the script mostly. But Treyarch and Raven? Always bringing the unexpected. Black Ops 2 had those wild alternate endings thing going on. Then there was BO3 with those skill trees and co-op play, wild stuff. Black Ops Cold War brought side missions and dialogues, and Black Ops 6? Safe houses you could customize and, randomly, a mission packed with nods to CoD Zombies. This time, rumors are it’s ending with an extraction shooter. I dunno if I’m feeling it or not.

Anyway, flashback to Black Ops 4 — or what it almost was. They had this crazy plan for four modes: campaign, Zombies, multiplayer, and battle royale. Imagine all that mashed up, but they scrapped it, probably because, well, it was just too ambitious. But BO7 seems to be a nod toward that, expanding the vision even if on a bigger scale.

Insider Gaming’s leaks? They say the last mission is a big twist—32-player extraction shooter. Yeah, you read that right. The other 11 missions might be more run-of-the-mill co-op but that last bit? New territory. It’s all about bringing everything together—progress, ranking, the lot.

I gotta admit, extraction shooters? Not my forte. Dabbled in a few like Hazard Zone and watched Division’s Dark Zone chaos unfold, but that’s it. I’m game to try with Black Ops 7. CoD’s shooting mechanics are top-notch, and maybe an extraction shooter will thrive on that. But while I’m excited about the potential, I’m also stressing a bit.

That mentioned Avalon map—it’s supposed to tie into the finale. Pieces of it will show up in missions before the entire map becomes our extraction playground. Something about it makes me nervous.

Now, here’s the biggie: What makes Call of Duty campaigns so special might get lost. Raul Menendez—Warzone’s been hyping his involvement. But in an extraction mode, how’s he supposed to fit in? Fewer dialogues, maybe? And let’s not even start on setpieces. Remember epic moments like BO2’s iconic take-downs or MW2’s epic detonations? Those saved the campaigns. Without them, what do we have? The fear is they might just swap meaningful finales for predictable “grab the thing and escape” moments.

The worry’s real, though. What if this broader focus on multiplayer waters down the storytelling or the signature thrills we cherish? CoD’s had its hits and misses—BO6 hit some snags with its storytelling—here’s hoping BO7 doesn’t tread the same rocky path by prioritizing multiplayer at the cost of a compelling campaign. Fingers crossed they get it right.