Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is, in many ways, a safe bet for the franchise. Black Ops 6 was a hugely successful entry for the franchise, and with the Modern Warfare brand not having as much good will with fans following MW3, back-to-back years of Black Ops shouldn’t ruffle many feathers. Additionally, players have been asking for a direct sequel to 2012’s Black Ops 2 for ages, as its lineup of fictional weaponry became beloved to fans, as did its maps and campaign. However, that doesn’t mean that Black Ops 7 is playing it completely safe, as it’s set to offer a co-op campaign that could mean big things for the series’ story offerings.
The Black Ops subseries’ two most recent campaigns were developed by Raven Software, and while few would argue that they surpassed the story modes of Black Ops 1 and 2, they have still been hugely enjoyable experiences. For a series that has had so many campaigns, doing fresh things within the confines of a Call of Duty game is no easy task, but Black Ops Cold War and Black Ops 6 both managed to shake things up through trippy missions like “Break on Through,” choice-based levels like “Most Wanted,” and intriguing concepts like the BO6 Safehouse upgrades. Raven introduced dialogue trees to the Call of Duty series as well, but with a co-op approach, there is reason to worry that this mechanic won’t be in BO7 – and potentially the games that follow.
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While it’s true that figures like Park, Adler, Sev, and the other side characters featured in modern Black Ops campaigns don’t find themselves on many “best video game characters” lists, it’s also true that these characters are more fleshed-out than the supporting casts of classic CoD campaigns. In the older titles, players may have grown to like someone like Modern Warfare 2’s Sgt. Foley or Black Ops 2’s Harper because of memes or their iconic actors, but people really knew nothing about them outside of their acts of bravery and heroism. Black Ops Cold War and Black Ops 6’s characters, on the other hand, felt more like real people since people got to learn about their personal lives and histories directly from the source.
By exhausting the dialogue for Black Ops Cold War’s NPCs, players could get more insight into how Mason and Woods have adapted since the events of the original Black Ops, while also learning about Sims’ late father or how Park got her scar. These optional conversations returned again in Black Ops 6, humanizing Adler, letting players learn about Sev’s spy work for The Guild, and so on. Woods in particular shined through this bonus dialogue, as players were able to get some proper emotion out of him as he discussed his struggle with being wheelchair-bound and out of the fight following his encounter with Raul Menendez. Sadly, with Black Ops 7’s four-player co-op structure, it’s hard to imagine this feature making a return.
Though the optional dialogue in Black Ops Cold War and Black Ops 6 was a clear strength, there was certainly room for improvement. For example, a fully voiced protagonist communicating with the NPCs and actually delivering the chosen lines would add to the immersion, and a relationship system that stems from the dialogue could also prove interesting.
Black Ops 7’s Co-Op Gameplay Leaves Little Room For Conversations
While it could prove false, a recent leak for Black Ops 7’s campaign provided some insight into how co-op will work, and it certainly feels like a nail in the coffin for optional dialogue. Supposedly, players will control slightly customizable nameless soldiers for a majority of the campaign, with some missions seeing the party leader take control of David Mason and the other players being proper NPCs (Harper is likely to be one of them, with Michael Rooker confirmed to return). While the leak does mention that the safehouse is coming back, it is hard to imagine that it will be full of characters to talk to this time, especially with a large portion of the story apparently revolving around silent soldiers. Perhaps the safehouse will be populated by characters like David whenever players aren’t controlling him, though it seems more likely that the safehouse will be more like BO3’s than BO6’s – largely empty outside of little activities and decorations for players to engage with. Dialogue choices within actual missions are even less likely with BO7‘s rumored approach.
While the actual quality of the missions remains to be seen, as it’s a bit early to expect another disastrous MW3 open-combat scenario, it does seem like BO7’s campaign will be noticeably different from Black Ops Cold War and BO6. If dialogue trees do end up getting left behind in favor of co-op, then there is a worry that they will never come back. Call of Duty 2026 and 2027 will fall under Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games, and those campaigns are likely to introduce their own features, meaning it’s up to Treyarch and Raven to keep the mechanic going. With a potential lack of optional dialogue for three years straight, it could be forgotten about like so many other retired Call of Duty features. For those who care about character development in their first-person shooters, this would be a clear step back for the series, so hopefully Treyarch giving co-op another chance doesn’t mean its recent innovations are left by the wayside.