Black Ops 7 hasn’t had the start anyone at Activision hoped for. Reviews tanked fast, the Steam page is drowning in negative feedback, and early sales reports offer a rough picture compared to its competitors. Instead of dodging the criticism, the Call of Duty team has stepped forward with a pretty major admission: the yearly release cycle has changed, and the days of back-to-back Modern Warfare and Black Ops games are over.
Black Ops 7’s Rocky Launch Put Pressure on the Franchise
Call of Duty has had weak launches before, but Black Ops 7 hit a new low for the series. Before release, players were already pointing out AI-generated cosmetic items introduced in the game, and that perception carried into launch week. On the game’s release, criticism took a toll very fast.
In Europe’s early sales numbers, Black Ops 7 trailed Battlefield 6 by more than 60%, and user scores across Metacritic and Steam are mostly negative. BO7’s campaign reception was lukewarm, multiplayer felt half-baked to many fans, and performance concerns didn’t help either. A 1.6 user score is the number you expect from a broken remaster, not a flagship $70 yearly release, and that’s even from the top franchise.
The developers clearly saw the same thing the community did, and their response makes it clear they understand how much trust BO7 burned.
Activision Responds: “We Will No Longer Do Back-to-Back Releases”
In a blog post by the Call of Duty team, Activision confirmed a major course correction. They acknowledged that the franchise “has not met your expectations fully” and laid out a new direction that shifts away from the rapid-fire release pattern we’ve seen in the last few years.
The headline change: No more consecutive Modern Warfare or Black Ops releases.
This means we won’t be getting another situation like 2024 and 2025, where Black Ops 6 and Black Ops 7 launched back-to-back from the same studio. That decision stretched Treyarch thin, and it can be seen in BO7’s polish and content depth. Activision says the new plan is meant to ensure each yearly release is special and what fans expect, rather than part of a rushed assembly line.
Under this approach, the main studios — Infinity Ward, Treyarch, and Sledgehammer — will rotate more consistently again. Infinity Ward is expected to lead 2026, while Sledgehammer is rumored to kick off a new subseries in 2027.
Another point the developers mentioned is their intent to “drive meaningful, not incremental” innovation. They didn’t share exact details, but it’s clear that small tweaks to the same formula every year aren’t going to work anymore. Fans are fed up with the similar kind of content and mechanics delivered release after release. They want something new, and the best example is the huge success of ARC Raiders right after its launch.
Given the last few titles have blended in tone, UI style, and progression systems, players ask for a strong identity between releases. The studio looks ready to take that feedback seriously, though we won’t see the promised outcome until next year’s game is revealed.
Black Ops 7 Isn’t Being Abandoned, Season 01 is Massive
Despite the rough launch, Activision isn’t going to throw BO7 under the bus. They’ve confirmed that Season 01 is the franchise’s “largest live season ever,” and they plan to support the new title until it “earns its place as one of the best Black Ops games.”
That’s definitely an ambitious promise, looking at where the game currently stands, but the devs’ plan includes:
- A free trial to let players test the game directly
- A Double XP weekend for both Multiplayer and Zombies
- Ongoing seasonal support described as “unprecedented”
The team wants Black Ops 7 to recover rather than fade out like some of the weaker COD entries in the past.
The COD franchise has been stuck in a loop for years, delivering fast sequels at the cost of identity and innovation. Black Ops 7’s launch wasn’t only a stumble, but it was the breaking point that forced Activision to rethink how it handles its major brand.
Ending back-to-back releases is a major step. Whether the results will start to show with Infinity Ward’s 2026 title or further down the line, the series will finally give players something different than another quick-turnaround sequel.