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SCUF, Corsair, and Elgato dropping amazing Black Ops 7-themed gear

by admin October 2, 2025

The Corsair, Elgato, and SCUF teams really killed it with their Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 collab, and they're back for more. In comes Black Ops 7, with fresh opportunity for some awesome customization. It all looks great, with the BO7 color palette and chimera logos. Check out the designs below and sign up to be notified when they become available. Besides that, read our reviews below from last year as well to find the gear you need!

SCUF Gaming | Black Ops 7SCUF Gaming | Black Ops 7CORSAIR

Built for the Fight.
Introducing the official SCUF x @CallofDuty Black Ops 7 Collection.
🔗 : https://t.co/Ri32ZpWRBy#BlackOps7 pic.twitter.com/YEFPoTCtIO

— SCUF (@ScufGaming) September 30, 2025
SCUF Reflex Pro PS5 controller review — Finding the meta attachmentsSCUF is a brand I’ve long heard of but never tried myself. There are many PS5 pro controllers out there after an original scarcity at launch. With so many to pick from, why choose a SCUF? After spending some time using SCUF’s Reflex Pro, I see the appeal.GamingTrendDavid BurdetteScuf Instinct Pro Xbox controller review — Improvise, adapt, overcomeRecently, I got my hands on my first SCUF controller with the Reflex Pro. That PS5 controller was truly fantastic, and even if a bit pricey, made for a few spectacular performances from yours truly while gaming. When I picked up the SCUF Instinct Pro Xbox controller, I figured it’GamingTrendDavid BurdetteElgato Wave:3 microphone & mic arm review — Wave goodbye to other micsThe right microphone for streaming or even just playing games with the squad is important. I used to use any old headset mic, but after using streaming mics to communicate with my team, it’s hard to go back to something of lower quality. I’ve used and reviewed aGamingTrendDavid BurdetteElgato Stream Deck review — Key to excellenceI have done a bit of streaming for GamingTrend here and there. That said, I’ve never done much of it. A few years ago I had the opportunity to mess around with an Elgato Stream Deck, and it was a neat device I figured would come in handy. Now,GamingTrendDavid BurdetteCorsair HS80 RGB gaming headset review — Playing the objectiveThere are many items I find necessary when playing competitively, but a headset is always close to the top. Your arsenal is a bit different when you go to war in a video game. This usually consists of your PC or console, controller or keyboard and mouse, and a goodGamingTrendDavid BurdetteCorsair K65 Plus wireless keyboard and MM300 mousepad review — Dynamite comes in small packagesI tend to gravitate towards full-size keyboards. It’s probably the ten keys, but there’s a safety I feel with them that’s engrained in me. Hence, even if I use a great TKL keyboard, there’s more than a good chance I’ll go right back to myGamingTrendDavid Burdette

Stay tuned to GamingTrend for more SCUF, Corsair, and Elgato news and info!

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October 2, 2025 0 comments

Game Updates

Black Ops 7 Multiplayer Avoids The CoD Fatigue, But Warzone Falls A Step Back

by admin October 1, 2025

With Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, Treyarch is going back-to-back with Black Ops releases. The new game brings a futuristic setting for multiplayer, the largest round-based Zombies map ever, and a new Resurgence map for Warzone called Haven’s Hollow. GameSpot went hands-on with Black Ops 7 during Call of Duty: Next, and while the jump into the future does enough to distinguish the multiplayer from last year’s offering, and the latest iteration of Zombies creates a new experience, Warzone’s upcoming integration currently falls flat for Black Ops 7.

Futuristic and refined multiplayer

I’ve always believed that Call of Duty was at its best with a rotating developer cycle. I liked flip-flopping between developers and the different series within Call of Duty. Going from Modern Warfare to Black Ops was refreshing because the different teams each introduced different styles, modes, and features to their takes on the game, lessening the yearly “CoD fatigue.”

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Now Playing: Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 | Multiplayer Gameplay Reveal Trailer

So, with another Black Ops title coming so soon, my biggest concern was how Treyarch would make Black Ops 7 feel fresh enough. I didn’t want another year that felt like more of the exact same, because we already lived through that with back-to-back Modern Warfare titles. Thankfully, I can happily report that Black Ops 7 does enough to remain an invigorating multiplayer experience.

Taking Black Ops out of the ’90s of last year’s entry and into the year 2035 does a lot to change how multiplayer feels. Treyarch leans into the tech of this future, providing more interesting scorestreaks such as the dog-like robot called the D.A.W.G. and the Rhino, which is a robotic take on Call of Duty’s juggernaut enemy type from previous games.

