The first time I played through the original Halo, I started the single-player campaign under normal difficulty and simply followed the story through to its’ conclusion… but that was only the beginning of my relationship with the game. If I stopped there, I would’ve missed the depth of what has made this series a defining experience for me in many different ways. From playing the game cooperatively and conquering the Legendary difficulty setting, seeking out and finding all of the hidden skulls, and of course the multiplayer matches that kept me coming back for more, my completion of the core campaign was only the beginning. There was so much more to explore, and the deepest rewards only reveal themselves to the most diligent and committed seekers.

While Christ’s work on the cross has offered all of us forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with the Father, our acceptance of this gift is only the beginning of our lifelong pursuit of seeking and finding God. We are called to grow in our faith, continually building a deeper relationship with the Lord by studying and applying His written words, speaking to Him intentionally throughout the day in prayer, and purposefully participating with our fellow members in the body of Christ. His richest treasures are only revealed to those who dig the deepest, so let’s actively seek Him every day.

And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Hebrews 11:6

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One of the things I love about Blades in the Dark is that it has a mechanism for creating background events for your campaign. During Downtime (though I do this after a session), you roll to see how various factions make progress (or not) on their goals. Mechanically, this is a series of Fortune rolls that advance various project clocks for each faction. The result of this is that while the characters are off doing their own things, the factions in the city also progress with their agendas and goals. Mechanisms like this give a campaign a life of its own. So let’s talk about it. 

Background Events

Let’s start with a definition: a background event is a narrative element that occurs without the direct intervention of the PCs. It can take many forms, such as actions of individual NPCs, groups, or even natural events. Background events can take place in one-shots and campaigns, and they can take place during stories or between stories. 

Background Events have a few effects in the game: 

• They create a sense of a dynamic background to the game. Having NPCs, groups, and natural events occur gives players the feeling that the campaign world is alive and breathing around them, and not just a static background that freezes when the characters change locations. 
• They create potential stories. The players may take an interest in the background events and may want to intervene, giving you and your table a new story to play. 
• They can create tension and drama. Having a main story and several concurrent background stories will create decision points in the game. Do the characters stay on the main story, or should they take a session and help the baker who is about to lose their bakery because of the lost shipment of flour? Which decision will they make, and what consequence will come of it? 

Several games have this built into their mechanics. Dungeon World uses Signs & Portents, and the Forged in the Dark games have the Faction Downtime actions. Even if a game does not have specific mechanics for it, they can be done narratively in any game, by just making up some news and events and conveying them to the players. 

A Framework for Good Background Events

Here is a model for a mechanized version of background events, if your game does not have a mechanism for this. This draws heavily upon both Dungeon World and Forged in the Dark: 

First, come up with some groups or individuals that are up to something. 

Second, for each group or individual, give them a goal and some arbitrary steps they would take to accomplish that goal. Here we are building a clock.

Third, decide what interval you want to update these clocks. A good starting interval is between stories. 

Fourth, at the specified interval, decide if the clock advances and how much. You can just decide this for yourself, or you can assign some dice to determine this effect. Perhaps roll a d6 and advance the clock that many ticks. 

Fifth, convey the outcomes of some or all of the clocks to the characters during the session. 

Conveying The Information

Regardless of whether you arbitrarily create background events or use a mechanism for creating them, the most important part is that you convey their progress to the characters. Like character backgrounds that are written down and not discussed at the table, creating background events and keeping them to yourself does nothing to enhance your game. The events you create have to reach the characters to create the effects above. 

For your game, you need to think of how news and information are conveyed. If you are playing a modern supers game, information and news are nearly instantaneous. It will be livestreamed or posted to social media before traditional news can report it. If you are playing a SciFi game where news has to travel great distances but is limited to the speed of light, then perhaps couriers jump from system to system in their FTL ships with news. News is dependent on the arrival of couriers. This will change how the news reaches the players; there could be delays or bundles of news. 

Give thought to how news travels in your setting and what constraints or features will be created in your game. The most important consideration is timing. If you want the characters to potentially act on some background events, then the information needs to arrive at them with time to react; otherwise, they will receive the news of the event and write it off because it will take too long to intervene. 

How To Present The Information

Once you work out how the information of the background events reaches the characters, take a moment and think of how narratively you can present the information. The least interesting way to do this is a GM to player data dump, where the GM just tells the players several events going on, “From around town you hear the following… blah, blah, blah”. 

