Though there was a good deal of hype following the announcement of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 at 2025’s Xbox Games Showcase, in the weeks since, more and more concerns have started to appear online. The leaked Black Ops 7 screenshots drew criticism due to their muted color palette, with the game’s aesthetic being a far cry from Black Ops 4 or even Black Ops 2, the latter of which BO7 is a direct successor to. The announcement of a co-op campaign has fans wary of another lackluster experience that resembles MW3’s open-combat missions, with leaks saying that players control nameless soldiers in multiple missions not inspiring confidence. Add on the usual SBMM fears and the worry that Treyarch is under too much pressure by having to release games twice in a row, and it’s clear that fans will need to see lots of gameplay to be assured that this is the BO2 follow-up that they’ve always wanted.
While I share all these concerns, the main barrier to hype for me is a problem I’m all but certain won’t be addressed by this year’s game, and it’s one that a majority of players won’t bat an eye at. I’m talking about Black Ops 7’s trophy list, and those who know me won’t be surprised that it’s something I care about. Since I first got my PlayStation 3, I’ve been hooked on collecting Trophies, finding their clear tiers – and the Platinum for hitting 100% on a specific game – far more satisfying than other platforms’ achievement systems. I’ve prided myself on filling out my digital Trophy case, seeking out community-run competitions and hitting as many goals as I can. From 50,000 Trophies to 1000 platinums, I’ve hit countless goals I’ve set for myself, and that includes platinuming as many games from my favorite franchises as possible. Unfortunately, that has not been possible for recent Call of Duty games on PS5, and I’m worried BO7 will be the same.
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Modern Call of Duty Games Lacking PS5 Platinum Trophies Has Been a Big Letdown
Between Call of Duty: World at War and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022), every CoD game had a distinct Trophy list and a Platinum Trophy to match. I managed to get all but two of these – World at War’s Veteran difficulty and its grenade spam always scared me off, while I couldn’t commit to the sheer grind needed for full completion of Black Ops 3’s campaign. With every other game, though, I made full completion my personal mission. From CoD Zombies Easter eggs and beating Dead Ops Arcade 3 to Veteran difficulties and unlocking all Blackout characters, I did all there was to do for over a decade of CoD games. I even went out of my way to Platinum the PS Vita-exclusive Black Ops: Declassified. Unfortunately, Modern Warfare 3 brought a forced end to my yearly tradition.
With 2023’s Modern Warfare 3 essentially being a DLC for MW2 – its multiplayer carried weaponry forward and was largely composed of remakes from the OG MW2 – the idea that its achievement list was treated like DLC made sense, even if it was disappointing. Unfortunately, this approach carried over to Black Ops 7, confirming the community’s fears that the achievements being tacked on to MW2’s list instead of being separated was actually a result of the divisive Call of Duty launcher, which acts as a hub for the series. With Call of Duty’s hub unlikely to go anywhere anytime soon, it sadly seems likely that BO7’s list will also lack a Platinum Trophy.
Typically, DLC Trophies come alongside major updates for free-to-play games, offering a handful of extra achievements to chase but no additional Platinum Trophies. It’s very rare for an entire game’s worth of Trophies to be added on through this method, making Call of Duty unique.
Call of Duty Trophy Hunters May Still Be Able to Get a BO7 Platinum, But There’s a Big Asterisk Attached
Call of Duty players can technically still get a Platinum Trophy for Black Ops 6 and MW3, but this requires playing the PS4 versions of the game. Because last-gen consoles lack the Call of Duty app, the games launch traditionally and have dedicated Trophy lists as a result. For me, though, playing a game that looks worse and feels less smooth just for a Platinum Trophy isn’t worth it, especially something like CoD where I’m grinding Zombies and multiplayer content for hours on end. And really, this isn’t a choice that players should have to make in the first place. The Call of Duty app has been widely criticized for slowing down the startup process, having a poor interface that’s hard to navigate, and being largely useless since players are unlikely to have multiple CoD games downloaded at the same time due to their size. If bringing back Platinums on current-gen consoles means retiring this app, I certainly wouldn’t lose sleep over it.
Sadly, though, with the PlayStation Trophy hunting community being rather niche, and Call of Duty enjoyed by so many casual players, its unlikely that many gamers will even care about the series’ newer games lacking Platinum Trophies on PS5. For the few like me who do care, though, it’ll undoubtedly be disappointing to see BO7 repeat this mistake. With Black Ops 7 expected to be the last cross-gen CoD, too, its potential PS4 list could offer the final Call of Duty Platinum for the foreseeable future, as the next Platinum wouldn’t come until the PS6 version of the CoD app releases (and even then it’d be a one-off). This approach killed a lot of the joy in Trophy hunting for MW3 and BO7 for me, but sadly, I don’t see it changing. For now, maybe I’ll dig up my PS3 to Platinum World at War, because there’s a good chance this year’s CoD game won’t be able to scratch the same itch.