Loadouts can also be equipped with other tech and gadgets from the future to further differentiate Black Ops 7 from its predecessor. There are field upgrades that let you launch drones, temporarily cloak yourself, and even place decoy holograms of your operator to trick your enemy. These aren’t new mechanics in Call of Duty, but we haven’t seen equipment like this since the days of the high-tech jetpack games, and they add immersion to Black Ops 7’s futuristic warfare.

Treyarch also enhanced the omnimovement system introduced in Black Ops 6, making the movement faster, more fluid, and oftentimes flashier. The team removed the tactical sprint (you now need a specific perk to use it), increased the base movement speed, and added a wall jump. On paper, these changes to omnimovement seem minimal, but the adjustments do feel impactful. Wall jumps can be chained together, and these hops can be used to reach windows and other areas not previously accessible in boots-on-the-ground Call of Duty games.

During my hands-on time, I was able to perform a few fancy wall jumps where I could tap the wall, giving me extra height, and then spin around in the air to catch an opponent off guard. I could also toss a stun grenade into a window to daze a sniper, and then wall jump high enough to reach and eliminate them, which is a play the previous game’s movement didn’t allow for. I’m not super savvy with advanced movement, so there will be players who perform much more impressive plays, but it does give you more options on how you approach areas of the maps, as well as your gunfights. This also may or may not sound like a huge feature to some, but fundamentally impacting the moment-to-moment gameplay in this way can really freshen things up for Black Ops 7.

The maps I played were also large enough to give space for pulling off these over-the-top action moves. One complaint I ended up having in Black Ops 6 was that most of the maps were on the smaller side, with a focus on chaotic and in-your-face action, but the Black Ops 7 maps we played gave me much more room to breathe. These aren’t huge designs, but they are all medium-sized Call of Duty maps.

In an interview with Treyarch associate design director Matt Scronce, and senior director of production Yale Miller, the developers explained how this year’s maps were meant to feel more like classic maps inspired by Black Ops 2.

“The big things we talk about with map design are being fair and fun,” Miller said. “It’s also because this is a spiritual successor to Black Ops 2, so it’s really leaning into those core beliefs on three-lane maps. Each lane needs a really clear purpose. If one side has a power position, there should probably also be a power position on the other side.”

Forge was easily my favorite multiplayer map. We played Domination on Forge, which is set at a Guild research and development center. There are two large wings of the facility to fight indoors, and the B flag for Domination is located outside at the center hub of the map. Uniquely, the B flag is surrounded by sections of cover that continuously rotate around the point. This center hub provided a lot of interesting opportunities while fighting for B. Sometimes the rotating cover would move at just the right time to expose an enemy, while other times it would catch me off-guard and leave me vulnerable. There are also exterior building walls that curve around this center hub, giving plenty of opportunity for those flashy wall-jump plays.

Forge was also the map the developers said proved to be most challenging.

“Not from a sheer design point, but just everything that went into it,” Miller said. “There is rotating cover, and like, how is that going to work?”

The map is also complicated from a technical standpoint, he said.

“There’s a lot of glass. Glass canopies and other stuff,” Miller explained. “To make the map look right when light is coming through the glass, you need reflection and refraction, so it drops a little bit of shade.”

Scronce and Miller also confirmed that last year’s training grounds would return in Black Ops 7 to give you a safe place to practice the game’s updated omnimovement. Black Ops 7’s training takes place on Forge, and the map’s design makes a great location to practice wall jumps and other moves, as this was the map that provided me the most real estate and opportunity for performing these actions.

There is also an intelligent movement setting in Black Ops 7 that helps you with the wall jump.

“It’s listed as a wall jump assist in your movement settings,” Scronce said. “Then, you can jump at the wall, and it will wall jump for you.”

This, combined with the practice map, should help players like me improve their movement skills.

Most of the standard Call of Duty weapons, perks, and attachments remain in Black Ops 7, so it was the map design, refined movement, and future tech that sold the multiplayer for me. I had a blast wall-jumping and launching drones into the air, and I look forward to trying out the rest of the map pool at launch.

The Wonder Vehicle changes the Zombies experience

Black Ops 7 introduces Ashes of the Damned, the largest round-based Zombies map ever, but this time the design is more road-like than that of a standard map. It’s inspired by Black Ops 2’s Tranzit and features a figure-eight layout with separate chunks of map locations that are all connected by dangerous stretches of road. In Tranzit, you navigated the roads via a bus that would continuously loop around the map, but Ashes of the Damned puts you in the driver seat of Ol’ Tessie, the map’s new Wonder Vehicle. Tessie is an old junker of a truck that you gain access to at the start of your match, and you can drive and upgrade the vehicle on your journey.