The more interesting approach is to present the information in the context of how the characters would receive it. This can be solely narrative (the GM just saying things) or it could be a post or handout (for the more creative types). In a modern game, you might put the information in the form of social media posts. In a Roaring 20s game, this could be done as a radio broadcast or a newspaper front page. If you have an NPC that could present the events, they could come in and do it in character. 

In my Blades in the Dark game, the crew has an information network of newsies who gather rumors and events while selling newspapers throughout the city. The head of the newsies, Red, comes to the crew’s HQ and presents a briefing to the players. For this, I write out the events in Red’s voice, and during the Free Play phase of the game, we do a scene where Red is reporting to the crew.

Did You Hear? 

Background events are a great way to make a campaign feel more alive and can foreshadow events or create dramatic decisions for the characters. You can create these arbitrarily or using a mechanical approach. If you do use background events, give thought to how the information reaches your players, and when you do present it, think of a creative way to deliver the news. 

Do you use background events in your games? How do you create and track them? What’s the most challenging way information has had to reach your players? What is your favorite method to present the information? 

Alinea Analytics’ Rhys Elliot has said during an interview with Eurogamer that the Call of Duty franchise has been “underperforming” this year due to various reasons, among which includes “community burnout, questionable creative and business decisions by Activision/Microsoft, and strong competition.”

Battlefield 6 is obviously one of the main competitors that Call of Duty has faced this year, with Elliot also name-dropping Arc Raiders and Fortnite as games that have been turning attention away from Activision’s shooter franchise. Elliot says Call of Duty’s “lack of innovation” has been a major sticking point with some fans, and said before the release of Call of Duty Black Ops 7 that players would fort out for the game despite the series failing to innovate.

Related Content — Upcoming PS5 Games 2025: The Best PS5 Games Coming Soon

Elsewhere, the analyst noted that “Fortnite-like cosmetics” and “non-military character skins” have “alienated a significant portion of the fanbase who prefer a more grounded military aesthetic,” pointing to Call of Duty’s dabbling with Beavis and Butthead and Nicki Minaj. Black Ops 7 itself has toned down this side of things, but that game’s co-op campaign was a “major point of criticism” as was its use of “AI slop.”

Player reception was [also] largely negative, with a mostly negative Steam user score and review bombing galore. Long-standing player frustrations, like the perceived impact of skill-based matchmaking–and the focus on heavy microtransactions (skins and bundles) over core gameplay quality, continue to drive players away from the franchise.

Our estimates have signaled time and time again that Game Pass cannibalizes game revenues–and Call of Duty is no different.

Call of Duty is now owned by Microsoft after the Xbox format holder purchased Activision for a record-breaking sum of $68.7 billion, but still continues to be released on multiple formats. Call of Duty Black Ops 7 was released last month for PS5, PS4, PC, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One, and you can read our full verdict here.

[Source – Eurogamer]

The post Analyst Says Call Of Duty Is ‘Underperforming’ In 2025 Due To Multiple Reasons, Including Strong Competition & Community Burnout appeared first on PlayStation Universe.

• Category: Games

November 10, 2025

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 – What You Need to Know About Co-op Campaign, Endgame, and More

• Mike Nelson, Xbox Wire Editor

Summary

• Learn more about the events leading up to the Co-Op Campaign for Call of Duty: Black Ops 7.
• Find out more about the Endgame, which tasks JSOC with exploring Avalon, taking down The Guild’s strongholds, and minding the exposure zones leaking a mysterious toxin into the city.
• Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 launches November 14, 2025, for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Xbox on PC, ROG Xbox Ally handhelds, Cloud, Battle.net, Steam, PlayStation 5, and PlayStation 4. It is an Xbox Play Anywhere title and available day one with Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.

“Once again, you shall know fear.” — Raul Menendez

When you drop in and start playing the Co-Op Campaign for Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 on November 14 for the first time, you’ll enter a future that’s on the verge of catastrophe in the year 2035. You’ll also step into the latest chapter of a saga that stretches across multiple Black Ops games, bringing us to an inflection point featuring its infamous villain, Raul Menendez, a global tech giant known as The Guild, and our hero David Mason, seemingly caught in their crosshairs.

With Black Ops 7 launching soon, we’re recapping some of the key storytelling moments that have led us to this point, as well as exploring some of the post-game content that will be available at launch with Endgame and more. Let’s dive in!

