Activision and Treyarch are making a big change to Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, just under 12 weeks before its launch in November. All those wacky cosmetics from Black Ops 6 will no longer carry over to the new sequel as previously promised. The devs behind Call of Duty say the change is to ensure Black Ops 7 is “authentic to Call of Duty and its setting.”
On August 26, in a lengthy community update posted on the official Call of Duty website, Treyarch thanked fans for all the feedback and acknowledged the ongoing conversation online surrounding crossover skins and wacky cosmetic items in video games.
“We know there’s been a lot of conversation recently about the identity of Call of Duty,” said the studio. “Some of you have said we’ve drifted from what made Call of Duty unique in the first place: immersive, intense, visceral and in many ways grounded. That feedback hits home, and we take it seriously. We hear you.”
Players were worried that the weird cosmetics and crossover skins from Black Ops 6 would immediately turn Black Ops 7 into a Fortnite-like experience. That’s because the plan was to let skins from BLOPS 6, which now includes characters like Beavis and Butt-Head, carry over to BLOPS 7. But that’s no longer happening.
“Operators, Operator Skins, and Weapons from Black Ops 6 will no longer carry forward into Black Ops 7,” announced Treyarch. “Black Ops 7 needs to feel authentic to Call of Duty and its setting. That is why Black Ops 6 Operator and Weapon content will not carry forward to Black Ops 7. Double XP tokens and GobbleGums will still carry forward, because we recognize your time and progression are important.”
The developers of Black Ops 7 also claimed that a “ton of feedback” has already been implemented into the game. And the studio explained that future cosmetic bundles and items added to BLOPS 7 will be “crafted to fit the Black Ops identity.” Treyarch further added: “We hear the feedback. We need to deliver a better balance toward the immersive, core Call of Duty experience.”
Activision did confirm that BLOPS 6 skins will still move over to Warzone. So your strange collection of characters can still go enjoy battle royale.
Why Call of Duty is making this big change
People have been yelling online for years about Call of Duty skins and cosmetics going too far and feeling out of place. So why the sudden change now, just a few months before the next game’s launch? Well, it’s likely because of Battlefield 6. EA’s upcoming shooter held an open beta earlier this month, and it was immensely popular. It is also a more grounded, gritty, and realistic war game compared to recent Call of Duty entries. And when EA DICE design director Shashank Uchil was asked if the studio planned to add crossover skins like Beavis and Butt-Head or Goku to Battlefield 6, he claimed that wasn’t going to happen.
“It has to be grounded,” said Uchil. “That is what BF3 and BF4 was—it was all soldiers, on the ground. It’s going to be like this. I don’t think it needs Nicki Minaj. Let’s keep it real, keep it grounded.”
Another DICE developer told Comicbook: “What I will say is what’s really important to us is that things feel grounded, and we want people to express themselves and to have cool skins and peacock in a way like ‘I look pretty cool and I have this great weapon skin.’ But we want it to feel authentic to the franchise, that’s the approach we’re thinking.”
Meanwhile, following last week’s reveal of a very wild-looking and not at all grounded Black Ops 7, IGN asked the game’s creative director, Miles Leslie, about wacky crossover skins. His answer was a big nothing burger that didn’t really commit to anything, vaguely claimed the studio would “calibrate” future skins based on feedback, and promised that all fans would “feel represented.” This answer went over poorly. And, after today’s big news that Black Ops 7 will feature more grounded skins and won’t let Black Ops 6 cosmetics carry over as planned, it seems the folks in charge of Call of Duty are trying to get the train back on the tracks in the face of October’s Battlefield 6. Will it be enough? I’m not sure, but it is interesting to watch Call of Duty react to the first serious competition it’s faced in years.
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