More and more information is starting to surface regarding Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, with the upcoming title drawing a lot of attention thanks to its reveal trailer at the Xbox Games Showcase. This reveal trailer confirmed the game’s presence as a direct sequel to 2012’s Black Ops 2, with familiar faces like Raul Menendez and David Mason making prominent appearances. While a brief nod was also given to the game’s Zombies mode in this trailer, fans are still relatively in the dark when it comes to the title’s multiplayer offerings.
This has changed earlier than expected over the past few days, with some multiplayer screenshots of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 accidentally being published by Treyarch. Some fascinating information can be gleaned from these screenshots, such as what kind of game modes and killstreaks will make appearances in Black Ops 7‘s multiplayer. Away from this, however, the screenshots have drawn criticism for their bland and fairly monotone color schemes, stirring up a longstanding criticism of some Call of Duty entries.
Related
Call of Duty Just Let a Golden Opportunity for Black Ops 7 Pass It By
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 was recently unveiled at the Xbox Games Showcase, but the festivities could have continued on one specific date.
The Worry Around Call of Duty: Black Ops 7’s Color Scheme Speaks to a Larger Franchise Issue
The leaked multiplayer screenshots for Black Ops 7 came from an internal developer message accidentally going public on the Xbox app, with the screenshots quickly being posted to major CoD channels like CharlieIntel. The screenshots are related to the internal playtesting that is currently ongoing for Black Ops 7, revealing brand-new modes for the game, such as the 20v20 Skirmish mode or the more traditional Overload game mode.
Black Ops 7‘s Skirmish mode will see players use wingsuits to fight across expansive maps, while Overload may play similarly to the Uplink mode that appeared in titles like Black Ops 3.
Fans were quick to assess the screenshots for things like showcased weapons and operators, with these leaks giving players the most detailed look at BO7‘s in-game experience to date. More than anything, a lot of the discussion surrounding these leaks has concerned the color palette of the screenshots, being made primarily of grays and blacks that create quite a monotone look. While some spurts of color can be seen on operators sporting semi-futuristic gear, many fans are quite disappointed at how visually drab the game appears to be.
The CoD franchise has faced this criticism for some time, with older titles like Call of Duty: Ghosts being quite infamous for their washed-out in-game looks. Even more outlandish CoD entries like 2016’s Infinite Warfare faced this same controversy, which has only been echoed in more recent titles like the divisive Modern Warfare reboot. In a more recent context, many have tied this predominantly gray look of Call of Duty to the popularity of Warzone, with each annual CoD title having to generally match its aesthetic to the muted look of the 2020 battle royale title.
Black Ops’ Colorful Legacy Only Makes These Leaked Screenshots More Disappointing
This early perception of Black Ops 7 is only made worse when looking at past entries to the sub-franchise, with games like Black Ops 2, 3, and 4 being renowned for their vibrant and saturated color schemes. With the upcoming BO7 being set between the stories of Black Ops 2 and 3, it only seems right that the game tries to capture the visual pop of its predecessors, although these screenshots suggest otherwise. Other theories suggest that the game might try to inject more color through lavish in-game bundles, speaking to a wider criticism of Call of Duty‘s modern monetization practices.
Of course, these screenshots come from an early build of Black Ops 7, with it being possible that the final product looks more vibrant than what fans have currently seen. Regardless, a lack of color vibrancy has been a real sticking point for many Call of Duty titles in the past, and Black Ops 7 would be doing the Black Ops series a disservice by not following in the colorful footsteps of some of its most popular predecessors.