Design director Kevin Drew and lead game designer Steve Bianchi explained that Ashes of the Damned was specifically designed around Tessie.

“We created it around the vehicle,” Bianchi said. “The scale of the map matches having a vehicle as a core element to the map. It’s the fifth member of your squad.

“The fog and the roads between are treacherous to travel, so we wanted those to be very streamlined but also really cool for the vehicle to travel,” Bianchi continued.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 – Ashes of the Damned Zombies Cinematic Trailer

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In my short time with Zombies, I did get to ride around in Tessie, and it was very satisfying to run over the hordes of zombies in my path. I didn’t get to experience the full upgrades available, but I did get to the portion of the map where you can upgrade the vehicle to include a Pack-a-Punch machine. That’s right: The truck becomes a moving Pack-a-Punch machine, and you can upgrade your weapons on the fly.

If you decide to take the roads on foot, you’re met with a fast-moving enemy type called Ravengers. These creatures swarm you and make it difficult to proceed, so it’s a lot safer to travel with Tessie. It also made for awkward and tense moments when our vehicle was destroyed while traversing these roads. Enemies and crashes can cause enough damage to disable the Wonder Vehicle, and while Treyarch told us there was a way to repair Tessie, we didn’t figure that part out.

Like other Zombies maps, Ashes of the Damned features a main storyline quest, a unique Wonder Weapon, and plenty of mysteries to uncover. Features like Wall Buys, GobbleGums, and the iconic Mystery Box return. I also appreciate that Treyarch isn’t drip-feeding the perks to us this year. Black Ops 6 started with a small selection, and each seasonal update expanded the list of perks. Black Ops 7 includes all the perks available in Black Ops 6 and introduces a new perk called Wisp Tea. I didn’t get to try this perk out for myself, but it spawns a spectral orb-like protector to help you fight off zombies.

In addition to being the largest round-based map, Ashes of the Damned also includes the largest cast yet. The map features eight playable characters: the crew of four from Black Ops 6, as well as the iconic cast of Takeo, Dempsey, Nikolai, and Richtofen. You can mix and match any of these characters for up to four-player co-op. They all have unique voice lines, and Drew said some dialogue will depend on which characters are included in your party. Much of the character dialogue was blocked from our hands-on session, as Treyarch wanted to preserve the story elements for the full launch, but I am excited to see where Tessie and this new story will take me in Black Ops 7.

Warzone lacks meaningful changes

Black Ops 7 will integrate with Warzone during Season 1. A date hasn’t been confirmed for this first post-launch update, but the content will include map changes for Verdansk and a new Resurgence map called Haven’s Hollow.

Due to the popularity of Verdansk, I’m not surprised the developer is bringing it back as Warzone’s big map battle royale. However, I am surprised by how uninspiring the map’s changes proved to be in our hands-on session.

The Season 1 update will add two POIs: Factory and Signal Station. Factory is a large factory-style building next to Superstore, and it’s a very forgettable location. Signal Station is a little more interesting as it offers objectives you can complete in order to get rewarded with extra intel. Completing the objectives will upgrade your Tac Map to reveal enemy density for a portion of the map. The Tac Map will highlight quadrants in orange or red based on how populated those areas are. Intel is always handy, and maybe this will become a hot spot for players, but ultimately my time on this version of Verdansk played the same as any other match pre-integration.

The season’s new map is a smaller one for Resurgence. Haven’s Hollow is set in the same town as Black Ops 6’s Zombies mode. Of course, this version of Liberty Falls is designed pre-outbreak, meaning there are no Zombies elements or destruction here; this is just a quaint West Virginia town. It does include the church, bowling alley, bank, and other major points of interest, but the playable area also extends beyond the areas within the Zombies maps.

Haven’s Hollow is a vibrant map, and it’s filled with rich color not often seen in a Warzone map. I do appreciate the effort to make this map easy on the eyes, and I wish other maps had been this colorful, but unfortunately, it’s not a memorable location to fight for a victory royale. Liberty Falls was the least interesting of all the Zombies maps, and when you take away the Zombies elements, it feels even truer for Warzone . A boring ’90s version of West Virginia feels like another missed opportunity to do something futuristic and fitting of the Black Ops 7 theme. Of course, this was just my initial impression after a few matches on Haven’s Hollow, so maybe this map will grow on me with time, but it lacks any initial wow factor.

It would’ve been nice to see a futuristic new map or an upgraded version of Verdansk with new lighting and robots to fit the Black Ops 7 theme. Warzone’s yearly integration with a new title usually brings something new or fresh-feeling, but this is definitely the battle royale’s most uninspiring yearly update yet.

