Black Ops 7 could end up as the poster child for the 'CoD cycle'

Regardless of whether a Call of Duty hell knows the exact term for it or not, they will undoubtedly know Cod cycle. And no, this isn't about developers Treyarch, Infinity Ward, and Sledgehammer Games swapping development duties, but is instead a reference to how fickle Call of Duty community can be. The Cod the cycle goes as follows, and without fail, it tends to happen every year:

A new game is revealed and fans are excited.
Said game launches, and fans celebrate it in its earliest days.
After a few weeks the complaints become vehement and the game goes from being good to “sucking”.
The current game is continuously bashed in the run-up to the next one Cod.
As the next Cod is released, and the opinion of it becomes negative, the previous year's game is suddenly compared to the newer title and reevaluated.
The yearling Cod The game is said to have been judged too harshly, and it becomes more painful to look back on as time goes on.
The cycle repeats itself, with games once hated becoming loved over time.

Realistically, though Call of Duty franchises have their problems – annual releases get tiresome, War zone integration makes games feel the same, and so on — a majority of games are objectively well-made from a mechanical standpoint. Sure, fans will have their preferences due to map design, balancing, and whatnot, but Call of Duty always delivers top notch FPS gunplay. So, with the consistent quality of games, it's only natural that after the initial backlash subsides, a majority of the franchise's releases will eventually be perceived as “good” or even “good”. The Cod the cycle has affected every record since Black Ops 2and it doesn't seem to be going anywhere based on the reception to Black Ops 7. However, BO7 may be the biggest example yet of the bike in action, as it seems incredibly likely that the game will one day be seen as one of the series' most underrated entries ever.

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Black Ops 7 shines where it matters most

To be clear, Black Ops 7 is not without real problems. Its campaign is disappointing, both in terms of its level design and storytelling, falling far short of the quality of David Mason's previous adventures. But the other pillars in the game – the ones that most players buy one Cod title for — fully deliver. Black Ops 7 multiplayer has been well received by a large majority of players, as reduced skill-based matchmaking, better map design, and persistent lobbies are all the community has been asking for for years. Weapon leveling and prestige mean there's more to grind than ever, and the amount of seasonal content has been nothing short of staggering, with players showering in free maps in a way only comparable to MW3 (2023).

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And while BO7 may seem similar MW3 (2023) in the sense that it is the second entry of the same subseries in a row, with a well-supported multiplayer but a messy campaign, there is one important difference: Zombies. Although MWZ had a promising start, it quickly fell off due to a lack of meaningful content additions. BO7 Zombies, on the other hand, thrive. Cursed mode has improved with the addition of public matches, the dialogue and storytelling are the best they've been in years, and the recently released Totenreich map is arguably the first S-tier Zombies map since Ancient Evil. If Black Ops 7 Zombie's last two maps are on par with Totenreich, then it could be one of the top three Cod Zombie games of all time, and that's something to celebrate.

Yet while Black Ops 7 offers very strong multiplayer and Zombies modes, everyone is aware that it has suffered disappointing sales, a rarity for Cod franchise. Contributors range from Xbox Game Pass to widespread memes about the game's campaign to a general burnout about Black Ops brand, but regardless of the exact reason, the fact is BO7 just wasn't as big a hit as its predecessor. It's a shame, because it feels like players are missing out on some of the most well-rounded multiplayer and Zombies modes of the last decade. So, of course, when Cod fans return to BO7 to give it a fairer shake later, they'll likely be amazed at how special maps like Totenreich are.

The Carry Forward situation likely didn't help either, as its removal is still hotly debated to this day, with many players wishing it had stayed as some over-the-top skins (like Dave Chappelle) were released anyway.

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Black Ops 7 being the game that delivers on the community's biggest wishes, like low SBMM and the classic Zombies cast returning, should have seen it loved by fans. Instead, it has fallen victim to the same early vitriol every new one Cod release does, and that backlash may have finally affected sales. Now, it's hard not to worry that Activision will take the wrong lesson from it BO7s performance, go back everything it did well with Cod 2026. The Cod the cycle has become tiresome, as society regularly looks hypocritical and comes off as if it doesn't know what it wants.

Players returning to games that Endless warfare celebrating them properly when the door has long since closed on potential follow-ups is incredibly frustrating. Instead, they should appreciate these games when it's their time in the spotlight and show their love for them before developers and series publishers decide to change course. It's not too late for BO7 to get the love it deserves with a few seasons left, but unfortunately it feels like it's destined to be another example of Cod players who pull a Thanos and realize they “judged it too harshly”, and only when they're busy hating on the next entry.