Why is that a problem? The Call of Duty App doesn’t just include Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, which launched last year to underwhelming reviews due to its campaign. It also tracks Black Ops 6, Warzone, the Modern Warfare series, and much more. Keep in mind that these player counts follow Holiday discounts and even a free week. The sad part is that this isn’t even the lowest in the past week, as it reached 39,015 peak concurrent players on January 8th.
Of course, none of this changes the fact that Call of Duty: Black Ops 7topped last November’s US sales charts (even if Battlefield 6 emerged as the top-selling premium game of 2026). Engagement with the app on consoles in the region was also as strong as ever, only lagging behind Fortnite and eking out ahead of Grand Theft Auto 5.
Nevertheless, Activision has pivoted significantly by announcing that it would no longer release back-to-back Modern Warfare and Black Ops titles. “We will drive innovation that is meaningful, not incremental. While we aren’t sharing those plans today, we look forward to doing so when the time is right.” Its developers have apparently been building the “next era of Call of Duty,” and judging by the current release cycle, it may be Modern Warfare 4.
In the meantime, check out our review for Call of Duty: Black Ops 7here. We gave it a five out of ten for the multiplayer (despite netcode and hit registration issues), and Zombies (despite the overtly safe gameplay loop). The campaign is an utter disaster, but at least Treyarch released an update to let you skip it and go straight to Endgame.
As Call of Duty Warzone Season 1 approaches, developer Raven Software has outlined its balance philosophy, and it's all about keeping you on your toes with a constantly shifting meta. The battle between the best FPS games is fierce this year, and Raven's new blog suggests a firm intent to pull Warzone out of the shadow of the standard BO7 multiplayer and help it shine on its own merits. "By prioritizing tradeoffs instead of all purpose dominance, and pairing that with frequent shake ups, our intent is to keep the meta fresh, diverse, and skill-driven throughout the entire year," it says.
Call of Duty's free-to-play Warzone is getting its first big update in a while next week for season one of Black Ops 7, and one of the new CoD's best features is making the jump.
Unfortunately, I'm not talking about wall-jumping. Curiously, that mechanic won't be coming to Warzone. That's a bummer, but the news that Open Matchmaking (where skill is minimally considered) is coming to the BR mode as well.
Image via Activision
Open Matchmaking has been a game-changer in BO7's multiplayer, where matches feel random with who you are matched with and against rather than feeling like you get punished for performing well and rewarded for doing poorly, as has been the formula over the past few years.
The hope now is that Warzone's lobbies will feel a bit less sweaty too, albeit with the occasional all-star squad that randomly ends up in your lobby to chokeslam you into the Gulag. Warzone dev Raven Softwae confirmed the news in a new Dev Talk video today, which can be seen below.
Elswhere in the new update, Warzone will get all of BO7's weapons including the new ones in season one, a new Resurgence map called Haven's Hollow, and some map changes to the BR location of Verdansk, along with limited time modes and a re-balancing of Perks and equipment.
I have to say, the lack of wall-jumping in Warzone doesn't make much sense to me. Last year, Warzone got BO6's omnimovement capabilities that added a skill gap in combat, so not adding BO7's new movement mechanic is a head-scratcher.
Most of the hype from Verdansk's reintroduction to Warzone earlier this year has died down, so I will be watching closely to see if this new update brings gamers back into the fold. Raven promises more frequent weapon tuning updates this year, so hopefully that will help keep things fresh as content is added every month or so.
The new Warzone content and BO7's first season arrive next week on Dec. 4.
Be ready to defeat all adversaries in the biggest Season 01 ever, bringing a massive variety of maps, modes, loadout content, and more, including the new Astra Malorum Zombies map and the new Haven’s Hollow Resurgence map in Call of Duty: Warzone. Unlock an arsenal of rewards including new Weapons, Attachments, Camos and Equipment across multiple in-game challenges, events, and a stacked Battle Pass.
Season 01 is live in Black Ops 7 and Call of Duty: Warzone on December 4.
Season overview
General Dorne is out for revenge in Season 01 of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. The Guild was just the beginning for Dorne —and Season 01 will be only the beginning for fans, ushering in the biggest seasonal content plan in the history of Call of Duty.
Grab your squad and load up for more ways to play than ever before, including updates to the post Co-Op Campaign epilogue, Endgame.
The Multiplayer mayhem continues, bringing new maps & modes along with fan-favorites returning for chaotic non-stop fun.
The Zombies story progresses on Astra Malorum, an 1800s viewing tower transported to a skull-shaped asteroid.
With plenty of new content across all game modes plus more to come in-season, Season 01 of Black Ops 7 has arrived, with endless content for everyone.
