To the surprise of almost no one, Microsoft and Activision unveiled the next installment in their annualizedCall of Dutyfranchise,Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, at the Xbox Games Showcase a few weeks ago. The reveal of the game was met with little fanfare, since many gamers were disappointed at the fact that Microsoft presented it at the end of its event, a time slot that was normally reserved for major announcements. TheCall of Duty: Black Ops 7reveal trailer featured very little gameplay, instead focusing on a cinematic story teaser. Despite the many negative reactions to it online, the game’s announcement trailer was watched by tens of millions of people, making it one of the fastest-viewed trailers inCoDhistory.
Contrary to its name,Call of Duty: Black Ops 7is not a direct sequel to last year’sCall of Duty: Black Ops 6. Instead, it is a follow-up toCall of Duty: Black Ops 2, which was originally released in 2012.Black Ops 7is being developed by Treyarch and Raven Software, and it’s going to be set in 2035, in a world that is on the brink of all-out war.It will follow David Masonand his group of agents as they go on a “mind-bending” mission to defeat an enemy who, as Activision states, “weaponizes fear above all else.”
CoD: Black Ops 7 and Battlefield 6 Are Going to be Targeting the Same Audience
For the First Time in Years, Battlefield May Pose a Serious Threat to Call of Duty
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7is coming out at an interesting time for theCall of Dutyfranchise. In spite of the many complaints that have been thrown at it,Call of Dutyhas remained unrivaled in the online first-person shooter space for many years.Call of Duty’s biggest rival, theBattlefieldseries, has fallen out of popularity in recent times,due to the catastrophic launch ofBattlefield 2042. However,Battlefieldis gearing up to make a return in the near future, and the next installment in the franchise may giveBlack Ops 7a run for its money.
Battlefield 6 Seems Like It Could Be a Major Hit for EA and DICE
The nextBattlefieldgame doesn’t have an official name yet. However, unlike many of thenewer entries in theBattlefieldseries, which opted for either sci-fi or historical settings, EA and DICE have already confirmed that it is going to take place in the near future. Reports suggest thatBattlefield 6(as it is colloquially called) will apparently follow a massive military group that’s fighting against NATO, and it will take players on a journey through a number of locations around the world.
EA and DICE are going to be taking a back-to-basics approach withBattlefield 6. They’re not only employing a more traditional formula for the campaign and multiplayer modes of the nextBattlefieldgame, they’re also getting rid of many of the controversial features that were introduced inBattlefield 2042. EA has held closed betas forBattlefield 6over the last few months, and so far, reception has been largely positive.Battlefield 6’s full revealwill supposedly happen later this summer, and it’s currently scheduled to come out before March 2026.
The Similarities Between Black Ops 7 and Battlefield 6 May Impact Their Commercial Performance
The current head of theBattlefieldfranchise, Vince Zampella, claimed in an interview withIGNlast year that EA is not “looking to take downCall of Duty"with the nextBattlefieldgame. Rather, the company is looking to differentiateBattlefieldfrom Activision’s long-running series. In spite of his statements, though, the similarities betweenBattlefield 6andCall of Duty: Black Ops 7are hard to ignore. Since both titles are going to feature a near-future setting and will be launched only a few months apart from each other, there’s going to be a lot of overlap between the target audiences for these two games. IfCall of Duty: Black Ops 7isn’t as good as people are hoping for, then there’s a chance thatBattlefield 6will be able to steal its thunder, even if just for a short while.
