Vince Zampella, known for co-creating the Call of Duty series, among many other roles, has died. Zampella, 55, died in a car crash in Los Angeles on Sunday. The fatal crash killed him, along with the occupant of his car.
Circan’s November 2025 video game sales report has easily been one of the most anticipated. For one, November is always one of the most lucrative for the games industry, but this year in particular has seen several major hits - including new entries in two rival series.
The top five games played on the PlayStation in 2025 by US players were exactly the same as in 2024, according to Circana's Player Engagement Tracker.
The Friday letters page laments the death of Guitar Hero and rhythm action games, as one reader claims Final Fantasy 8 is his favourite entry.
Games Inbox is a collection of our readers’ letters, comments, and opinions. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk
Perfect timing
It’s hard not to read the report on GTA 6’s progress and not be worried about another delay. My gut tells me they will hit the November release date, just because it’s a good time of the year and people are beginning to lose patience but just imagine what would happen if they released GTA 6 and it was a buggy mess or not that great.
Cyberpunk 2077 proves you can come back from anything, but the press will have a field day with GTA 6 if it doesn’t live up to expectations. And it took a long time for Cyberpunk to recover, during which there was talk of CD Projekt being sold off, so I’m going to guess that’s not the sort of reaction Rockstar and Take-Two want.
The idea that they’ve not yet started polishing does worry me though. It’s easy to assume from that, that either the game’s going to be delayed until 2027 or it will be buggy. The GTA 3 remasters show Rockstar can put out janky rubbish if they think they can get away with it, but I just hope that they have contingencies for all this and realise that not only does GTA 6 need to be perfect but it also has to actually come out at some point.
Zeiss
One or done
I really hope that Fable turns out to be good. It seems so long since the idea of a reboot was first talked about and we’ve seen so little of it in the meantime. Playground Games do good work with Forza Horizon, so I’m hopeful it’ll work, but those are two very different kinds of games.
I imagine that was part of the problem, in it taking so long, but if this doesn’t impress then that’s going to be the end of the franchise, and whatever team was making it (they’ll keep the Forza Horizon people).
It’s really terrible how so often nowadays the failure of a single game can mean the end of a whole franchise and hundreds of job losses. Here’s hoping that the Developer Direct goes well and isn’t a Suicide Squad style disaster.
Wotan
Turbo milking
Maybe I’m just slow but for me Guitar Hero was the point that I realised that the companies in charge of gaming really haven’t got a clue what they’re doing. Activision could’ve kept that franchise running forever – it was super popular when it came out and non-gamers loved it – but instead they ran it into the ground at warp speed and the whole thing was over in just a few years.
I doubt that this new game will do that well because nowadays plastic guitars are just associated with a weird fad that quickly became uncool, but that didn’t have to happen. If they’d taken their time and tried to innovate, they would be more than a one franchise company and music games might not have been killed off before their time.
Focus
Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk
Seasonal gaming
I know it’s unusual, and there is the problem of whether you can get back the same voice actors, but I really like the idea of coming back to a game after a decade or so and giving it new DLC. A new sequel is a good excuse but I’m happy for it at any time, especially when it’s a game as good as The Witcher 3.
I’d love to see new expansions for Skyrim or anything from FromSoftware. Or definitely the story DLC that games like GTA 5 and God Of War never got. If companies are so keen on live service titles then they could create something like it just by constantly giving single-player games new content. I’d much rather that than watch them waste millions on another identikit online shooter.
I never liked the idea of episodic gaming but if they can make them more like TV seasons, where you get a new expansion every year or two, I think that would be a lot more appealing to most people. If the new Witcher 3 expansion is successful then maybe we’ll see it set a trend.
Brammo
Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning.
Good publicity
I am fascinated to see what MachineGames will be allowed to get away with when it comes to Wolfenstein 3. Things are a lot different now than they used to be and for me the big question is are Bethesda going to sanitise the new game or are they going to push for it to be as anti-Nazi as possible, in order to get as much publicity as possible. We won’t know until there’s an annoucement, but it could go either way.
Speaking of MachineGames, I hope they get to make a Quake game too. It seems like they were training for that for years and I was really looking forward to a single-player game in their usual style, with optional multiplayer, just like the original game. A Rainbow Six Siega knock-off is absolutely not what I want to see from them next.