The Story So Far

When we first met the villain Raul Menendez in Black Ops II, he was the leader of the arms-dealing Menendez Cartel that captured Frank Woods, one of the heroes of the first Black Ops game. Saved in a daring rescue mission by Alex Mason, the main protagonist from Black Ops, Woods desired revenge. But this proved costly. Menendez would become emboldened after a botched CIA mission featuring Woods and Mason, resulting in the death of his sister, Josefina, and presumably him as well.

Years later, a trap was set that resulted in Woods fatally killing Alex Mason under a false pretense, with Menendez revealing himself to be alive and at the center of this heinous plot. He then shoots Woods in his kneecaps and cripples him for life, leaving him to suffer for what he has done.

Years pass, and Menendez forms the political movement of Cordis Die. Tapping into social networks to spread propaganda, he works under the pseudonym Ulysses while covertly using the group’s military arm to incite a second Cold War through riots, financial upheaval, and cyber warfare.

Alex Mason’s son, David, with the help of Frank Woods, has now taken up the hunt to bring Menendez to justice. He was eventually able to put a stop to his plans and bring the villain to rest… or so he thought. As showcased in the reveal trailer for Black Ops 7, Menendez has seemingly returned. This time The Guild, a global tech giant located in the Mediterranean city of Avalon, is using its advanced tech to safeguard citizens and stands in opposition to Menendez and his new army.

David Mason isn’t buying it. Doubting The Guild and their promise of salvation, it’s now up to him and his elite JSOC Operators — Mike Harper, Leilani “50/50” Tupuola, and Eric Samuels — to get to the bottom of things. Will they uncover the real motives behind Menendez’s reappearance and The Guild’s rise to power? As the world spirals into chaos once more, David must learn to face enemies both old and new.

Co-op Campaign

This culminates in a first for a Call of Duty title with the fully-fledged, 1-4 player Co-Op Campaign that lets you experience the gripping narrative of Black Ops 7 solo or with up to three other friends. Treyarch and Raven Software are bringing players the biggest Black Ops ever, with this innovative Co-Op Campaign that will redefine the Black Ops experience. Mission variety will be at the core of the Campaign, where you’ll take on a variety of high-stakes missions from Nicaragua to Los Angeles to Tokyo, and even into the deepest corners of the human psyche. You’ll also experience Avalon, an expansive city whose secrets ripple across the Campaign and beyond.

The Endgame

Once you’ve completed the first 11 Co-op Campaign missions, you’ll unlock the Endgame, which tasks JSOC with exploring Avalon, taking down The Guild’s strongholds, and minding the exposure zones that are leaking huge amounts of a mysterious toxin into the city.

Built for 1 to 32 players in squads of up to four, Endgame has you fight through escalating zones across this massive map, where you can level up unique Skill Trees and Combat Ratings, complete Assignments, improve your weapon rarity, and exfil to preserve hard-earned progress. Best of all, Player Progression and Weapon Leveling feeds into this with 90 unique Camos to unlock for launch Weapons and dedicated Co-Op Campaign Camo rewards. Endgame needs every player working together during their deployment in Avalon. Squads can split off to pursue their own objectives or fight alongside others to improve the odds in tough fights.

The C-Link C.O.M.B.A.T. OS unlocks full Loadout customization in the Endgame, giving you the ability to choose your preferred tools to achieve your goal: Gain enough power to reach the highest exposure zones. This starts with you choosing one of the four Operator Slots (each one of these represents a character’s dedicated power journey). Power up in-game to level up your Combat Rating, and to earn Skills and Power Upgrades across Health, Armor, Speed, and Damage. But be careful: If you’re killed in action, you lose it all.

When creating a Loadout, you can choose one Major and one Minor Ability for your Operator. These grant new moves, powerful tools, and more. Once your Loadout is in place, drop into Avalon using a wingsuit and start exploring the vast landscape on foot or in vehicle.

Campaign Endgame Loadouts consist of a Main Weapon, a Melee Weapon, a Field Acquisition (a weapon you’ve found in a previous Endgame match and exfilled with), and a piece of Field Equipment. Explore further into Avalon to uncover workbenches found across the province to upgrade your weapon’s rarity and boost its damage. You can learn more about Endgame here on the official Call of Duty Blog which has breakdowns on Abilities, Loadouts, Skill Tracks, and more.