Treyarch did announce the return of Black Ops 4’s popular Blackout battle royale mode on the Avalon map. This new Blackout battle royale experience won’t arrive until sometime in Spring 2026, and we didn’t get to play or learn any details about the mode at Call of Duty: Next. While Warzone is leaving me disappointed and wanting a whole lot more, I am excited to see what the return of Blackout looks like in Black Ops 7. I just hate that we’ll be waiting long after launch to play it.

Final thoughts

Warzone really missed the mark with uninspired maps, and it doesn’t bring anything new to the table. Fans like myself will likely need to wait until the springtime to get any major or impactful changes to battle royale, and that is a huge disappointment for the yearly integration. However, multiplayer and Zombies content make me excited for the full launch of Black Ops 7. Redefined omnimovement makes the game even more satisfying to play, and if the rest of the maps have the same quality as the ones I sampled at Call of Duty: Next, it can be another enjoyable and action-filled year for Black Ops.

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October 1, 2025 0 comments

Game Updates

Battlefield 6’s first season arrives just 18 days after launch and over two weeks before Black Ops 7

by admin October 1, 2025

As a multiplayer game releasing in the year 2025 – and one that’s very much modelled after Call of Duty – there was very little chance Battlefield 6 wasn’t going to adopt the now-standard live service content pipeline.

But sometimes it’s good to get things in writing, which is what EA just did.

We’re about ten days away from the official launch of Battlefield 6, and this week, EA announced what its Battlefield Studios squad will deliver post launch – at least the first batch. The developer detailed Season 1, which will kick off October 28 – only 18 days post launch.

The season’s content rollout has somewhat of an unusual structure, but it’s one that looks to guarantee something new every month. Season 1 is split across three stages, each adding new content to the game.

Rogue Ops is the first one, arriving with the season’s kick-off on October 28. This phase adds a new large-scale map called Blackwell Fields, which EA says will support land, and air vehicles. The map is set in/around an airbase in the California badlands.

We’re also getting Strikepoint, a new 4v4 mode where each player gets a single life. Rogue Ops will expand the game’s content further with three weapons – the SOR-300 carbine, Mini Fix sniper rifle, and GGH-22 sidearm – as well as a new APC.

Another unusual thing about Battlefield 6’s seasons is the fact that they’re going to add new attachments for use with its weapons. In the first phase of Season 1, we’re getting the Rail Cover, and the Low Powered Variable Optic (LPVO).

Image credit: Battlefield Studios, EA.

California Resistance takes over on November 18 with another new map, Eastwood. This is another large map, though it only supports land vehicles, and helicopters. Eastwood is another California-set map located around a suburb and a golf course.

The new mode in this phase is Sabotage, an 8v8 affair where teams race to destroy as many sites as they can before time runs out. Teams alternate between attacking and defending each round.

California Resistance introduces the Battle Pickups feature to Battlefield 6, which are superpowered weapons anyone can pick up and use. They’re often scattered around the maps in fixed locations, but come with limited ammo.

Speaking of weapons, you can look forward to another two new arrivals: the DB-12 shotgun, and the M327 Trait revolver sidearm. The attachment pool grows with the Troy Angled grip, too.

Image credit: Battlefield Studios, EA.

The last stage of Season 1 arrives December 9 with Winter Offensive, which has the least amount of content compared to the other two. Rather than a new map, the game’s Empire State launch map is getting covered in ice for a limited time as part of the Ice Lock event.

The developer says the event will introduce a new mechanic called Freeze. It doesn’t explain how it’s going to work, but it does confirm that it’s a gameplay modifier, so presumably it will be available in Portal. Speaking of which, all the new content being added will also be available for use in Portal experiences.

The only weapon getting added with that last phase is the Ice Climbing Axe, which joins the game’s melee weapons roster.

More details about Season 1 will arrive closer to launch, but it’s safe to say this is a nice salvo of content to kick-start the game’s live service journey. Battlefield 6 is out October 10 on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.

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October 1, 2025 0 comments

Product Reviews

CoD: Black Ops 7’s wallhack killstreak is receiving a frenzy of criticism, but isn’t the point of killstreaks that they’re unfair?

by admin October 1, 2025

What is Simp using?! 😱”You think this will be GA’d?” pic.twitter.com/VJUUwAZB8nSeptember 30, 2025

A clip from today’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 event has gone mildly viral, and is attracting the ire of onlookers who seem to feel that Call of Duty has, this time, gone too far with the wacky gadgets and guns.

The clip (embedded above) shows Call of Duty pro Simp using one of Blops 7’s new killstreak rewards, The Gravemaker, a sniper rifle whose wielder can see, and snipe, through solid walls. The go-to joke is that Activision has given up on combating cheaters and decided to just put wallhacking into the game.

