When is enough? Black Ops 7 proves that CoD and gamers need a change

Black Ops 7 is here, but does it feel different this time to everyone else, or is that just me? Arriving in a busy Q4 2025 landscape with more competitors than ever before, the new CoD has a lot to do. Whether or not its near-future arsenal has the firepower to hit back is a valid question. Asking gamers to spend $70 at least on another CoD seems optimistic.

Other paths aside from those well-repeated release cycles are available: look at BF6’s emergence after a refreshing break, and with a fun Battle Royale. As it appears some of the puff has gone from the chest of Activision’s prize bull, I have a clear thought. If you’ll let me explain, I think it needs to be taken seriously. And CoD fans, I’m with you, not against you.

One of the best things Battlefield may have done is to disappear from our radars for four years before releasing Battlefield 6. EA left us with one of the least-liked releases in 2042, before exploding back with a far better option. Battlefield 6 is good, and I think the Call of Duty franchise needs to learn something from this playbook. 

I’ve spent a good amount of time in Black Ops 7. I’ve also seen players switching to EA’s shooter, now bored with CoD, while anecdotal reports about low pre-orders circulate. And I’m not surprised if those reports are true. Annual releases are a lot, and they don’t make sense for a lot of games. Sports? I guess. FPS titles? I don’t think so, not anymore.

A year can seem a long time when you’re waiting for a new game. Yet, the production cycle required to produce a triple-A title cannot reliably fit within a 12-month window, every 12 months. Call of Duty has had a new game every year since 2003. That’s 23 releases in total, and even if it’s shifted between studios, how long can excitement be sustained?

So yes, I’m saying it: it’s time for CoD to go away for a bit. That’s not a direct shot at Black Ops 7; it’s okay as a game. I’m not sure it’s worth $70 (or $99 for the Black Ops 7 Vault Edition), but when you have to pitch something new every year, you can’t hit everything you swing at. For CoD, I really do think it’s for the best that it takes a year, two, or three off. 

I’m saying this as a Battlefield fan, but I mean it too. I remember the first CoD release in 2003, and I fondly recall superb launch events for the first round of Modern Warfare titles. I’m no generational bore, but I was really excited for the new instalments for a long while. I’ve since lost that full-chested annual interest. But, judging by sentiment, I’m not alone.

I think part of that is because, genuinely, what’s left? CoD has been to the future several times before Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. It’s gone to space, covered 20th-century conflicts extensively, and even revisited the Modern Warfare series, to varying success. It feels a bit tired, a bit run-through. Black Ops 7 has some nice ideas, but it feels a bit vapid and shallow.

To be completely fair to Activision, part of the problem may be the FPS genre itself. It has been around for decades at this point, and new ideas in any franchise are gold dust. But maybe FPS games aren’t as alluring as they were. Arc Raiders, which is very much not first-person, has taken gaming by storm this year with its over-the-shoulder vantage.

It’s a title that’s even taken the resurgent Battlefield by surprise, as gamers have flocked to its blended gaming style. Player counts prove the interest, and FPS titles, once the clear triple-A winner, are less guaranteed their place. Yet if that is the case, then CoD lurking in the shadows for a little while may not be a bad idea. Regroup, re-think, and return.

What’s the alternative? A 2026 release that goes against a potentially stable and popular Battlefield, the newer kid on the block in Embark’s reportedly 10-year Arc Raiders, and CoD expecting to win gamers back? It’s possible, but it sounds like an uphill battle for a franchise that has already covered too many and can’t use its kinetic jump IRL.

The new CoD is fun for a bit, even the mind-bending Black Ops 7 campaign, but is that what we want? An annual release with brief interest, before the shine disappears, and we do it all over again in 12 months? Or do we want new ideas that take a while, and for the FPS genre not to be wrung of all its fun, while some possibilities are half-baked? 

I’ll tell you one thing. There are a few titles I could play with a cup of coffee once I finish this article to dive back into my thinking about the world of gaming. Despite its new release, the chances of that title being Black Ops 7 aren’t good. Nor will it be Black Ops 7 zombies. I’ve not given up on CoD, but I think it needs to give itself a well-earned Battlefield-esque break.