Activision is making a major strategic shift with the Call of Duty series that will affect it for years to come. Following the less-than-stellar response to Black Ops 7, the franchise will no longer get back-to-back entries in the same sub-series. This applies not only to Black Ops, but also to Modern Warfare.
“We will no longer do back-to-back releases of Modern Warfare or Black Ops games,” Activision said in the official announcement. “The reasons are many, but the main one is to ensure we provide an absolutely unique experience each and every year.”
Alongside this announcement, Activision promised “meaningful, not incremental” innovation for the series’ future. It didn’t specify exactly what this would mean, instead stressing it would share more “when the time is right.”
Black Ops 7 will still be getting the seasonal support players have come to expect from the series, however, and Activision said it “won’t rest until Black Ops 7 earns its place as one of the best Black Ops games we’ve ever made.”
That’s easier said than done, but more people are going to have the chance to try it out very soon. Starting next week, the multiplayer and Zombies modes will be available via a free trial, which will coincide with a Double XP weekend.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 has certainly fought an uphill battle thus far. On our sister-site Metacritic, the PC version sits at a 67. This makes it one of the lowest-scoring games in the entire series.