I sort of get the indignation, because it doesn’t look fun to be on the receiving end of a bullet that was fired through two layers of concrete by someone you never could’ve seen, but I also sort of don’t get it, because aren’t all Call of Duty killstreaks like that?

How is this less fair than someone calling in an attack helicopter or carpet bombing part of the map? In some of these games you can call in a tactical nuke. A nuclear bomb!

Granted, the specific post I’ve shared is directed at the pro scene—”GA” refers to a “gentlemen’s agreement” not to use certain guns or abilities that have been deemed harmful to competitive play—and maybe this is something the pros will balk at.

To me, though, it just looks like yet another thing better players will kill me with. It appears that you get nine bullets, and so with perfect aim can score nine kills, which is a lot, but other streak rewards can do the same job. Also, Blops 7 will include the usual ‘Cold-Blooded’ perk so that you can hide from thermal optics.

I do agree that killstreaks and scorestreaks are annoying in general. I liked them way back in the original Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare because they were novel, and there were only a few of them to deal with, but these days I’d welcome streak-free playlists where I don’t have to be bullied by exceptional players who spend a quarter of the match shooting me from a helicopter.

The response here is probably more about vibes than anything: A wallhack sniper rifle is yet another prompt for the Call of Duty-fatigued to declare that they’re throwing in with the Battlefield crowd this year, and EA has smartly been playing up the idea that Battlefield 6 offers a more “grounded” take on modern warfare.

I don’t think Battlefield has ever been something I’d call grounded, but Call of Duty got so loaded up with live service cruft and goofy-ass crossover skins that it wasn’t a hard reputational battle for EA to win—it just had to not give Beavis and Butt-Head starring roles in BF6. Activision has started to change its tune on premium skins, but for the near future, I don’t know that it has much hope of escaping the narrative that CoD jumped the shark.

As Morgan just pointed out, it doesn’t help that Blops 7 hasn’t blown us away so far. I remain a sucker for CoD’s particular style of shooting, so I’ll check it out, but I doubt I’ll be good enough to ever earn this fancy sniper rifle. If I do, I guarantee that some kid will bound around a corner and noscope me before I even get a chance to look down that thermal sight, so you don’t have to worry about OP killstreaks from me, at least.

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October 1, 2025 0 comments

Game Updates

Sleep Awake, a visually inviting horror game from the lead dev behind Spec Ops: The Line, has a demo out now

by admin October 1, 2025

It’s been a while since we’ve had a new game from Spec Ops: The Line director Cory Davis. As far as I can tell, the last game he made was 2016’s Here They Lie, a survival horror game. He’s currently working on another horror game in fact, Sleep Awake, which is a horrendous name, though I think it’s doing some interesting things. Weirdly, he’s making the game alongside Nine Inch Nails guitarist (for live shows, anyway) Robin Finck, and while the game doesn’t have a release date, it did just receive a demo.

Lemme tell ya, if there’s one thing you can take away from Sleep Awake it’s that PS3 games are back! Let me define what I mean here so I don’t just sound like I’m trying to press some buzz words for the fun of it. I think a key thing about the PS3 era of games is that there was so much more scope for much more intimately designed, linear spaces, with much more room for detail compared to the PS2, but not quite enough resources to design something completely lifelike.

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In a lot of ways, these intricately designed games often just had facades up, they looked bigger and more impressive than they actually were. The upside is that it also often made for interesting art direction, and a better established sense of space. So many big budget games now do look life-like, but the tradeoff is that all of this detail gets lost through the sheer quantity of it.

Sleep Awake’s demo was only short, and very much felt like one long corridor, but it was an interesting to look at corridor. Your classic case of random bits of graffiti and wall carvings to denote story, interacting with random objects that does nothing but let you look at them close-up, data logs with bits of flavour text to build up the lore, it’s all there.

Speaking of lore, or story I suppose, this game is set in a world where there’s some kind of weird illness thingy that whisks people away if they fall asleep, so the protagonist is doing what they can to stay awake at all times, which occasionally leads to some hallucinations.

To be perfectly honest, the narrative didn’t feel all that compelling. As mentioned, the demo was short, and did quite a bad job of bringing me into this world, it felt too jarring and disconnected. There also just wasn’t really anything to actually do apart from walk around, look at some bits, and one very short section at the end where I had to hide from an enemy. I’d be remiss to not mention the fact that the writing was stilted and awkward, and the main character’s performance matched that feeling a little too well unfortunately.

