Treyarch’s Next Call of Duty Game Will Likely Be ‘Revealed’ Before 2026

Though Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is not officially available in all regions until November 14, it’s effectively live right now, as many players are getting into the game a day early by changing their region. Early feedback from the community seems to suggest that the game’s three pillars are about what was expected. The campaign has been criticized for its open-combat mission-like structure, feeling like a frustrating successor to Modern Warfare 3 (2023). The Zombies mode seems to be well-received by those who enjoyed recent offerings like BO6, while old-school fans remain hopeful that Cursed will cater to their interests. And following early concerns, Black Ops 7 multiplayer seems to be a content-filled experience that’s significantly more enjoyable thanks to Treyarch moving away from SBMM.

However, the minds behind Call of Duty and the fans who have stuck by the series for years are always looking toward what’s next, even as players embark on brand-new camo and leveling grinds. While Modern Warfare 4 seems like a guarantee for next year’s release, and some kind of Sledgehammer Call of Duty can be expected come 2027, players might actually see a small teaser for CoD 2028 before either of those games are unveiled. In fact, the first “reveal” of Treyarch’s follow-up to Black Ops 7 could come before 2026 even begins, assuming that the studio has re-used a trick from Black Ops 6.

Black Ops 7’s Classified Skin is One to Watch

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 introduced a new Prestige reward system to the franchise, with the goal of making every Prestige feel meaningful and giving players who do not normally feel motivated to Prestige a reason to keep ranking up. Instead of bragging rights and a symbol of experience, Prestiging provided exclusive Operator skins, weapon blueprints, and more. There was also a special reward package for players who reached level 1000 of Prestige Master, with Treyarch keeping this blueprint and skin hidden until the first player to reach level 1000 unveiled it.

Some early BO6 Zombies XP exploits allowed players to level up faster, which is how level 1000 was reached in just a few weeks.

Treyarch likely did not expect players to reach this summit just a few weeks after the launch of Black Ops 6, but that’s exactly what happened, and the player who accomplished this lofty goal was rewarded with the Samuels Operator. Due to this character’s near-future armor and presence in the Black Ops 2 campaign, it didn’t take long for players to surmise that Call of Duty 2025 would be a successor to the beloved 2012 release, something that was eventually confirmed months later. While Treyarch likely expected level 1000 to be reached closer to the time of BO7’s full reveal, this clever attempt to tease its next game was still entertaining.

Black Ops 7 takes the exact same approach to Prestige rewards as its predecessor, meaning that players will unlock new Operator skins, blueprints, and so on every handful of levels. It also means that there is a new “secret” skin to chase this year, and going by what Treyarch did with this big payoff during the BO6 era, there’s a real chance that it uses BO7’s secret level 1000 skin as a teaser for what’s next. Perhaps it hints at a post-apocalyptic setting for Black Ops 7, with a character in some raggedy, Fallout-like armor. Maybe it will be a returning campaign legend like Alex Mason or Jason Hudson, suggesting a game focused on them when it’s Treyarch’s next turn to bat for the Call of Duty series. Perhaps it will even be a Zombies-themed unlock, giving a glimmer of hope to those wanting a standalone CoD Zombies experience.

Black Ops 7’s Secret Skin Likely Won’t Be Hidden For Long

Based on what happened in Black Ops 6, it’s hard to imagine players not finding out Treyarch’s secret before the year is done. After all, there are several ways level 1000 unlock can be uncovered soon:

Another XP exploit like the one in Terminus could be found within Ashes of the Damned, allowing someone to speedrun to level 1000 before a patch arrives.
Dataminers could extract the level 1000 skin from Treyarch’s files, spoiling the surprise.
Through a hoard of Double XP tokens and AFK tricks, someone can probably grind their way to level 1000 by the end of December if they really want to do so.

To be clear, there is a chance that Treyarch does not tease its next project with the level 1000 skin like it did in Black Ops 6. At the time, there was some criticism about Samuels not being a “cool enough” payoff to hundreds of hours’ worth of gameplay, so perhaps Treyarch will go with a flashy design that teases nothing about its future plans. Still, it’s likely that Treyarch has some kind of idea what it wants to do with what will presumably be Black Ops 8, so a teaser of the game’s setting or characters is not out of the question for the level 1000 unlock. If that happens, players will be in the strange position of knowing more official info about Call of Duty 2028 than they do about the two games that will release before it.