"We Hear You": Call of Duty Panics After Black Ops 7 Backlash

Call of Duty doesn't usually do "we need to talk" posts. But after a messy Black Ops 7 launch, and the smash hit success of Battlefield 6 and Arc Raiders, that's exactly what the team has done. In a new message to players, Activision admits parts of the community aren't happy, promises the biggest Season 01 the series has ever had, and even says it will stop the back-to-back Modern Warfare and Black Ops cycle.

Call of Duty finally responds to Black Ops 7 backlash

The new blog, titled Call of Duty: Black Ops 7: Update, is basically Activision saying: “We’ve seen the Reddit threads, we’ve read the comments, and no, we’re not ignoring you.” The team thanks players for years of support but also bluntly admits that for some people, the recent games – including Black Ops 7 – haven’t fully hit the mark.

• The post is framed as a message directly from the Call of Duty team.
• It acknowledges that parts of the fanbase feel let down.
• Activision promises to “deliver, and overdeliver” on expectations going forward.
• The focus is on Black Ops 7 right now, but the tone is clearly franchise-wide.

In other words, this is a soft course-correction. Black Ops 7 launched into a tired audience already debating franchise fatigue and comparing it to competitors like Battlefield 6 – something we’ve seen play out all year.
If you’ve been grinding since the Xbox 360 days, the post reads like Activision finally admitting it can’t just ship “another one” every year and expect the same blind loyalty.

Free Black Ops 7 trial weekend with Double XP

One of the biggest immediate changes is simple: Activision is letting everyone try Black Ops 7 for free. The team says that next week from the date of the blog, players will be able to jump into multiplayer and Zombies at no cost, with a Double XP weekend layered on top.

• Free access to Black Ops 7 multiplayer and Zombies for a limited period.
• Timed as a “next week” event after 9 December 2025.
• Includes Double XP so you can actually progress during the trial.
• Good chance to test performance, SBMM, and maps before buying.

For UAE players, expect the start and end times to map to Gulf Standard Time (GST) based on your platform’s regional store – so the event may show slightly earlier or later than US timings. You’ll likely see the free trial tile appear on PlayStation, Xbox, Battle.net or Steam automatically once it goes live. If you’ve been sitting on the fence because of mixed reviews, this is your low-risk way to see if the gunplay, maps and modes are actually your thing.

If you do end up liking it, you can go deeper into the game’s co-op and Endgame mode changes via our coverage on Black Ops 7’s 32-player Endgame shift.

Season 01 is pitched as COD’s biggest live season yet

The team also leans hard on seasonal content. According to the post, Season 01 is the largest live season they’ve ever done for Call of Duty, and it’s only the start of an aggressive update plan for Black Ops 7.

• Season 01 described as the biggest live season in COD history.
• Ongoing updates will be shaped directly by player feedback.
• The team says it “won’t rest” until Black Ops 7 earns its place among the best Black Ops entries.
• Future seasons are implied, but not detailed yet.

What does that mean in practice? Expect lots of mode rotations, balance tweaks, new maps, and probably a decent amount of store bundles tied into it – the usual live-service cocktail. But the important difference here is the framing: instead of treating Black Ops 7 as “launch and move on,” Activision is publicly tying itself to the idea of fixing, tuning and expanding it until the community actually respects it. If they follow through, Black Ops 7 could end up closer to Black Ops 2 status over time, which is clearly what they’re chasing.

You can already see that direction in the broader Season 01 intel and #TeamRICOCHET updates on cheating and security across Black Ops 7 and Warzone.

No more back-to-back Modern Warfare and Black Ops years

The biggest long-term change is to the release formula itself. The blog openly states that Call of Duty will no longer release Modern Warfare and Black Ops games back-to-back.

• No more yearly ping-ponging between Modern Warfare and Black Ops.
• Main reason given: each game should feel “absolutely unique” year to year.
• Future entries will focus on meaningful innovation, not small tweaks.
• Details are being held back for now, but Activision says a “next era” is already in development.

This doesn’t automatically mean the end of annual Call of Duty releases, but it does suggest a slower rotation of the big sub-series – and possibly more room for spin-offs, experimental modes or even new IP. It’s also a clear sign that Black Ops 7’s reception has scared Activision enough to rethink a money-printing formula it has defended for more than a decade.

For franchise watchers in the UAE, this is as big a signal as when we first heard about Black Ops 7’s aggressive Game Pass push and the Battlefield 6 vs COD rivalry heating up.

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