Still, the atmosphere and visuals pulled me in all the same. There’s parts that are intercut with live action footage which, to its credit, actually unnerved me. A real arthouse, ’70s vibe about it I feel I could really get down with. It is certainly going for a unique look, and I felt charmed by its 2009 throwback vibes, even if I’m uncertain of whether it’ll be any good or not.

Still, it’s a curious thing to have a game from someone that designed one of the most discussed games of the 2010s, and someone that plays guitar for Nine Inch Nails sometimes. Worth a punt! You can try it out on Steam.

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October 1, 2025 0 comments

Game Reviews

Call of Duty: Blacks Ops 7 shares new multiplayer gameplay and details in lengthy new showcase

by admin September 30, 2025

With Call of Duty: Blacks Ops 7’s 14th November release date looming and its early access beta just days away, Activision has aired a big old Call of Duty Next showcase, featuring – amid the enthusiastic shouting and endless “official partner” promotion – a heap of multiplayer news and gameplay, including a look at Warzone’s new Resurgence map, and more.

Call of Duty Black Op 7’s open beta, as you probably already know, runs 5th-8th October, with early access beginning Thursday, 2nd October. Things kick off at 6pm in the UK/10am PDT and those taking part will have access to six 6v6 maps. There’s Blackheart (an off-shore oilrig), The Forge (a Tokyo R&D facility), Toshin’s downtown Tokyo, Exposure (the Australian outback), Imprint (an Alaskan weapons manufacturing facility), and Cortex’s human testing site. Zombies fans, meanwhile, can try out the Vandorn Farm survival map, with beta pre-loading starting tomorrow, 1st October.

Black Ops 7 – Launch Multiplayer Maps Flythrough.Watch on YouTube

Still on maps, Activision also used its showcase to whizz through a few of Black Ops 7’s 18 launch maps (16 for 6v6 matches, two for the series’ new 20v20 Skirmish mode). Colossus, for instance, is a Black Ops 2 “callback”, while Den takes players to a Japanese castle full of 2035 tech. There’s Express, set in a Tokyo train station; Hijacked, whose action unfolds on a Tokyo Bay yacht; Homestead, set in and around David Mason’s Alaskan childhood home, plus Paranoia – a more fantastical map inspired by the nightmare of David Mason’s mind. You can see those and more in the flythrough trailer above, but if your mappetite still isn’t sated, Activision says a further seven multiplayer maps will arrive as part of Black Ops 7’s post-launch Season 1 plans, alongside two Survival maps and one round-based map for Zombies mode. Nuketown 2025, for instance, is due “shortly after launch”.

Weapon-wise, Black Ops 7 features 16 new multiplayer weapons at launch, including the M10 Breacher – a pump-action shotgun that can be charged to reduce spread and land mid-range shots with more accuracy. Additional weapons (both new and returning favourites) are promised – alongside the likes of attachment rewards and weekly challenges – once Black Ops 7’s post-launch seasons get underway. We also got a peak at some of the new Weapon Prestige attachments and camos coming in Black Ops 7, with Activision promising a “big” year for camo fans. Alongside a dedicated camo track in the co-op campaign, there are 16 mastery camos (split across multiplayer, Zombies, Warzone, and co-op), plus plenty more coming as season rewards.

Black Ops 7 Zombies – Ashes of the Damned Flythrough.Watch on YouTube

Rounding out the multiplayer portion of Activision’s showcase, there was a brief bit of Black Ops 7’s “very competitive” new Overload mode. This, if you’re unfamiliar, is a 6v6 objective mode in which each team attempts to secure the overload device and get it to one of the oppositions two zones. Success earns the victors one point and eight points equates to a win.

Next up, Zombies mode and its round-based Ashes of the Damned map. Inspired by the legend of the Bermuda Triangle, it’s constructed from landmarks – all with a violent history – dragged into the Dark Ether. There’s a ruined version Janus Towers Plaza, for instance; Black Water Cabin, where a famed horror director drowned his leading lady; Vandorn Farm, home to a murderous family and their unfortunate victims, plus the fractured Southern Georgia town of Ashwood. Between them lie endless waves of respawning undead, including the loot-snatching Ravagers. That’s where your trusty wonder vehicle Tessie comes in though, providing an essential means of transporation that can be augmented with thrusters, chomp attacks, and more.

There’s a closer look at Ashes of the Damned above, and if you like the sound of Vandorn Farm, it’s playable as a Survival map in the imminent beta. More survival locations taken from round-based maps are promised post-launch.

