Call of Duty has struggled with collabs in the past, but the Fallout event has changed this

Fallout has just flown into Call of Duty in the latest Black Ops 7 crossover, and it’s one of the most fitting collabs that COD has ever released. Power armour, ghouls, and a variety of exciting game modes are all on the menu, offering free and paid rewards for Black Ops 7 fans to earn by playing any mode.

Call of Duty fans have struggled to enjoy many of its collaborations in the past, but the Fallout event is perfect, so this may be the turning point for players who have been holding off on jumping into Activision’s newest FPS. Here’s why the Fallout collab is so fitting for Black Ops 7, and how Activision might proceed with future events.

Crossovers were popularised in games like Fortnite in the late 2010s, opening up a new world of cosmetic content and limited-time game modes in live service games. Call of Duty has attempted to incorporate collaboration events into recent entries, but there has been considerable backlash because many players don’t want to see third-party franchises in Activision’s military shooter.

Black Ops 6 featured crossover events with Beavis and Butt-Head, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and even American Dad. All of the crossovers were fun in concept, but for many fans, the colourful cartoon skins ruin their immersion, creating a divide among the player base.

Unlike the collabs listed above, the recent Fallout event in Black Ops 7 makes significantly more sense and has managed to merge the two franchises together in a way that feels fitting to Call of Duty’s core concept, which could be a good sign for the FPS’s future.

To coincide with the release of the Fallout TV show’s second season, Activision has added a Fallout event pass, along with a plethora of new gameplay content in each of Black Ops 7’s core game modes. Below, we’ll walk you through why Fallout is perfect for COD in 2026.

Unlike The Boys or Beavis and Butt-Head, Fallout is a first-person shooter franchise. This distinction separates Fallout from many of the other franchises that COD has collaborated with in the past. The event introduced weapons from the video games, with the shishkebab and skins that look like they fit into Call of Duty’s world, such as the power armour outfit. Overall, a collaboration between two first-person shooters makes the most sense.

Skins aren’t the only content in BO7’s new event. A variety of fun modes have been introduced, many of which focus on Fallout ghouls and radiation. A ghoul-based spin on Infection mode is offering tons of fun in multiplayer, along with a new map that decorates Nuketown with set pieces from Fallout’s vaults.

Perhaps the most fitting mode is in zombies, where players can battle hordes of ghouls and deathclaws alone or alongside friends. It was a million-dollar idea to add ghouls to Call of Duty, especially since zombies are so prominent in the Black Ops series.

Animated outfits like Beavis and Butt-Head or American Dad are fun, but it’s clear that some fans would prefer only realistic outfits. The latest collab introduced outfits for Lucy, Maximus, and the Ghoul from the Fallout TV show in the paid event pass and store, along with a few reskins for operators that add vault suits to their characters. Fallout skins may not be perfectly realistic, but compared to other collabs, they fit COD’s aesthetic extremely well.

Given the success of the Fallout event, it’s likely that Activision will consider offering similar collabs in the future. Other shooter games could make it into Black Ops 7, especially since Microsoft owns a variety of franchises that would be easy to fit into the Call of Duty universe.

Sticking with the shooter theme, Halo and Gears of War would both be great options, and even an Outer Worlds collab could be fun if they added a few weapons and skins from Obsidian’s satirical RPG. Popular action franchises based on TV or movies would also fit in quite nicely with Call of Duty, such as John Wick.

Staying true to Call of Duty’s roots is important, so crossovers that offer bridges into other military or action franchises could be the best way to please everyone in the fan base.

The biggest complaint that COD’s collabs have received so far is that many of the third-party franchises don’t fit seamlessly into Call of Duty, whether that be visually or gameplay-wise. Fallout’s introduction proved that collaborations with other first-person shooters work really well, so it’d be great to see more of them moving forward.

Black Ops 7 is likely to receive a wide variety of new crossover events throughout 2026. Hopefully, any new events will offer just as much new content as the Fallout collab, but the real test of success will come from the franchises that Activision chooses to partner with next.