Call of Duty has killed some “big” brand collabs in Black Ops 7 following backlash — but admits that skins won’t be entirely “grounded”

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The next Call of Duty game, Black Ops 7, will be released on November 14, 2025, and it’s breaking from the usual pattern for the series.

Call of Duty continues to be the most popular first-person shooter, consistently selling tens of millions of copies each year. The upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is expected to follow this trend. It boasts a huge amount of content at launch and a near-future setting that should offer a fresh and different gameplay experience.

Call of Duty’s frequent partnerships and celebrity skins have frustrated many players this year. While the game has long used these collaborations to attract big spenders and encourage them to buy every cosmetic item, it seems developers haven’t paid enough attention to how these partnerships are changing the game’s overall feel and reputation.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 seems to have gone overboard with its character skins this year. It features a lot of silly and over-the-top options, like WWE wrestlers, characters from American Dad, and even appearances from brands like Beavis and Butthead that don’t really fit. It’s mostly to make more money, with little logical reason behind the choices.

As a big fan, I’ve been watching the shooter wars closely, and it’s interesting to see how Battlefield 6 is really leaning into a more realistic and immersive feel – it’s a clear way for them to stand out. They’ve said their customization options will stay true to the game’s world, which is cool. But I’m really curious to see what Activision and Call of Duty are doing to respond to that – how are *they* planning to keep players engaged?

Currently, Call of Duty isn’t planning to let players carry over cosmetic skins from the upcoming *Call of Duty: Black Ops 6* into the next game, *Black Ops 7*. This means popular skins like those featuring Nicki Minaj and Seth Rogen won’t be available at the start of *Black Ops 7*. However, a Call of Duty director hinted that they might consider adding skins that don’t fit a strictly realistic military theme in the future.

In a recent interview, Treyarch’s Yale Miller, a Senior Director of Production, suggested that the team isn’t focused on making cosmetics realistic. This implies they might include the over-the-top character skins fans have come to expect from games like Black Ops 6. Miller explained they’re aiming for skins that simply *feel* like they belong in the Black Ops world, and used the mannequin skins from a recent event as an example of something that didn’t quite fit that vision.

We’ve actually turned down some major opportunities with well-known brands. After discussing them, we decided they just weren’t a good fit for us and we didn’t want to pursue them.

We’re focused on staying true to what defines a Black Ops game – things we can confidently say feel authentic to the series. That’s our main aim, and it’s an important distinction from simply being ‘realistic’.

A difficult year for Call of Duty

As a long-time gamer, I’m pretty sure Call of Duty will dominate the shooter scene again this year, and might even be the best-selling game overall. It’s become a yearly tradition for so many players, much like sports games – people love the core Call of Duty experience and just want to see what’s new. The fast-paced, addictive gameplay is still there, but I’ve noticed a shift in what gamers want, and it feels like Call of Duty is having to adapt to stay relevant.

As an analyst, I’m seeing a clear strategy to attract younger players with frequent collaborations and cartoonish skins – they’re clearly playing to the meme culture. However, it seems like this approach is alienating older gamers, those of us from the Millennial and Gen-X generations. A simple fix, in my opinion, would be an option to hide these skins for those who aren’t interested. But, I suspect the financial team has data showing that allowing that choice would significantly hurt skin sales, so it’s unlikely to happen.

Developing a Call of Duty game is incredibly costly. Creating a full game in just one year requires a massive effort, and these games usually launch with a ton of content to attract a wide range of players. However, like many long-running series, there’s a growing difference in what older and newer gamers want, which makes it challenging for developers to please everyone.

It will be interesting to see how Call of Duty performs in 2026, especially with the upcoming release of Battlefield 6. Battlefield 6’s recent beta was very popular, which is putting some competitive pressure on Call of Duty. Also, there’s been a lot of online discussion – mainly on platforms like X – about the game’s cosmetic items. However, most Call of Duty players probably aren’t bothered by these issues, as they continue to enjoy the game.

Now that Call of Duty games are available on Xbox Game Pass from day one, Black Ops 7 is expected to be incredibly popular, just like Black Ops 6 was. The big question is: can it outperform its predecessor?

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 launches on November 14, 2025, for Xbox, PlayStation 5, and PC.

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2025-09-24 20:10