Black Ops 7 campaign is always-online, can't be paused, and has no checkpoints

Call of Duty Black Ops 7 can't be paused, and its campaign is online-only, making it a kind of hybridized multiplayer-campaign mashup.

2

The new Black Ops 7's campaign is ruffling some feathers, and for good reason: It completely breaks tradition, blurring the line between what's considered multiplayer and singleplayer content. It's a kind of experimental mix of DMZ and zombies in the guise of a campaign, but with frictional choices like having no checkpoints during missions.

Enemy health bars, forced multiplayer, no pausing, and having to stay online in order to play. These are all hallmarks of Call of Duty Black Ops 7, the latest from Microsoft's $68.7 billion gem, Activision. From the sound of it, players aren't particularly happy about these features, even if they are required by design. Gamers didn't seem to like it much when Modern Warfare 3's campaign also did something similar by breaking linear missions.

• Read more: Black Ops 7 announced: 2035 futuristic setting, co-op campaign, zombies and more

The status quo from previous generations tells us that publishers must split up their FPS games in two portions: singleplayer campaign that tells a story, not unlike a blockbuster action movie, and then online multiplayer for constant, replayable action. There's just one problem: making singleplayer campaigns are very expensive, and Microsoft is pressuring Xbox to deliver a steep 30% profit margin.

Ultimately, Black Ops 7's campaign is meant to be played co-op with other players. Conceptually and execution-wise, it looks and feels like the co-op multiplayer you'd find in a modern Far Cry game.

We have to wonder if Activision will return to original form with Call of Duty's future campaigns, or if this sets the mold for what's to come.