Call of Duty has killed some "big" brand collabs in Black Ops 7 following backlash — but admits that skins won't be entirely "grounded"

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is coming on November 14, 2025, and it isn't a typical Call of Duty cycle.

Call of Duty remains the industry's biggest shooter, selling tens of millions of copies year in, year out. Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is likely to be no exception. The game sports one of the largest launch content slates in modern history for the franchise, and its near-future setting promises to change up the experience in a variety of ways.

However, Call of Duty's collaborative skin events hit a breaking point with the community this year. For years, Call of Duty has incorporated celebrity cameos, branded content, and other collabs into its games to chase "whales" who will literally buy every skin available. What they seemingly haven't been measuring is the negative impact on the game's identity and brand.

Potentially more so than in previous years, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 went too hard on wacky, cartoony skins, sporting everything from WWE wrestlers to American Dad characters, to anachronistic appearances from irrelevant brands like Beavis and Butthead. For no apparent rhyme or reason (well, money).

It has given more grounded competing shooter Battlefield 6 a clear differentiator, targeting players who want a more realistic and immersive combat experience. Battlefield 6 has been vocal in stating that its skins will remain grounded in the universe, but how has Activision and Call of Duty responded?

So far, Call of Duty has decided not to carry forward any skins from Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 into Black Ops 7, which means you won't be able to play as Nicki Minaj or Seth Rogan — at least not at launch. In a new interview, a Call of Duty senior director left the door open for skins that aren't necessarily "grounded" in a militaristic universe.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 | Multiplayer Gameplay Reveal Trailer - YouTube

Watch On

Speaking in said interview, Treyarch’s Senior Director of Production, Yale Miller, reportedly admitted "that they’re not necessarily aiming for “grounded” cosmetics," potentially leaving the door open for the some of the types of wackiness we've seen from Black Ops 6 and other previous games. Vaguely, Miller says they will gun for skins that "feel Black Ops." He pointed to the mannequin skins from a Black Ops 6 event as an example of something that doesn't "fit" the universe.

"There are opportunities that we have had lined up that, after some of our conversations, we straight up turned down. Big, big brands, big things, and we’re like, no. We’re not gonna' do that because it just doesn’t fit. [...]

All intentions [are] to stick to stuff that we can hand on our heart, say, yeah, that feels Black Ops. That’s really our goal. And I think that’s a good clarification versus grounded."

A difficult year for Call of Duty

Call of Duty will still likely become this year's biggest shooter, if not biggest game all up. Call of Duty is an annualized ritual for millions, mimicking the way sports titles sell year in, year out as fans of the tried-and-tested Call of Duty formula opt in for a fresh coat of paint. Call of Duty's shooter gameplay remains as frenetic and addictive as it ever was, but a generational divide in tastes has put pressure on the brand.

The heavy collabs and cartoon skins seem to be an attempt to appeal to meme-hungry gamers, potentially of younger cohorts. While older, millennial and Gen-X gamers seem more likely to hate them. The obvious solution in my mind would be to have some sort of toggle to preferentially hide them. But, I'm sure the financiers have data that suggests skin sales would plummet in that scenario.

Indeed, Call of Duty is a monstrously expensive game to develop. Building entire titles in a single year takes a huge amount of labor, and the content offering Call of Duty games sport at launch is generally more than generous as it tries to appeal to as many gamers as possible. But like with many legacy franchises, and the industry in general, the behaviors and habits between older and younger gaming cohorts seems more diverse than ever — creating headaches for developers who seek to appeal to both.

It'll be interesting to see how Call of Duty handles 2026. Battlefield 6 is adding at least some pressure, following a massively popular public beta. The skins backlash has also dominated the conversation across at least some communities online, particularly on X and other forms of social media. But, the silent CoD-playing majority likely don't care. The game is still fun, after all.

With Call of Duty now hitting Xbox Game Pass on day one, Black Ops 7 will likely break engagement records yet again for the franchise, as Black Ops 6 did before it. But, could it do even better?

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 launches on November 14, 2025, for Xbox, PlayStation 5, and PC.