Call of Duty: Black Ops 7serves as a sequel to bothBlack Ops 2andBlack Ops 6, and will build on its predecessors' Zombies modes. Treyarch’s latest entry in the monolithic first-person shooter series pushes the envelope in the beloved PvE mode, featuringthe largest map ever created for Zombies, and introducing the first-ever Wonder Vehicle.
Screen Rant’sRob Keyesattended aCall of Dutypresentation at Treyarch and went hands-on withBlack Ops 7, where we learned plenty of new details about its Zombies mode from Kevin Drew, the design director of PvE experiences.Black Ops 7will continue the revival of round-based Zombies with its launch map, which is “the biggest round-based map we’ve ever made,” according to Drew, isset entirely within the Dark Aether, and is inspired byBlack Ops 2’s TranZit.
In lieu of the bus,Black Ops 7lets you drive a Wonder Vehicle between zones, a specially-built pickup truck equipped with a bladed plow. Drew said the developers wanted to “modernize” the ideas laid down byBlack Ops 2, particularly the “idea of a massive, sprawling map of really cool, unique locations and the roads between.”
Black Ops 7 Zombies Takes Place In The Dark Aether & The Original Crew Returns
8 Playable Characters
Following the story of theReckoning map,Black Ops 7’s Zombies takes place entirely within the Dark Aether, whereBlack Ops 6’s Zombies characterswill meet the original crew, who debuted inWorld at War. This meanseight different characters will be playableinBlack Ops 7Zombies, where you will be “going to some of the coolest locations in Zombies that [you] have ever been,” according to Drew, and “experiencing things in zombies that you’ve never experienced before.”
Some of these mysteries will stem from otherwise familiar characters. Richtofen, Dempsey, Belinski, and Masaki may be the classic Zombies personalities, but Drew stressed that it’s “a new version” of the original four, with “a lot of mystery” despite them having “the same essence.” This adaptation of the original crew will have unique origins and purposes in the Dark Aether saga, but their previous Ultimis and Primis variants will be “respected” by these new characterizations andBlack Ops 7’s Zombies storyline.
As you set out into the Dark Aether, you’ll find a sprawling map, where its myriad sections are cobbled together from different time periods. Each section ofBlack Ops 7’s Zombies map will have its own story to discover, and to get between them, you’ll need what Drew calls “your fifth member of the squad,” the Wonder Vehicle.
Explore Unique Locations & Everything In Between With Zombies' First Wonder Vehicle
The Journey Is Just As Important As The Destination
Building on its TranZit influence,Black Ops 7’s Zombies map connects six points of interest with roads that can only be safely traversed in the Wonder Vehicle, a zombie-slaying truck. “You’re going to absolutely need [the truck] to progress through the map and solve our quest,” said Drew, noting that the roads between locations are “super deadly.”
But they aren’t just a means of getting from point A to point B: “You’re absolutely going to need to be in these places for the quests and other things,” said Drew. Seeing the continuation of the Dark Aether saga is going torequire braving the dangerous roads, which “have rules outside of the normal round base.” Connecting the points of interest are seven of these “transition spaces.”
Each of the six locations will also be playable as a standalone Survival map, influenced byBlack Ops 2’s Survival mode andBlack Ops 6’s Liberty Falls map. These are designed to get players in and out of games quickly, shifting the impetus away from advancing the questline and toward the classic Zombies experience of seeing how many rounds you can survive. If that weren’t enough,Dead Ops Arcade 4 is debuting inBlack Ops 7, taking “elements from Zombies and sometimes other parts of the game” to make a “very old-school style twin-stick arcade shooter” that’s “bursting at the seams” with content compared to its predecessors.
2025’sCall of Dutywas developed concurrently with last year’sBlack Ops 6, which bleeds through intoBlack Ops 7’s Zombies mode. It picks up right where the Dark Aether saga left off, but is also attempting to be bigger and bolder than ever before. WhenCall of Duty: Black Ops 7launches in October, it comes with the largest Zombies map ever created, to be traversed by the series' debut Wonder Vehicle.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7
David Mason resurfaces in a fractured future where psychological warfare reigns supreme. Set in 2035, agents armed with cutting-edge tech must infiltrate conspiracies spun by fear-mongerers, traversing familiar locales and new harrowing landscapes alike. Fans can squad up in a co-op campaign, duke it out in revamped multiplayer arenas, or brace for the next twisted chapter of the Dark Aether Zombies saga.
