Call of Duty responds to Black Ops 7 backlash with list of community requested fixes

Call of Duty has officially responded to the community backlash following the recent gameplay reveal for Black Ops 7 at Gamescom 2025.

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The community pushed back intensely after seeing the gameplay trailer released by Activision and Call of Duty developers at the show, with the video on the official Call of Duty YouTube channel currently sitting at 44 million views, but with 407,000 dislikes versus just 55,000 likes. Also, the top comment on the gameplay reveal is "This made me pre-order Battlefield 6."

One of the particular points of contention Call of Duty players raised in various social media posts is the integration of cosmetics in Black Ops 7, or more specifically, how they don't want Black Ops 6 skins and cosmetics to carry over to Black Ops 7.

This criticism stems from the wider critique that Black Ops 6 demonstrates how the Call of Duty franchise has moved away from its roots and turned into a cartoonish parody of itself, as once military soldiers are now running around as characters such as Beavis and Butt-Head, Netflix's Squid Games players, and others along the same line.

However, Call of Duty teams have listened to the community in this regard, as a new update posted to the Call of Duty website has confirmed that Black Ops 6 cosmetics won't be carried over to Black Ops 7 as Black Ops 7 "needs to feel authentic to Call of Duty and its setting".

"We know there's been a lot of conversation recently about the identity of Call of Duty. 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," writes Call of Duty Staff

"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.

This change applies only to Black Ops 7. Call of Duty: Warzone is not affected, and all your Black Ops 6 content stays usable there," adds the Call of Duty team