Stop me if you've heard this one, but Call of Duty's next installment is heading to the not-so-far future. Even America's near constant stream of military's conflicts is starting to run narratively thin for Activision's annual COD installments. The Middle East is the new World War II of terms of having been there and done that in just about every way a military shooter can. So next up, it sure seems like AI is the enemy our brave soldiers will be fighting against:
Black Ops 7 is headed to the 2035 with what Activision is calling the most mindbending story to date. This is the first time COD has gone to the Black Ops well in consecutive years. The latest game will take place 40 years after the events of Black Ops 6. There will be a co-op campaign, futuristic weaponry and of course, sweet, sweet zombies.
The sixth installment in the Black Ops saga was well-received. And as cars start to drive themselves and AI permeates every aspect of our lives, it's an easy bogeyman to aim at. But it feels familiar, as I'm old enough to remember that COD Advanced Warfare was just over 10 years ago, and this seems a lot like that.
More concerning, it feels like Battlefield 2042, which crashed so hard it sent that series back to its roots. By the way, that has been a good thing so far.
I know this series largely lives and dies by multiplayer, but Black Ops has soared because it has given the best campaigns in the COD universe. That said, they've always taken enough time to work on them before. I'm concerned about such a quick turnaround, and I'm betting I'm not alone in this.