Standby to standby.Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 was announced at Xbox Games Showcase 2025 with a cinematic trailer.
Developed by Treyarch and Raven Software, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is the first ever consecutive release within the Black Ops sub-series. Matt Cox, General Manager of Call of Duty, insisted that “as a team, our vision from the start was to create a back-to-back series experience for our players that embraced the uniqueness of the Black Ops sub-franchise.”
No release window was announced, but Black Ops 7 is confirmed to release later in 2025. Here’s the official blurb:
Wielding cutting-edge technology, David Mason and his team must fight back against a manipulative enemy who weaponizes fear above all else.Black Ops 7 is set in 2035, more than 40 years after the events of Black Ops 6, at a time when the world is on the brink of chaos following the events of Black Ops 2 and last year’s Black Ops 6. Co-op campaign returns for Black Ops 7 after 6 skipped it (you can still play the campaign solo). Expect to use near-future weaponry in Multiplayer, with brand-new maps. Meanwhile, there’s the next chapter of Round-Based Zombies in the heart of the Dark Aether.
According to Variety, Black Ops 7 will star Milo Ventimiglia, Kiernan Shipka, and Michael Rooker. Ventimiglia will play David Mason, Shipka plays a new character called Emma Kagen, and Rooker reprises his Black Ops 2 role of Mike Harper.
By announcing Black Ops 7 to follow Black Ops 6 just a year later, some fans will consider the game something of a stop-gap, as 2023’s Modern Warfare 3 was considered by some within the community given it followed 2022’s Modern Warfare 2 just a year later.
But Cox insisted Black Ops 7 “delivers the full Call of Duty package for our players, and we can’t wait to show the community more of what the studio teams have been working on when we reveal later this summer.”
Tyler Bahl, Head of Activision Publishing Marketing, added: “The team is looking to build on the incredible community enthusiasm and excitement we’ve seen within the Black Ops universe. This is the first time we’re staying within the Black Ops series with back-to-back releases, so we’re excited to give players a bit more time to enjoy all the live seasons and provide players more of what they want across Black Ops 6 and Call of Duty: Warzone before we turn the page to Black Ops 7.
“Our official teaser sets the tone for players to embrace the madness that’s incoming with Black Ops 7’s story.
“Delivering consecutive Black Ops games also allows our teams the tremendous opportunity to tap not only into our own creativity but also embrace the shift from a ’90s setting to the new 2035 future setting within our marketing.”
Also confirmed is that Activision is sticking with last-gen consoles for Black Ops 7, which is due out across Xbox Series X and S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and PC via “Xbox PC,” Battle.net, and Steam. As you’d expect, you can play day-one on Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass. There was no mention of Nintendo Switch 2 in the announcement.
For more, check out everything announced at Xbox Games Showcase June 2025.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