Limpton
PS: Also, where’s that second bit of Indiana Jones And The Great Circle DLC?
Power paradox
I also think there’s a reasonable (let’s say 50/50) chance of seeing a new mainline Zelda trailer this year. Something less than a minute long and not really showing much, just like they usually do. But show a new Link and a glimpse at a bit of new landscape and you’ll have fans talking for years (including me).
I do think it’s weird that the 40th anniversary is in barely more than a month, though, and there’s no new game. Come to that, Pokémon’s 30th anniversary is also next month, and they don’t seem to have announced anything for that either. Missing one anniversary is no big deal but Nintendo seem to be doing it more than not now, to the point where it just seems completely random when they do acknowledge one.
I think we have to accept that we are in a new era where Nintendo is suffering all the same problems as everyone else and they can’t put out new games as often as they used to. Things take too long now, for everyone, and presumable they’re more expensive for Nintendo too.
That’s not the end of the world, except I worry it’s going to make them more worried about experimenting. We’ve had not a hint of a new IP yet for the Switch 2 (no, Drag x Drive does not count) and I’m not sure who’d bet on when the next one will arrive.
I get that they have to pay the bills, like any other company, but I’m beginning to wish the Switch 2 hadn’t been that much more powerful after all.
Keef
Hateful eight
In all these years I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone talk about remastering Final Fantasy 8, which confuses me as I thought it was generally pretty well liked. Was that just me and the game is secretly hated or something?
I imagine the game’s not easy to remaster, because of the pre-rendered backdrops, but 9 had them as well and there’s been lots of rumours of that getting a glow-up. Admittedly that doesn’t seem to have happened yet, but I’d rather have had 8 anyway.
Am I the only person who thinks it’s their favourite Final Fantasy? I won’t say it’s the best, because it’s probably nostalgia talking, but it is the one I think of first when I think of older games.
Molb
Unknown presents
A little late to the party when it comes to what I got for Christmas, but I wanted to share my experience of opening gaming presents in front of family who don’t game at all.
My wonderful wife got me two gaming presents this year that I had asked for. On the day, when it was my turn to open a present, I first happily opened Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, the title of which alone made many eyes glaze over. I briefly explained that it was 2025’s Game of the Year and allowed the present opening to continue.
My turn came again and I open NiGHTS Into Dreams for the Sega Saturn ‘with the special controller you need to get the most out of the game’. Cue the bemused smiles and lack of follow-up questions.
Needless to say, I’m very excited to play both of my gifts. However, when the other side of the family came on Boxing Day and asked what I’d got for Christmas, I showed them the lovely dressing gown and slipper combo I’d received instead.
Ed
GC: NiGHTS Into Dreams is definitely a nice present, it’s worth quite a bit now.
Inbox also-rans
I wish I could be optimistic about the new Life Is Strange game but the last one was such a disaster I’m not sure I’ll even bother trying it. One of the worst sequels I’ve ever played.
Gibson
I’m not going to argue over Mortal Kombat Mythologies being a terrible game but I will say that the Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection was really good. I appreciate the amount of work they put into it and that even the bad games were included. Completeness matters!
Lang440bell
Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk
The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.
You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader’s Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.
You can also leave your comments below and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.
Ever thought of reliving the early days of the Call of Duty boon by firing up the original Call of Duty Black Ops on your Steam Deck? Chances are, you've quickly put that idea to bed after finding out that it's a hitch-filled mess. Turns out you're not alone. Lucky for you, if the latest SteamOS beta build is anything to go by, older Call of Duty games could see a huge performance boost. And the benefits aren't limited to the classic FPS franchise, either. Theoretically, anyway.
Read the full story on PCGamesN: Valve's new Steam Deck update doesn't promise much, but classic Call of Duty games could see some real performance gains
OK, I'll admit it: I actually quite like the newly revealed Fallout crossover in Black Ops 7. I'm not proud of it, given my past criticisms of Call of Duty's bizarre, totally unrelated collabs. Sure, seeing Ella Purnell call in a UAV or The Ghoul wall-bouncing with a rocket launcher is jarring, but as a fan of Fallout (the games and the Amazon series) they're pretty cool skins. However, I'm not sure liking it is the same as supporting it. I think some elements work well here, but on the whole, seeing Pip-Boys and blue jumpsuits in Black Ops 7 before Season 1 has even wrapped does absolutely nothing to support CoD's mission to be more "authentic."