Multiplayer Overview
New Maps
Fate (Launch): Revisit a Cradle-twisted version of Raul Menendez’s Nicaraguan compound where giant machetes slice up the sky.
Utopia (Launch): Utopia was once a refuge for the rich, but this futuristic city now lies abandoned, setting the stage for fast-paced combat.
Odysseus (Launch): This floating carrier boasts intense close quarters combat and non-stop action.
Standoff (Launch): Standoff has been Remastered for Black Ops 7. Revisit your favorite spots and shoot your best shots on this Black Ops 2 classic.
Multiplayer Modes
Prop Hunt (Launch): Prop Hunt returns with fresh updates, ready for a whole new era of Black Ops.
Sharpshooter (Launch): Players compete in a free-for-all match where everyone is given the same randomly selected weapon.
One In The Chamber (Launch): With the spirit of high stakes competition comes the return of a Call of Duty classic, One in the Chamber.
Zombies overview
New Map: Astra Malorum (Launch)
The Dark Aether story continues in Astra Malorum, where the crew has been transported to an observatory set on a skull-shaped asteroid in outer space. Follow the footsteps of a forgotten death cult and hunt down the threat.
New Survival Map: Exit 115(Launch)
Take a break from the open road and test your mettle against the zombies that await you on Exit 115.
Call of Duty: Warzone Overview
Haven’s Hollow
Take a stateside detour to investigate the mysterious Haven’s Hollow in the latest addition to Resurgence. Nature has sequestered this Appalachian town from the rest of the world, making it feel like a living relic of old school American charm. Discover the secrets of Haven’s Lab, see what’s been left behind at the Mansion, or take a moment to win big on the floating casino on the tourist favorite Riverboat— there’s no shortage of play space here. Haven’s Hollow awaits.
Verdansk POI Updates:
Signal Station
Let no enemy escape your sights thanks to the new Signal Station. Located south of the Military Base, any squad skilled enough to activate satellite systems will be rewarded with the Tactical Heat Map that identifies player densities in locales all around Verdansk.
Factory
Grab your timecard and clock in just like the old days — well, almost. Factory is back, freshly renovated and redesigned specifically for Black Ops 7.
CODMAS (In-Season)
Be sure to be on your best behavior – CODMAS is right around the corner, and you definitely don’t want to be on the naughty list this year.
Which gift are you opening first? There’s the MP map Sleighjacked, in which everyone’s favorite sea-faring vessel has been transformed into a holiday sleigh. Plus, there will be CODMAS inspired LTMs and an Event spanning across all modes to celebrate the season.
The Battle Pass
Purchase the Battle Pass to immediately unlock rewards including a seasonal 10% Battle Pass XP Boost, the new “Dorne” Operator, and more, providing access to over 110 pieces of unlockable content. And get even more with BlackCell.
New Weapons: In the S01 Battle Pass, unlock the Maddox RFB Assault Rifle and the Kogot-7 SMG. Plus, be on the lookout to unlock even more new weapons via in-game events and weekly challenges.
Black Ops 7 is available now on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4.
Call of Duty: Warzone is back with Black Ops 7 integration in season one, including BO7's weapons and operators.
There's no new battle royale map for season one of BO7, but the Haven's Hollow map for Resurgence is calling players to return and play in the respawn mode while ranking up the new guns and unlocking all of the BO7 changes.
Here's everything coming in season one of BO7 for Warzone players.
BO7 season one is admittedly quite light for Warzone, with the bulk of expected content coming next year with the return of the Blackout limited-time mode and potentially a new BR map. For now, it's all about bringing BO7 guns into the free-to-play experience.
Black Ops 7 weapons and more
BO7's weapons and operators join Warzone, which is getting a soft reset for season one, including player levels. Players who don't own BO7 will need to rank up and unlock all of the guns from the game. This includes the new season one guns. Perks are also being changed up and rebalanced.
Old weapons from MWII, MWIII, and Black Ops 6 are still accessible.
New Resurgence map
Image via Activision
With Verdansk sticking around as the main battle royale map, BO7 season one's new Warzone experience is Haven's Hollow for the respawn-enabled Resurgence mode. It's based loosely around the Liberty Falls Zombies map from Black Ops 6.
New Verdansk POIs
Image via Activision
Signal Station in the north and Factory east of Superstore are being added as new points of interest to drop into on Verdansk, Warzone's battle royale map.
New modes and playlists
Season one's modes include only the casual variants of Resurgence and Battle Royale will be available at launch, with more modes coming throughout the season. Expect CODMAS to make things holly and jolly soon.
To read all the specific info about sweeping changes coming to Warzone as part of BO7, check out the full patch notes on CoD's website.