Unified Progression

One of our favorite features for Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is unified player progression across the entire experience. Whether fighting through the Co-Op Campaign, dropping foes in Multiplayer, or surviving in Zombies, every action contributes to global Level XP, including Endgame activities.

That also means you can earn XP, Weapon Levels, Weapon Camos, and Battle Pass progress while completing co-op missions and Endgame runs. The experience you build in the story connects seamlessly into every other mode.

Pre-order Black Ops 7 Today

Co-Op Campaign and Endgame are just two features of the complete Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 experience that also includes best-in-class Multiplayer, with 16 electrifying 6v6 maps and two 20v20 maps at launch, and the return of Round-Based Zombies, including the biggest Round-Based Zombies map in Black Ops history. Be sure to check out the official Call of Duty Blog for even more intel on what’s in store for Black Ops 7.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 launches November 14, 2025, for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Xbox on PC, and Cloud – with support for Xbox Play Anywhere and day one with Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass – as well as PlayStation 4 & 5, Battle.net, and Steam. Pre-order any digital edition or subscribe to select Game Pass plans and receive Early Access to the Open Beta (Terms), as well as the Reznov Operator and Guild Override Weapon Camo (Terms). Learn more here.

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Call of Duty®: Black Ops 7 – Vault Edition

Activision Publishing Inc.

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

$99.99

Pre-order

Pre-order any digital edition and receive: – Items for immediate use in Call of Duty®: Black Ops 6 and Call of Duty®: Warzone*: — Reznov Challenge Pack – unlock the SOG Reznov Operator Skin. Plus, get access to unlock the Stalingrad Reznov and Memory Reznov Operator Skins — Guild Override Weapon Camo – unlock the Guild Override dynamic Weapon Camo The Vault Edition includes: – Cross-Gen Bundle of Call of Duty®: Black Ops 7 — Includes Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and Xbox PC versions of the game – BlackCell (1 Season)** — Includes: Battle Pass, 20 Tier Skips, 1,100 CP and more – Operator Collection — 4 Operator Skins: Harper, Karma, T.E.D.D. and Reaper EWR-3 – Mastercraft Collection — 5 Mastercraft Weapons – Ultra GobbleGum Pack for Zombies — 8 GobbleGums of Ultra rarity for Black Ops 7 – Permanent Unlock Token for Black Ops 7 (available at launch) In Call of Duty®: Black Ops 7, Treyarch and Raven Software are bringing players the most mind-bending Black Ops ever. The year is 2035 and the world is on the brink of chaos, ravaged by violent conflict and psychological warfare. David Mason leads an elite team on a covert mission to the sprawling city of Avalon. While there, they discover a sophisticated plot that won’t just plunge the world into chaos, it will pull them into their own haunting pasts. Squad up or go solo in an innovative Co-Op Campaign that redefines the Black Ops experience. Multiplayer explodes out of the gate with 16 electrifying 6v6 maps and two 20v20 maps at launch. Master a cutting-edge arsenal and outmaneuver your enemies with an evolved Omnimovement system. In Treyarch’s legendary Round-Based Zombies mode, the nightmare begins where reality ends. Trapped in the heart of the Dark Aether, the crew is thrust into a vast, ever-shifting hellscape. Game requires a Game Pass Core subscription (sold separately). TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot required for PC, other security measures may be enforced. Learn more at https://support.activision.com/tpm. *Call of Duty®: Black Ops 6 or Call of Duty®: Warzone on Xbox Series X|S / Xbox One / Xbox PC required to redeem. Sold / downloaded separately. Must be redeemed by November 14th, 2026. **BlackCell, Battle Pass, Call of Duty® Points and Tier Skips will be accessible in Black Ops 7 upon availability of the Season 1 Battle Pass in-game. Redemption applies to one Season of the Black Ops 7 Battle Pass only. Content, features, services, online play, and support not available in all regions, and may vary, change, or terminate. Requires an Activision account and acceptance of the Activision Software License and Services Agreement. A mobile phone number linked to your Activision account may be required to play Black Ops 7. Additional storage space may be required for mandatory game updates. For more information, please visit www.callofduty.com. ©/TM/® 2025 Activision Publishing, Inc. This product contains software technology licensed from Id Software ('Id Technology'). Id Technology © 1999-2025 Id Software, Inc.

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Call of Duty®: Black Ops 7 – Vault Edition Upgrade

Activision Publishing Inc.