Read the full story on PCGamesN: While Black Ops 7's Fallout crossover looks the part, it does nothing but hurt CoD's quest to become more "authentic"
Seeing Battlefield 6 go from over 700,000 peak concurrent players on Steam to barely scraping past 100,000 is certainly something, especially as ARC Raiders’ popularity increases. But it’s still far better than Call of Duty, which hit nearly 53,000 concurrent players in the past 24 hours on the platform.
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 7 topped 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 7 here. 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.
If you're a fan of both the colour grey being draped all over designs that could be accurately described as both angular and slabby, you're in luck. A third brutalist map jam has hit Quake, with this one being less of a fan-made map pack and more of a huge overhaul mod - the concrete cavernousness of which dwarfs the original game.
Vince Zampella, the co-creator of Call of Duty, founder of Respawn Entertainment, and head of EA's Battlefield franchise died in a car crash on December 22nd. He was 55 years old.
"We're heartbroken by the passing of our founder and dear friend Vince Zampella," Respawn Entertainment said in a statement on Twitter. "Our hearts are with his family, friends, and all who love him."
It is not exactly a secret that, in recent years, Destiny 2 hasn't been doing so hot. Frequenters of the pseudo-MMO have found certain expansions and updates to be disappointing, and for a live service game a few too many disappointments can be devastating. Now, in a new interview, the game's director Tyson Green has acknowledged how the game is struggling to bring in a new audience, and discussed the difficulties that come with that.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7's multiplayer is better than its awful, terrible, abominable, ghastly, hideous, not very good campaign. But 'better' in this case does not necessarily mean 'good'. This year's anxious flurry of maps, modes and zombies achieves the base requirement for a satisfactory shooting experience, and there are a couple of ideas that are interesting if inconsistently successful. But the overall quality is wildly incoherent, while the whole package is overshadowed by the spectre of generative AI.
The biggest change to this year's multiplayer is also the least interesting to discuss, its approach to skill-based matchmaking. Call of Duty's habit of matching you with players allegedly on your ability level has come under fire in recent years for flattening the experience. So this year, Treyarch offers you a choice, letting you play with 'standard' SBMM, or in a pool where SBMM is 'minimally considered'.
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.
Read the full story on PCGamesN: Call of Duty Warzone is planning "frequent meta shake ups" with weapon balancing up to four times a season
Call of Duty: Warzone Season 1 goes live tomorrow, along with Black Ops 7. Here are the patch notes with all the new details.
The post Call of Duty Warzone Season 1 Patch Notes—New Resurgence Map, Game Modes, Weapons and More appeared first on Insider Gaming.
The full patch notes for Call of Duty: Black Ops 7's Season 1 can be found here ahead of the official release.
The post Black Ops 7 Season 1 Patch Notes—New Maps, Weapons, Bug Fixes appeared first on Insider Gaming.
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.
There's been a lot of chatter surrounding Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 since its launch. The latest release in a juggernaut franchise, some are seeing cracks in the armour due to a mixed reception to various parts of the game, as well as the little data we have pointing to surprising sales figures.
The integration of generative AI into game development has gone from a quiet experiment to an outright public fight. Two heavyweights — Ubisoft with Anno 117: Pax Romana and Activision with Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 — have found themselves at the center of a storm as players point to what they call visible…
The post Ubisoft & Activision Face Backlash Over AI Assets in Anno 117 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 appeared first on VGamerz.
It is strange to imagine – I thought as I battled a giant vomit-spewing plant monster in a hallucination induced by a biological weapon – that Call of Duty was once, at least notionally, about the human cost of war. That was a long time ago, admittedly. There are full grown adults who have never experienced CoD's original idea that you played an ordinary soldier snarled up in a terrifying post-industrial war machine. But I don't think the series has ever been further away from that concept than in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7's hideous mess of a campaign.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
