“Call Of Duty is probably the most popular franchise in the world,” says actor Michael Rooker. He should know, he’s been involved in a few popular franchises himself. He played Yondu, the blue scoundrel with a heart of gold, in Guardians Of The Galaxy. He also starred as Daryl Dixon’s gruff older brother Merle when The Walking Dead was at its peak and has already been given two gruesome deaths in James Gunn’s new DC universe.
But the thing he hears most often from fans is that they chose not to put a bullet in his wisecracking character Mike Harper during 2013’s Call Of Duty: Black Ops 2. In a pivotal mission, players are given the option of saving the CIA operative – or splattering his brains across the screen. “It’s quite the ice breaker,” he tells NME at a special launch event for the new sequel, Black Ops 7.
There have been 22 games since the first Call Of Duty in 2003 and despite that unrelenting release schedule, the series has remained immensely popular – Call Of Duty has topped the annual list of best-selling video games in America 13 times in the past 16 years and they’re looking to do the same again with Black Ops 7, which launches today (November 14). So what’s the secret to COD’s success – and just how long can their reign at the top continue?
No two CODs have been the same
Call Of Duty has constantly evolved, making each instalment an unmissable upgrade. The originals were historical war epics, but 2007’s Modern Warfare dragged the franchise into the present day and 2010’s Black Ops took heavy inspiration from spy thrillers such as Mission: Impossible and the James Bond films. Each one has spawned multiple sequels and publishers Activision are constantly jumping between the different series.
“In general, we’re always trying to one up ourselves,” Black Ops 7’s lead narrative producer Natalie Pohorski tells NME. ”That’s one of the coolest challenges about working on Call Of Duty; how do we keep pushing the envelope and how do we keep taking risks,” adds Stephanie Snowden, senior director of Call Of Duty Studios’ communications.
It’s multiple games in one
In Black Ops 7, players can team up with a friend to take on the intense near-future campaign mode, which sees you and an elite team of soldiers in the aftermath of a second cold war going up against returning baddie Raul Menendez and global tech company The Guild, who’ve somehow learned how to weaponise fear. Complete that “mind-boggling” story and you’ll get access to the ever-evolving ‘Endgame’ mode, a team-based, 32-player “proving ground” that extends the life of the campaign far beyond the initial 11 levels.
Multiplayer is as hectic as usual, with 18 maps at launch and another seven due over the course of Black Ops 7’s first season, while the brilliant ‘omnimovement’ (which lets you dive and leap about the place like the greatest of action heroes) has had an upgrade with wall jumps.
Then there’s ‘Zombies’. What started as an Easter Egg in 2008’s World At War has slowly evolved into a fully-realised horror shooter. Last year’s ‘Directive’ mode makes a return, introducing newcomers to the twisted plot of the nightmarish survival experience while the new ‘Cursed’ mode is only for the most hardcore of players. If you know where to look there’s also Dead Ops 4, an 80-level arcade game-within-a-game, if you fancy something a little less demanding. “However you want to play, we’ve got an experience for you,” says Snowden.
You don’t need to do any homework
What makes Call Of Duty so appealing is just how easy it is to pick up and play. Sure, Black Ops 7 is a direct sequel to Black Ops 2 and continues several threads introduced in last year’s Black Ops 6 but the sprawling 100-year, multi-generation saga can be condensed into a neat 90-second catch-up video (though fan-made deep-dives are also available).
“Obviously we have a very passionate community of people who have been playing for a long time. We know what these titles mean to them and what their expectations are for a new one, but it’s also so important that anybody can jump in and get involved,” says Snowden. “We want to make the game feel accessible to anybody, whether you’ve played every Call Of Duty title or you’ve never picked one up before.”
It’s good news for Kiernan Shipka, who joins the cast as Emma Kagan, CEO of suspicious tech company The Guild. Growing up, she only really dabbled with The Sims but said yes to starring in Call Of Duty almost immediately. “It’s got such a legacy and is so iconic. Even if you don’t know anything about video games, you know exactly what Call Of Duty is,” she says. A load of her friends “freaked out” when she told them about her latest role.
After spending weeks learning how to handle weapons, recording dialogue from the 2000 page script and capturing every facial expression imaginable, today is the first time she’s been able to sit down with Black Ops 7. “It’s very weird playing as myself – I’ve only just made peace with watching myself,” she admits. “It’s a whole lot of fun though. Call Of Duty is just so immersive and the goal of any good piece of art should be to make you completely forget about where you are.”
Shipka’s breakout role was as Sally Draper in Mad Men and, according to her, creating a video game is similar to working on a prestige TV show. “There was so much thought and care around every scene. It really did feel like being on set, except I was in a Velcro polka dot motion capture suit. It’s a funny outfit to wear when the stakes are ‘the end of the world’.”
It’s a smarter game than its reputation suggests…
As addictive as Call Of Duty multiplayer can be, it’s the different narrative campaigns that really set each game apart. Predecessor Black Ops 6 was a gritty ‘90s thriller while Black Ops 7 is a dystopian tale set in 2035 about weaponising fear and the evils of capitalism. It’s a story that feels oddly relevant in 2025. “Art imitates life, and it’s hard not to draw comparisons or feel that kind of intensity,” says Shipka. “The good guys in the story really are out to fight for the truth at all costs. Hopefully people take something positive from that.”
“The themes of this game might seem topical, but they’re also baked into the DNA of what Black Ops is,” adds Snowden. “There are a lot of interesting questions about trust but it all starts with the personal stories we wanted to tell.”
But it’s not deadly serious either
As much as Call Of Duty is a gritty, gory shooter, the team aren’t afraid to have a laugh with it. Recent adverts have seen comedians Nikki Glaser and Terry Crews awkwardly filling in for gamers so they can focus on playing Black Ops 7 while Rooker’s returning Mike Harper is armed with plenty of dad jokes. “I think that’s what made my character a fan favorite. He’s loyal, tough and will cover your back but he’s also got a real sense of humour. Yes, he’ll take the lead but not before saying something goofy.” At one point, thanks to the surreal, mind-boggling world of Black Ops 7, players are also confronted by a 70ft version of the gruff soldier.
“Call Of Duty is about fun, right?,” says Snowden, with developers spending countless hours during the creation of each title actually playing together and checking that it’s enjoyable. “At its core, it’s about having a good time.”
There’s always another game on the way
Despite working on two games back-to-back (a first for the franchise) Snowden has plenty of inspiration for future titles. “There are so many things that we want to develop, or started creating and just couldn’t see all the way through. There’s all sorts of stuff that we want to explore in the future,” she teases.
“This is the biggest Black Ops game ever and we’re excited to continue building that world,” adds Pohorski. “But we can’t think about that until after launch.”
And then there’s the small matter of a live-action Call Of Duty movie which has finally been green-lit after years of rumours. Regardless of how well it’s received, the blockbuster will inspire even more people to enter the world of Call Of Duty. “It’s about time,” says Rooker. “Instead of trying to make the games more cinematic, actually doing the piece of cinema is a no-brainer.”