Last year, Black Ops 6 was a smash hit for Call of Duty, but they appear to have gotten way ahead of themselves with Black Ops 7. Never before has the franchise released a game in the same series two years in a row. They have always alternated Black Ops, Modern Warfare, or something else. That was until 2025, when Black Ops 7 immediately followed its predecessor. And with it being such a spectacular failure on all fronts, the team has finally admitted their mistake.
Call of Duty Vows Changes After Black Ops 7
It seemed like a mistake to throw Black Ops 7 out right after Black Ops 6, and that has proven to be true. There’s a good reason this sort of thing had never been done. 6 was a step in the right direction for a franchise stumbling aimlessly of late, but it appears to have been an anomaly.
Fortunately, 7 might force Call of Duty’s hand. They provided a statement in reaction to the general displeasure with the game. For reference, 8% of people like the game on Google. It has a 1.6 user score on Metacritic and a 67 from critics. On GG, it’s earned a 2.0 out of 5.0. It’s been really negatively received.
The statement essentially reads like an apology for the state of the game. They opened by thanking everyone for the feedback, which basically means they heard all the complaints and are trying to take them all into account. Call of Duty then revealed their plans when making Black Ops 7, again a sign that they know they’ve missed the mark.
The game is available for free (zombies and multiplayer) for everyone next week, and it will be coupled with a Double XP weekend. They also committed to unprecedented seasonal support, meaning that the developers will continue adding content until “Black Ops 7 earns its place as one of the best Black Ops games we’ve ever made.”
Finally, this will be the last time a series has two consecutive entries. “We will no longer do back-to-back releases of Modern Warfare or Black Ops games. The reasons are many, but the main one is to ensure we provide an absolutely unique experience each and every year,” the statement read.
The statement concluded with, “We have been building the next era of Call of Duty, and it will deliver precisely on what you want along with some surprises that push the Franchise and the genre forward. We look forward to welcoming you in, listening to you, and moving forward together.“
There have been some misfires in the franchise before, but never quite to this magnitude. With all the hype from Black Ops 6 basically dissipating with this failure of a game, all the goodwill the franchise had restored has all but vanished. They are fully aware of that and are promising to do better, but it remains to be seen if they are capable of it.
It’s no secret that the best days of Call of Duty are behind us. Black Ops 6 was a return to form, but it still wasn’t as good as the best games in the series. Modern Warfare 2, Black Ops, Modern Warfare 3, World at War, Black Ops 2, and Black Ops 3 are not coming back any time soon. Fortunately, those games are still mostly playable today, although online multiplayer is not.
Conclusion
The first step to getting better is admitting you have a problem. Black Ops 7 forced the franchise and all the teams behind it to admit they have a problem. They rushed into another game in the series, and it has backfired tremendously. The next step is to actually do better, but only time will tell if that is going to happen.
