Black Ops 7 is the next installment in the Call of Duty franchise, as was revealed back in the 2025 Xbox Games Showcase in June. Even though it will come out a year after Black Ops 6, the new title is intended to be a spiritual sequel to 2012's Black Ops 2.
Now that we are close to the official reveal at Gamescom 2025, here is everything we know so far about the new game while we wait for more information to arrive.
When does Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 come out?
According to a rumor from leaker TheGhostOfHope, Black Ops 7 is scheduled to come out on Friday, November 14th.
This will align with the franchise's usual release window, which corresponds to the end of October/beginning of November, but it's on the late side of things.
As for the platforms, according to CharlieIntel on X, the game is still in development for last-gen consoles (PS4 and Xbox One) on top of the current ones. This was reported back in February of this year, and leakers haven't said anything opposing this information, nor have they discussed the possibility of it coming to the Switch 2.
Trailers
Here is the first teaser for the new title, which features the return of David Mason, the protagonist from Black Ops 2:
Campaign and story
Just like the leaks from a private playtest indicated several months ago, Black Ops 7's story takes place in 2035 and will be a direct sequel to Black Ops 2.
David Mason will return as the lead, and Milo Ventimiglia (Gilmore Girls, This Is Us) will take over the role. In Black Ops 2, Rich McDonald portrayed the character's adult version.
Variety also confirmed that Kiernan Shipka (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) and Michael Rooker (Guardians of the Galaxy, The Walking Dead) will join Ventimiglia in the cast. Shipka will play a character called Emma Kagen, while Rooker will reprise his role as Mike Harper from the Black Ops 2 campaign.
Activision also confirmed that the campaign can be played solo or in co-op mode. The extent of this new co-op mode is still a mystery, meaning we will have to wait to know more about it.
Some rumors suggest this campaign will have an open-world style, featuring the map of Avalon, which was supposed to come out for Warzone at one point during Black Ops 6's post-launch seasons, but Activision has decided to focus on Verdansk first.
Multiplayer
According to multiple leaks from TheGhostOfHope, the multiplayer will feature several gameplay changes that will differentiate it from the previous entry. Here are some of those changes:
- Tactical Sprint won't be in the game
- Maps won't have interactive doors
- Specialist abilities will return
- Streaks will be loopable
One leak from a private playtest suggests the Uplink game mode is coming back. The last time we saw this mode was in Infinite Warfare, the last COD that featured advanced movement. For more information on which maps the game will offer on launch, you the game will.
Zombies
Since Treyarch Studios is rumored to be the main studio behind the game, Zombies is a logical choice for the game's third major mode.
The same leaks from the playtests suggest the original Zombies crew will be back, meaning we will see Tank Dempsey, Nikola Belinski, and Takeo Mazaki finally join Richtofen in the Dark Aether storyline.
A recent report suggests the mode will feature six Zombies maps during its entire life cycle, which includes post-launch maps. The report explains that developers are taking more liberties with this game's maps, and here are some of the ideas going around:
- A map in a post-WW2 New York City where the Nazi's dropped a nuclear bomb.
- A Japanese temple at the foot of an erupting volcano.
- A map in Vietnam
- A map in Afghanistan
- A space station in the Dark Aether
Not all of these ideas might become a reality, but they should give us a clue as to what we can expect in terms of settings.
Other details
Here are other minor details we know about the title or its release schedule as we wait for more official announcements:
- The game's official reveal will take place at Gamescom's Opening Night Live on August 19th. We can expect more information about the campaign to be announced there.
- A new leak suggests the Call of Duty NEXT event for this year will take place in September. This is when we'll receive news on Multiplayer, Zombies, and the Warzone integration for the new cycle.
- The same COD NEXT leak suggests the game's open beta periods will take place after the event.
Once we have more details, rumors, or leaks about the next entry in the franchise, we will update this article to add all the information.
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