With Modern Warfare 3 (2023) and Black Ops 7 being two of the worst received Call of Duty games, Activision has stated that they will not to do back-to-back games in their Call of Duty sub-franchises going forward.
In a blog post addressing the future of the franchise, the Call of Duty team start by saying “thank you for all for the feedback we have received over the last few months,” which is a nice way of putting it. “Call of Duty has enjoyed long-standing success because of all of you, a passionate community that demands excellence and deserves nothing less. 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.”
Of course, for the next year, that means giving Black Ops 7 as much support as needed to tide them over to 2026’s COD. So next week they will be hosting a free trial for Black Ops 7 multiplayer and Zombies, hand-in-hand with a Double XP weekend.
“We would like you to experience the game firsthand and decide for yourselves,” they say, and so they’re putting the two stronger sides of the game forward for consideration. It has been the story campaign that has come in for the strongest criticism, while multiplayer is a continuation of Black Ops 6, and remains the beating heart of this franchise.
Further to this, they promise “unprecedented” support through seasonal content: “Season 01 is the largest live season ever and we’re just getting started. We won’t rest until Black Ops 7 earns its place as one of the best Black Ops games we’ve ever made.”
But the most important point is that they will no longer do back-to-back releases of Modern Warfare or Black Ops games, which has led to dismal reviews and a wave of negativity for the franchise. The team promise:
- We will no longer do back-to-back releases of Modern Warfare or Black Ops games. The reasons are many, but the main one is to ensure we provide an absolutely unique experience each and every year.
- We will drive innovation that is meaningful, not incremental. While we aren’t sharing those plans today, we look forward to doing so when the time is right.
Black Ops 7 was another disappointment after the highs of Black Ops 6 last year. While Activision’s teams talked about how the two games were conceived around the same time, the campaign was a major disappointment, focussing entirely on co-op, replaying hits from Black Ops 2 in an unsatisfying way, and casting a pallor over the series just as shooter rivals like Battlefield 6 and ARC Raiders arrived.
In our review, I said, “Black Ops 7 really demonstrates the difficulties of Call of Duty’s yearly release schedule and going back-to-back with its sub-series. It’s not as rushed-feeling as Modern Warfare III was, that’s for sure, but it’s also not a consistent experience. The multiplayer and Zombies are solid continuations from last year, but there’s not too much excitement in that, especially after the energy-sapping co-op campaign and Endgame.”
Source: Call of Duty
It’s interesting to see Activision shift their strategy with the Call of Duty franchise. The reception of both Modern Warfare 3 and Black Ops 7 certainly raises questions about how they will approach future releases. Change can be a good opportunity for growth and improvement.
I agree, it’s definitely a significant shift for Activision. This change could also allow them to focus on quality over quantity, potentially leading to more innovative gameplay and storylines in the future. It’ll be interesting to see how this impacts player engagement long-term.
focus more on quality rather than quantity, which might lead to better gameplay experiences. It’ll be interesting to see how this impacts their release strategy and fan engagement in the long run.