☆☆☆☆☆ 117

★★★★★

$30

Get it now

Upgrade to the Vault Edition and receive the following bonus content*: – BlackCell (1 Season)** — Includes: Battle Pass, 20 Tier Skips, 1,100 CP and more – Operator Collection — 4 Operator Skins: Harper, Karma, T.E.D.D. and Reaper EWR-3 – Mastercraft Collection — 5 Mastercraft Weapons – Ultra GobbleGum Pack for Zombies — 8 GobbleGums of Ultra rarity for Black Ops 7 – Permanent Unlock Token for Black Ops 7 (available at launch) *Requires existing ownership of the digital version of the Call of Duty®: Black Ops 7 – Cross-Gen Bundle on Xbox Series X|S / Xbox One / Xbox PC (sold separately), or active subscription to select Game Pass plans (Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass PC, or Game Pass Console). **BlackCell, Battle Pass, Call of Duty® Points and Tier Skips will be accessible in Black Ops 7 upon availability of the Season 1 Battle Pass in-game. Redemption applies to one Season of the Black Ops 7 Battle Pass only. For more information, please visit www.callofduty.com. ©/TM/® 2025 Activision Publishing, Inc. This product contains software technology licensed from Id Software ('Id Technology'). Id Technology © 1999-2025 Id Software, Inc.

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Call of Duty®: Black Ops 7 – Cross-Gen Bundle

Activision Publishing Inc.

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

$69.99

Pre-order

Pre-order any digital edition or subscribe to select Game Pass plans* and receive: – Items for immediate use in Call of Duty®: Black Ops 6 and Call of Duty®: Warzone**: — Reznov Challenge Pack – unlock the SOG Reznov Operator Skin. Plus, get access to unlock the Stalingrad Reznov and Memory Reznov Operator Skins — Guild Override Weapon Camo – unlock the Guild Override dynamic Weapon Camo Includes: – Cross-Gen Bundle of Call of Duty®: Black Ops 7 — Includes Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and Xbox PC versions of the game In Call of Duty®: Black Ops 7, Treyarch and Raven Software are bringing players the most mind-bending Black Ops ever. The year is 2035 and the world is on the brink of chaos, ravaged by violent conflict and psychological warfare. David Mason leads an elite JSOC team on a covert mission to the sprawling Mediterranean city of Avalon. While there, they discover a sophisticated plot that won’t just plunge the world into chaos, it will pull them into their own haunting pasts. Squad up or go solo in an innovative Co-Op Campaign that redefines the Black Ops experience. Take on high-stakes challenges across a wide spectrum of environments, from the neon-lit rooftops of Japan to the Mediterranean coast, and even into the deepest corners of the human psyche. Multiplayer explodes out of the gate with 16 electrifying 6v6 maps and two 20v20 maps at launch. From futuristic Tokyo vistas to the frozen, unforgiving wilds of Alaska, every environment is brimming with danger and opportunity. Master a cutting-edge arsenal and outmaneuver your enemies with an evolved Omnimovement system. In Treyarch’s legendary Round-Based Zombies mode, the nightmare begins where reality ends. Trapped in the heart of the Dark Aether, the crew is thrust into a vast, ever-shifting hellscape. This isn’t just survival. It’s a descent into madness. Game requires a Game Pass Core subscription (sold separately). TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot required for PC, other security measures may be enforced. Learn more at https://support.activision.com/tpm. *Requires active subscription to Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass PC, or Game Pass Console. Subscribers must login to Call of Duty®: Black Ops 6 or Call of Duty®: Warzone on Xbox Series X|S / Xbox One / Xbox PC by November 14, 2025 to redeem the Reznov Challenge Pack and Guild Override Weapon Camo. **Call of Duty®: Black Ops 6 or Call of Duty®: Warzone on Xbox Series X|S / Xbox One / Xbox PC required to redeem. Sold / downloaded separately. Must be redeemed by November 14th, 2026. Content, features, services, online play, and support not available in all regions, and may vary, change, or terminate. Requires an Activision account and acceptance of the Activision Software License and Services Agreement. A mobile phone number linked to your Activision account may be required to play Black Ops 7. Additional storage space may be required for mandatory game updates. For more information, please visit www.callofduty.com. ©/TM/® 2025 Activision Publishing, Inc. This product contains software technology licensed from Id Software ('Id Technology'). Id Technology © 1999-2025 Id Software, Inc.

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The post Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 – What You Need to Know About Co-op Campaign, Endgame, and More appeared first on Xbox Wire.