Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 will mark the final time games from the same sub-franchise will launch in consecutive years, Activision just announced.
This means no more Black Ops 8 next year. Just kidding, but that’s no longer an option moving forward, the company said in a new blog post released tonight. But with that, CoD is hoping to be more innovative and “unique” each year.
It began with Modern Warfare III in 2023 following up on Modern Warfare II (2022), and continued this year with BO7 dropping the following year after Black Ops 6. That formula clearly isn’t working to some degree (likely much lower than expected sales this year), so changes are being made.
“Call of Duty has enjoyed long-standing success because of all of you, a passionate community that demands excellence and deserves nothing less,” Activision said. “We also know that for some of you, the franchise has not met your expectations fully. To be very clear, we know what you expect and rest assured we will deliver, and overdeliver, on those expectations as we move forward.”
For now, the focus is on BO7’s live seasons before CoD 2026 next fall, and the company said that fan feedback “will help shape our seasonal updates in the coming months,” bringing updates at least every month to add more content to the game and keep players engaged.
But up first, BO7 multiplayer and Zombies will have a free weekend next week, along with double XP, because the company said “we would like you to experience the game firsthand and decide for yourselves.”
“We won’t rest until Black Ops 7 earns its place as one of the best Black Ops games we’ve ever made,” the blog said. And with season one, the game is off to a good start, especially when it comes to Warzone’s BO7 integration and the sheer amount of stuff to play across all modes.
2026’s CoD title is rumored to be Modern Warfare 4, which at least at this point in time, confirms we won’t be getting Modern Warfare 5 in the following year. The move itself sounds like a good idea to help each individual game separate itself a bit more from the previous one and prevent things from feeling too same-y for too long.
“To be clear, the future of Call of Duty is very strong and we believe our best days are ahead of us given the depth and talent of our development teams,” Activision said. “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.”
Since it wasn’t specified, it’s safe to assume that CoD will continue to release games annually, just with alternating series like it had been doing before 2023.
