Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 co-op is working to pull one-and-done campaign players, competitive multiplayer sweats, and zombie mode survivors together with extensive co-operative support as well as a reworked, shared progression system.
The teams at Treyarch, Raven, and various support studios are laser-focused on building a Black Ops 7 co-op, connected experience for this year’s release. We saw an extensive sneak peek at what’s in store for Black Ops 7 during a presentation for media and creators at Treyarch’s HQ.
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First things first, players will level up through a shared progression system that rewards time and experience points, regardless of whether that XP is gained in kill confirmed, the campaign’s new endgame, or circle kiting a horde of zombies. And the development team is also offering a brand new overhaul to the campaign structure, to keep players invested long after they roll credits.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Co-Op Modes
During our time at the preview event hosted for media and creators, the team at Treyarch shared how they wanted to show players “things that they haven’t seen before, ways to play with your friends that you’ve never had before,” said senior director of production, Yale Miller.
From full four-player Black Ops 7 co-op support through the narrative, to the 32-player ‘open-world never-ending’ campaign endgame, as well as the 20 v 20 expansive Skirmish mode, and the zombies triple threat of round-based, survival, and returning Dead Ops modes, Treyarch has left players with an embarrassment of choices to mix it up with friends and foes online. Intent to keep you and friends together, Treyarch is incentivising co-op with a progression system that keeps the rewards coming regardless of the mode players choose.
Lawrence Metten, associate design director at Treyarch, explained during our media briefing, “You’re earning xp, you’re leveling up your guns, you’re progressing the battle pass, we have camos with a dedicating camo track for each one of these modes, the calling card challenges and a wealth of challenge and progression systems you engage within these experiences, but typically campaign has been a standalone experience where you’re separate from these systems. That changes in Black Ops 7 with the co-op campaign.”
Experience Matters In Black Ops 7 Co-Op as Much as Single Player
Experience matters. Treyarch structured the progression system for Black Ops 7 to value players’ time. “We wanted to make sure that any part of the game you’re playing is rewarding,” said Miles Leslie, associate creative director.
Whether “you’re in co-op campaign, you’re in zombies, you’re in MP (competitive multiplayer)… We want to make sure that your time is rewarded, and really, we want players to feel like they can go anywhere. We are building a more social game with a co-op campaign that you and your friends can go to any part of the game and be rewarded, for the first time ever.”
Leslie says, “This story, this social experience, it really demanded co-op in the campaign.” And a major reason why Black Ops 7 co-op was needed for the campaign’s endgame is to ensure that single-player-focused gamers come back for more, and to encourage them to bring their friends along for the ride. The development team prioritized making sure players finished the campaign with an extensive list of things to do and unlock.
Lawrence Metten explains, “When you play through the co-op campaign and graduate into [the] endgame, you are gonna be earning XP. You’re gonna be leveling up your guns when season one drops. You’ll be progressing the battle pass. We also have a dedicated camo track for [the] co-op campaign.”
But what does the endgame of a Call of Duty campaign look like? It’s the mind-bending culmination of the Black Ops 7 story. The endgame invites up to 32 players into an open world jaunt, where the challenges, difficulty, and rewards continue to ramp up. Miles Leslie calls it “the final proving ground for everything that you’ve earned and learned in the campaign.” And Treyarch is introducing a new progression system just for the endgame.
Treyarch Design Director, Kevin Drew, explains that as “you’re earning experience, and you’re leveling up your combat rating. Every time you level up, you get to make unique choices. Some of those are very powerful things like increasing your health, damage, [and] mobility. But there’s also what we’re calling skill, specializations, and so you can customize yourself in ways that you’ve never been able to do in a campaign.”
But what about playing Black Ops 7 solo?
Solo player gamers may be reading some of this with concern, but Miles Leslie shared some encouragement on that front. “If you’re a solo player, story player, don’t worry. You can experience the campaign; it’s going to be awesome, as you would expect.” But now with the endgame, there’s a whole lot more to do, even if you plan to play alone.
This isn’t all, though. There’s a new 20v20 skirmish mode for multiplayer fans looking for a bigger team-based battle. Dead Ops zombie mode is returning. There’s a new wonder vehicle to transport players between zombie zones, assuming they survive the trip. And later this year at CoD Next, more details will be shared for the new updates to Warzone. Fingers crossed for the return of the DMZ mode.
