For the first time ever, Activision is releasing new Call of Duty: Black Ops games in consecutive years. Beyond that, the same two developers that led the production of Black Ops 6–Treyarch and Raven Software–are once again co-leading the development on Black Ops 7.
With Activision previously stating how important it is to have a three-year production cycle for each new Call of Duty game, many are wondering how it’s even possible that Black Ops 7 is coming just a year after Black Ops 6. Treyarch associate creative director Miles Leslie told IGN that development on Black Ops 7 actually began at the same time as Black Ops 6–that game had a franchise-longest four-year development cycle.
“They were started at the same time,” Leslie sad. “So obviously they have different production ramp-up times, but they were started in parallel and greenlit at the same time. That was a really unique challenge, but also fun to be able to know that you’re going to do that. Black Ops 6 is going to be 1991 rogue team, and now how do you flip the script on Black Ops 7 in 2035?”
Also worth noting is that while Treyarch and Raven are the two co-lead developers for Black Ops 7, Activision’s network of studios are contributing to its development. For example, Beenox is heading up the PC edition specifically. Other studios that worked on Black Ops 7 include Activision Shanghai, Demonware, Digital Legends, High Moon Studios, Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer Games, Activision Central Design, Activision Central Technology, and Activision QA.
Lead narrative producer Natalie Pohorski, meanwhile, said making the games in tandem affords for some “payoffs” that might not have been possible in a different setup. “A lot of the things that we innovated on with Black Ops 6, you’re going to see in Black Ops 7, and so it’s a great connector,” Pohorski said.
One of those features is the Omnimovement system, which is expanding in Black Ops 7 with things like wall-running. Additionally, Black Ops 7 adds wingsuits and grappling hooks.
Black Ops 7 launches on November 14 for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC, and it’ll also be available at launch on Xbox Game Pass.