Can Call of Duty appeal to both Gen-Z and Millennials/Gen-X? → Black Ops 7's multiplayer trailer debut divides fans.

I wrote an article this past week about how AAA publishers are making me feel old. Nothing underpinned that like today's Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 multiplayer trailer.

Bright flashy colors, vertical traversal, high-tech gadgets, and that awful Travis Scott mumble rap track that the WWE has burned onto my cerebellum — Black Ops 7's multiplayer reveal trailer reminded me that I am no longer the target audience for Call of Duty. And hey, that's totally fine by me, I have Battlefield 6 to look forward to this year.

I was interested to see how others were reacting to the trailer, though, and it seems I'm firmly not alone in this sentiment.

Franchise fatigue is a real thing, and Call of Duty has joined other aging game series in trying to figure out how to appeal to the kids while also keeping its aging core audience happy. Halo went through it, World of Warcraft is still going through it. And at 21 years old, Call of Duty is well and truly going through it right now.

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

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Last year's Call of Duty was crammed to the hilt with Gen-Z baiting Fortnite-y cameo skins to the point Activision had to promise to tone it down for Black Ops 7. It gave Battlefield 6 such an easy PR win with grumpy, aging gamers (like myself) that I feel that this year's Battlefield 6 has a real chance at causing a significant dent in Call of Duty.

Unlike Battlefield, Call of Duty is a cultural touchstone for gaming culture. Its sheer scale cannot be denied. Regardless of social media commentary or dislikes on YouTube, millions still flock to the game year in, year out. The silent majority is happy to just experience a refreshed version of the staple Call of Duty formula, and there's nothing wrong with that at all.

But how long can Call of Duty keep it up? In a universe where Xbox Game Pass is potentially going to disproportionately cannibalize retail sales for anyone who is doubtful about Black Ops 7's flashy futurist formula — is it possible to please two generations who apparently want vastly different things?

It's Call of Duty! Again!

When I began this article, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7's multiplayer trailer had 1.2 million views with a 50:50 like to dislike ratio on YouTube via the Edge/Chrome addon that re-introduces the dislike button. Although it should be noted that it isn't exactly 1:1 with YouTube's internal measuring, it does provide at least some contextual insight.

Since I started it, it has edged up towards 1.8 million views with the dislike ratio pulling ahead slightly. There's 22,000 likes to 28,000 dislikes as of writing, which to me, showcases at least some generational division over the franchise's direction.

Call of Duty is an annualized franchise. Reinventing the wheel year in, year out, represents one of the gaming industry's biggest creative challenges more than likely, and the sheer scale and cost of maintaining this mega franchise cannot be overstated. With competition for free time tighter than ever, the pressure on Call of Duty to remain fresh while simultaneously appealing to core fans, legacy fans, and younger audiences is a needle I certainly wouldn't want to try to thread.

Some of the top voted comments on the YouTube page are wracked with cynicism, such as "The most heroic thing about this reveal is leaving the comments section ON," "I bought this game 12 years ago," "Having Fein as the song show's exactly the age demographic cod is for now," "Is it just me or does anyone else getting Temu TITANFALL movement vibes from this?" "who tf in Activision think "Wow so nobody wants a future game so LETS MAKE FUTURE GAME."

Some actually provided more sobering criticism, such as Tom Henderson's above, and LateNightHalo's take below.

"Did this trailer feel sorta.. idk low energy to anyone else? I never felt wow'd or excited. It felt very basic and sort of quiet and low-key. Idk.. I know they're hiding the insane cosmetics for the sake of the trailer but the game just seems so.. empty from the marketing so far."

On the flip side, though, there were plenty of positive comments too — especially on TikTok and Instagram, where Gen-Z is probably more likely to frequent. There are plenty of core fans happy to see the de-facto sequel to Black Ops 2 as well.

I am grumpy and old, as noted. I didn't feel a great deal of emotion watching the trailer. It's Call of Duty being Call of Duty, but my cynicism for the franchise's direction already settled in long ago. I was hopeful for Call of Duty: WW2, but the weird skins, gameplay issues, and lack of authenticity and — by extension — respect for the historical conflict already solidified my feeling that the passion for Call of Duty has long been trampled by unrealistic shareholder-placating targets.

A whale who buys every single skin is, on paper, worth more than a user who doesn't. The problem is, those users who refuse to buy the skins are increasingly now just refusing to buy the game all up, harming the game's overall cultural value.

The data is biased towards people who purchase the skins, and does nothing to measure the long-term brand damage Activision and now Microsoft's unrealistic expectations will wrought. I've written about the skins before, but really Call of Duty's problems run deeper than that — that's just the top of mind focal point.

Fans are doubtful for a variety of reasons. Skill-based matchmaking making every single game feel like a competitive sweatbox. Cheating remains rife on PC, and now on console, thanks to forced cross-play and devices like the Cronus Zen which allows users to cheat into aim-assisted gamepad lobbies with a mouse and keyboard.

But, above all, perhaps it's simply the way Call of Duty is trying to position itself. I don't think it's possible to appeal to both Gen-Z and the aging Millennial and Gen-X demographics. Broadly speaking, they seem so wildly, fundamentally different in their gaming habits and tastes, that you end up building a product that will appeal to no-one. But, I also may be very, very wrong. The people working on Call of Duty know far more than me, and I'm just another faceless keyboard-beard in a rapidly decaying internet landscape.

All I can share is what I think, and that is thus: Call of Duty isn't the only game struggling with this generational gap, and certainly won't be the last.

It'll still be one of this year's best-selling games, but Call of Duty could be hitting a generational wall

Of course, this is all anecdotal. It could also be true that this is all social media noise, and the game will do just fine as is — perhaps the complainers are simply not relevant to the equation all up. Call of Duty trailers before have been battered with dislikes as users vent their frustrations in the only way they can feel heard. When you're one of, if not the, biggest video game franchises of all time, you're never going to be able to please everyone and anyone.

Call of Duty is trying to figure out its path forward, and Black Ops 7 I am sure will be more than fine. Black Ops 6 faced similar questions, and still went on to be the year's best-selling, and most-engaged games, breaking franchise records. Call of Duty games in general are always still fun to play, even if they tend to undermine themselves with cartoon cameo skins and alienate users with forced input cross-play and sweaty matchmaking.

This year's Call of Duty is particularly interesting. It comes at an inflection point in some ways where users are more divided in general than ever. Battlefield 6 has gone all-in on trying to appeal to the core, legacy shooter crowd, promising grounded skins and old-school grounded warfare — but the community has now been arguing over EA's decision to restrict in-game movement to make it slower, eschewing Call of Duty-style bunny-hopping and the like. That whole argument also feels generational in nature, too.

RELATED: All of my favorite Xbox games were from indie devs this year, has AAA lost the plot, or am I old?

I'm not sure what the answer is, or what the way forward should be. I'd probably be a game developer if I did know. What I do think however, is that Call of Duty should probably pick a lane and stick to it. Or ... perhaps make something new and separate to chase those younger, lucrative, newer gamers who don't have kids and potential for more free time.

What do you think?