Warzone – Haven’s Hollow Flythrough.Watch on YouTube

Zombies mode also got a nod as Black Ops 7’s showcase turned its attention to Warzone. That’s thanks to Warzone’s new Resurgence map, Haven’s Hollow – a small Appalachian town that might look familiar to Zombies fans. It’s essentially a pre-outbreak version of Liberty Falls, featuring nine unique points of interest across its autumnal expanse. There’s the train station, mansion, lumber mill, riverboat, pond, coal depot, homestead, and Main Street, all of which appear in the flythrough above. And if that’s got you ready to go, Haven’s Hollow arrives with Season 1 later this year.

You’ll need to delve into the full several-hours-long showcase if you want to properly scrutinise Activision’s extensive Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 gameplay. As a reminder, open beta early access begins this Thursday, 2nd October, and the full game launches on 14th November.

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September 30, 2025 0 comments

Esports

Black Ops 7 devs unveil “stronger” anti-cheat with aimbot clampdown coming

by admin September 30, 2025

Treyarch have revealed upgrades to their RICOCHET Anti-Cheat system ahead of Black Ops 7, including a crackdown on aimbots and wall hacks.

Cheating is a constant issue in any online shooter, and Call of Duty is no different. In the past, games like Warzone have been plagued by hackers on PC, who often ruin lobbies by using software to see through walls or make themselves impossible to kill.

Measures have been put in place over the years, and Black Ops 7 is cranking them up a notch by forcing PC players to enable TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot before playing. Now, they’ve revealed even more upgrades to make this year’s CoD as smooth as possible.

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BO7 anti-cheat gets major upgrades ahead of launch

In a new blog post, Treyarch explained that a “new generation of machine learning systems and detection tools” is coming to Black Ops 7 at launch. These are powered by millions of hours of gameplay from BO6, which helps it identify cheaters.

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This brings three major upgrades to the anti-cheat system, the first of which is smarter aimbot detection. The devs described it as the “strongest” they’ve ever built, as it should distinguish between natural and artificial aim more consistently.

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Activision

It’s also set to clamp down on wall hacks with more accurate detection, making it more difficult for those who can see enemies through surfaces to hide it.

The final improvement is what the blog calls a “layered defense,” where multiple different features work together at once. This “makes it harder for cheaters to adapt and easier for us to stay ahead,” and will receive constant updates.

All of these upgrades will go live officially when Black Ops 7 launches on November 14, as well as Warzone.

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Meanwhile, the beta that gets underway on October 2 will use the older system, but all of the new improvements will be tested in the background so they’re ready to go on day one.

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September 30, 2025 0 comments

Game Reviews

Call of Duty says its anti-cheat for Black Ops 7 has ‘one of the strongest detection systems we have ever built,’ and this week’s beta will help put it to the test

by admin September 29, 2025

Ahead of this weekend’s beta test for Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, Activision is reiterating its focus on anti-cheat to maintain the integrity of the game on PC.

Along with requiring Secure Boot and TPM 2.0 to even launch the game on PC, Activision says its RICOCHET Anti-Cheat system has evolved over the past year in Black Ops 6 to try and stay ahead of cheat-makers worldwide.

Image via Activision

“Over the last year, Team RICOCHET has trained advanced machine learning systems on millions of hours of gameplay,” Activision said in a new blog post. “These upgrades are smarter, faster, and more reliable than ever; built not just to catch cheaters, but to set the new standard for fair play and evolve with the game itself.”

With these changes, the company says RICOCHET now has “one of the strongest detection systems we have ever built, designed to separate natural aim from the precision patterns of an aimbot,” faster wall-hack detection, and a layered defense that “with constant and independent updates, makes it tougher for cheaters to adapt and easier for us to stay ahead.”

Call of Duty players have heard this all before in recent years as the hacking epidemic has grown with crossplay and free-to-play Warzone accounts, but the fact is anti-cheat is a never-ending battle against cheat providers who are always trying to stay one step ahead to make a quick buck by selling cheats. And Activision says it’s working to fight on that front, too.

“We’re striking cheat makers and sellers from every angle: in-game detections that stop them cold, and legal action that dismantles their operations,” Activision said. “And we’re not stopping there. Significant continued improvements to our systems are coming, including those that detect external hardware.”

The BO7 beta, which begins this Thursday, Oct. 2, is part of the process of ensuring that the anti-cheat systems are at work, Activision said, calling it “a critical test for the systems we have online under real player conditions” as players will inevitably try hacking in the beta test.

Image via Activision

“We are actively monitoring matches, gathering data across thousands of unique hardware setups, and removing cheaters in real time,” the company said. “The beta allows us to measure how our detection tools perform when faced with live attempts to cheat, and to fine-tune how quickly and effectively we strike back. Every report, every flag, and every removal during the beta feeds directly into stronger responses tomorrow.”

