Black Ops 7’ Is Making One Major Change After Gamer Backlash

Black Ops 7

Credit: Activision

Back when Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare II was drawing down and Modern Warfare III was on the horizon, the Call Of Duty community was up in arms. The new game, they believed, was little more than a glorified and overpriced DLC. To help mollify the community, Activision announced that all the guns and Operator skins from MWII would carry over to MWIII. If anything, this made the sequel feel even more like an expansion.

Now, I disagree that MWIII was just a glorified DLC for MWII. It was a very different game in a lot of ways, with a much better movement system and a ton of new (and remade) maps. It felt a lot better to play. But it was weird to have two Modern Warfare games release back-to-back, and I understand why the community was a little miffed, especially since the campaign was pretty lackluster and felt like it had been rushed.

Now we find ourselves in a similar situation, with Black Ops 7 releasing the year after Black Ops 6. The latter introduced tons of new stuff including the fun (if controversial) Omnimovement mechanics, which I’ve come to really enjoy. But the Black Ops 7 reveal left a lot of gamers really upset. Partly, it’s the contrast to Battlefield 6. That game feels like a proper military sim, while Black Ops 7 seems to be taking the franchise in an absurdist direction, not just futuristic but completely off-the-wall.

The reveal trailer was overwhelmingly disliked by gamers, with many commenting that the trailer alone made them pre-order Battlefield 6 out of spite. One big issue? The direction Activision has gone with Operator skins over the past few games. Call Of Duty has had goofy skins for a long time, but these were historically pretty rare. A Snoop Dogg skin here, a Grim Reaper skin there, maybe some kind of horror movie killer or Santa. Now, comparisons to Fortnite are commonplace and well-earned.

When Treyarch revealed that Operator skins and guns/blueprints would Carry Over to Black Ops 7, you could almost hear the audible groan of the community (or maybe that was just me). It’s nice to just start over with more grounded Operators and everyone leveling the same guns each year, and now we’d have to deal with Beavis and Butthead with the launch of Season 1, and fully leveled-up guns with laser and dismemberment effects.

When I spoke with Treyarch, I asked them if they were considering anything to appeal to gamers who preferred to play the game as more of a mil-sim. Perhaps a toggle, I suggested, similar to how you can toggle off dismemberment effects and animations. They said they were listening to community feedback, but were otherwise noncommittal. These Operator skin bundles are hugely profitable, so it makes sense that Activision and Microsoft would not want to give players the option to turn them off.

Then again, from a zoomed out perspective, maybe it would make sense to throw your community a bone. Today, Activision announced that they were, in fact, throwing at least a small bone to Call Of Duty players. They’ve reversed the decision to Carry Over skins and guns from Black Ops 6 to Black Ops 7, though these will still be available in the free-to-play Warzone battle royale.

“We know there’s been a lot of conversation recently about the identity of Call of Duty,” Activision posted in a community update Tuesday. “Some of you have said we’ve drifted from what made Call of Duty unique in the first place: immersive, intense, visceral and in many ways grounded. That feedback hits home, and we take it seriously. We hear you.

“Operators, Operator Skins, and Weapons from Black Ops 6 will no longer carry forward into Black Ops 7.

“Black Ops 7 needs to feel authentic to Call of Duty and its setting. That is why Black Ops 6 Operator and Weapon content will not carry forward to Black Ops 7.”

Activision notes that XP tokens and Gobblegums (consumables, basically) will carry over to Black Ops 7, which is good. In fact, I’d say this entire update is a very good thing all around. In fact, the post also notes that this isn’t stopping with Carry Over.

“In Black Ops 7, bundles and items will be crafted to fit the Black Ops identity,” the post continues. “We hear the feedback. We need to deliver a better balance toward the immersive, core Call of Duty experience.”

This is great news if Activision sticks to it and really does avoid the ridiculous direction these games have gone over the past few years. I think the occasional fun or zany bundle is fine, but when Beavis and Butthead and green dragon people are everywhere, it starts to get pretty stupid. A toggle on/off option would also be a good idea, though I’m not sure how feasible that is from the developer’s end.

This is certainly Activision listening to consumer feedback, but it’s also pressure from the competition. Battlefield 6 is opting for a more realistic approach, and the popularity of that decision has had ripple effects. This is why it’s so important to have competition from other big FPS games. I guess we’ll see what exactly the “Black Ops identity” is over the next year.

Black Ops 7 launches on November 14th. There will be an open beta in early October. Read more about the upcoming first-person shooter right here.