The recent Xbox Games Showcase featured a wide range of upcoming projects and hardware for fans to get excited about, with the official reveal of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 capping off the main event. This recent announcement of 2025's CoD offerings lines up perfectly with the theories that have surrounded the project for quite some time, with the trailer for the game confirming its nature as a direct sequel to 2012's Black Ops 2.
A lot of pressure is already being placed on Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 as the second consecutive entry to the Black Ops franchise, with some fans being concerned that the title may face the same pitfalls as the recent Modern Warfare 3 did by following up directly from 2022's Modern Warfare 2. While the announcement has predictably stirred up a lot of debate around the wider Call of Duty franchise, the unique trailer for Black Ops 7 was full of interesting details, with its level of showcased technology being a great indicator of the game's unique design between the themes of Black Ops 2 and Black Ops 3.
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Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Has Already Established its Unique Timeline Aesthetic
The high hopes that Microsoft has for Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 were echoed in the game's presence as the final reveal for the recent Xbox Games Showcase, with the reveal largely lining up with what fans were expecting from this year's Call of Duty reveal. As a direct sequel to Black Ops 2, Black Ops 7 is faced with the complex task of having to create a canon ending to the 2012 title, with parts of the recent trailer showcasing the likes of David Mason and Raul Menendez.
It has been confirmed that other iconic Black Ops 2 characters like Harper will be making a return in Black Ops 7, with Michael Rooker thankfully reprising the role, with it being clear that the game is extending slightly beyond the 2025 setting of Black Ops 2 itself. This places Black Ops 7 roughly around the 2030s, having greater implications on aging characters like Menendez or even Frank Woods, with a lot of the game's design having to pay close attention to the weaponry and technological design of Black Ops 3.
Alongside the predictable return of Zombies in Black Ops 7, the game is even confirmed to feature co-operative campaign functionality.
While Black Ops 3's campaign was quite divisive due to its mind-bending themes and lack of direct association to previous Black Ops games, the title took place in 2065, a full 40 years after Black Ops 2, meaning that Black Ops 7 will operate in the timeline blank spot between these two games. This hybrid design between Black Ops 2 and 3 was echoed in the reveal trailer for Black Ops 7, with humanoid robots appearing throughout the cinematic.
Black Ops 7 is Setting Up the Technology That Dominated Black Ops 3's Story
Of course, this level of robotic technology played a big role in Black Ops 3's 2060s timeline, with the multiplayer operator Reaper showcasing how these forms of robots were eventually being used for combat purposes. Similar robot technology appears in Black Ops 7's trailer via an organization known as The Guild, which appears in the wider narrative of Black Ops 6. Through the trailer, it seems clear that The Guild played a significant role in terms of developing a lot of the advanced weaponry and robotic combatants that appear throughout Black Ops 3, with this explosion of military tech likely being at the center of Black Ops 7's narrative.
It is understandable that aspects of Black Ops 7's trailer like the appearance of Mason and Menendez, or even its brief Zombies teaser, have drawn so much attention, yet the blended design approach between the tech of Black Ops 2 and 3 seems like one of the most interesting parts of the upcoming project. The Black Ops timeline has been considered to be quite convoluted for some time now, and it appears that Black Ops 7 is trying hard to create a greater observable flow of things like technology, if the game's trailer is anything to go by.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 66 /100 Critics Rec: 34%
- Released
- November 14, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Drugs
- Developer(s)
- Treyarch, Raven Software
- Publisher(s)
- Activision
