Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Breaks Records—And Not in a Good Way

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is off to a historically rough start. In its opening weekend, the game landed an all-time low user score of 1.7 on Metacritic, making it the most unpopular release in the franchise’s two-decade run, at least according to players. An overwhelming 85 percent of users piled on with negative reviews, pushing the shooter into “Overwhelming Dislike” territory. The backlash isn’t just confined to Metacritic. Over on Steam, only 42 percent of players gave it a positive review, earning it the “Mixed” status that no developer wants to see in launch week.

This user review disaster isn’t mirrored by critics, at least not yet. Early critic scores on PC are solid, with an aggregated rating of 84. The real disconnect is between the professionals and the fans who are actually playing the thing.

Players Call Out AI, Unwanted Changes, and Missing Features

The complaints about Black Ops 7 aren’t just garden-variety griping. Dive into the user reviews and a few themes stand out. Fans accuse Activision of letting the “franchise lose its way,” arguing that the game “strays far from Call of Duty’s identity” and is filled with what one reviewer called “AI slop”. There’s a consensus that this is another “under-baked title delivered on false promises and blatant lies.” Some call it flat-out “out of touch.”

There are positive posts, yes, a clutch of 10/10s made it through, but the negatives pile up fast. Most players are irritated about very specific missing features: you can’t pause or manually save the campaign, a quality-of-life function many assumed would be a given. And an even bigger lightning rod is the developer’s use of generative AI to create calling cards in the game, which has set off alarm bells throughout the community.

This AI controversy isn’t a rumor. Activision openly stated on Steam that generative AI was used during Black Ops 7’s development. But it was details like the artwork for calling cards, especially those tied to the ‘Jack of All Trades’ and ‘Embrace the Nightmare’ campaign challenges, that really set players off. Eagle-eyed fans pointed out how these assets closely resemble AI-generated Studio Ghibli derivatives making the rounds online lately.

Frustration Runs Deep: Fans Compare to Previous Games

If Black Ops 7’s mediocre reception feels sudden, it’s because the mood among fans shifted fast. One user made the comparison clear: “Black Ops 6 wasn’t perfect but it felt like COD was back again. Zombies were great, the campaign was okay and the multiplayer felt like it used to. For the first time in 10 years, my [sic] believed that Call of Duty was on the right track again. That is until, they announced Black Ops 7.”

It’s not just disappointment; they feel betrayed. “Every. Single. Thing. That the community has been super vocal about hating, they decided to bring to Black Ops 7. Everything that we said we loved about Black Ops 6 and OG Call of Duty, they took away. Now all that’s left is a steaming pile of dog crap [where] a once great first person shooter empire lived. I hope this is a wake-up call, and the company decides to revert 100% back to the way that Call of Duty is supposed to be. This is what happens when you continue to put profit over passion.”

The theme is clear: for loyal players, the core identity of Call of Duty has been lost.

Even Critics Are Having Doubts About the Direction

While the professional review score sits higher than ever-angry user ratings, the critics aren’t blind to these problems. In its own review, Eurogamer summed it up with a pointed take: “If you can accept Black Ops 7’s fundamental changes to the formula on their own terms, you’ll have a good trip, despite the psychochemicals coursing through your veins. I’m just not convinced those changes bode well for the health of the series.” The site gave the game a middling 3 out of 5 stars.

What’s next for Call of Duty? Right now, the only thing louder than the gunfire in Black Ops 7 is the uproar outside the game. With angry fans making themselves heard across Metacritic and Steam, and a heated debate about the role of AI in triple-A gaming, it’s clear that Activision faces a tough road if it wants to win players back.