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September 29, 2025 0 comments

A screenshot featuing the Call of Duty Beavis and Butthead collab skin.

Esports

Black Ops 7 dev adresses long-time CoD complaint with big update

by admin September 29, 2025

Treyarch’s Matt Scronce has explained why the Black Ops 6 devs hadn’t totally dumped an issue that Call of Duty fans have been complaining about for a while. Though it has been “drastically reduced” for Black Ops 7.

Since Call of Duty started molding into one with the launch of the CoD hub, there have been a few issues that have lingered from game to game. Players have voiced their complaints on big collabs, devs seemingly not focusing on the realism side of CoD, and even the in-game performance of guns.

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On the latter part of that, fans have complained for a while about visual clutter when firing. Wacky scopes, some filling too much of the screen, and gun smoke flying up after shots have all caused players headaches at some point.

The visual smoke has, at times, been toned down, but the developers have accepted that they’ve not gone too far enough at times. However, that should change with Black Ops 7.

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CoD devs reducing visual noise in Black Ops 7

Ahead of the Black Ops 7 multiplayer beta, Treyarch’s Matt Scronce announced that “drastically reduced visual noise” when firing weapons in the upcoming release.

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The design director noted that it “is a common piece of feedback across the board but also specifically from our keyboard and mouse players.” Though, he was quizzed on why it’s not been eradicated before, given it is a common complaint.

“Will only speak for us, but we pulled back considerably over the course of Black Ops 6,” he added. “It’s a balance between visual flavor and gameplay. Want to make sure gameplay is prioritized on day 1 for Black Ops 7.”

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Will only speak for us, but we pulled back considerably over the course of Black Ops 6. It’s a balance between visual flavor and gameplay. Want to make sure gameplay is prioritized on day 1 for Black Ops 7.

— Matt Scronce (@MaTtKs) September 26, 2025

Scornce has also revealed that Treyarch would love to bring back Pick 10 as a create-a-class system at some point, but they’d like to make changes to it as well.

He also announced that three perks have had their slots switched up ahead of the multiplayer beta. So, Tryarch are taking feedback on board.

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September 29, 2025 0 comments

Esports

How to get Black Ops 7 Twitch drops and early access code

by admin September 28, 2025

If you want to try Black Ops 7 out for free, the upcoming Open Beta starting Oct. 5 is your biggest window. But if you want to jump in even earlier, you can earn a Black Ops 7 early access beta code via Twitch—all you need is some patience.

Here’s how to get the Black Ops 7 early access code as a Twitch drop.

How to get Black Ops 7 early access open beta code

For starters, you need to link your Twitch profile to your Activision account. Once that’s done, mark your calendar for the upcoming Call of Duty Next event on Sept. 30.

To play Black Ops 7 open beta in early access with a free code, follow these steps:

On the day of the event, log in to your Twitch account. Make sure it’s the one connected to your Activision account, which you’ll use to play Black Ops 7.
Tune in to a Call of Duty Next stream on Sept. 30 beginning at 11am CT. You can either join the official stream on Call of Duty’s official Twitch page, or an eligible watch party if any. Check for the “Drops enabled” banner or notification to ensure it’s an eligible stream.
Watch the stream for an hour to get the early access beta code. Once you hit the requirement, you should receive a notification declaring you’ve earned a reward. Open it to get the code.

If you don’t receive the code after an hour of watching, don’t panic. Twitch sometimes takes time to process rewards during such events, with thousands of eligible players fulfilling drop requirements at the same time. We recommend watching the stream until you receive the notification with the Black Ops 7 early access beta code. It may take up to two hours (rarely more) for Twitch to detect your progress, so don’t give up.

As you watch the stream, you can keep track of your progress toward the early access beta code reward. On Twitch, click on the profile icon: Here, you can check the percentage of progression toward a reward when you’re watching an eligible stream. For more details, you can click on the Drops & Rewards option.

Besides hunting for a code, you can also pre-order Black Ops 7 to get early access to Open Beta. And if you don’t want any of these hassles, just wait for the Open Beta, which starts on Oct. 5 and is free to play for everyone.

How to connect your Activision account to Twitch

This is a mandatory step to get the Black Ops 7 early access beta code for free. To connect your Activision account to Twitch, follow these steps:

Log in to your Activision account.
In the profile page and beside Account Linking, scroll down and click on the “Link account” button beside Twitch. It’ll take you to Twitch.
Log in using your Twitch credentials and authorize the linking.

After this, your accounts will be linked successfully, and you can then watch the event on the said day to earn an early access open beta code for Black Ops 7.

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September 28, 2025 0 comments