Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Zombies Is Tapping Into Its Past to Guide Its Future

In talking again with Treyarch Design Director Kevin Drew (you can read our previous piece about Ol’ Tessie here on Xbox Wire), this starts with the massive Ashes of the Damned map, whose size was directly influenced by the team’s desire to have a new drivable Wonder Vehicle in the game. “That kind of dictates that you need a bigger space,” says Drew. “We also really wanted to sell this idea of the Dark Aether being like a Bermuda Triangle, have things come into this place from various dimensions.”

This direction has led the team to pay homage to the past, with each destination representing a different period and location. “There’s a familiarity with those locations, like Green Run from TranZit, but it has an entirely different place and backstory that’s going to be important for that level and beyond,” adds Drew.

We can also look forward to experiencing a new incarnation of the iconic crew from the early days of Zombies. However, once we meet them, it sounds like they will not exactly be as we once remembered them. “Where they came from is unknown, but from somewhere else, some other dimension. Not from our Earth. And being inside of the Dark Aether, you’re going to see other familiar elements sprinkled in.”

Narratively, it sounds like there will be a lot to unpack for those who have been following the Zombies storylines over the years. “They have a reputation for being incredibly complex,” Drew adds. “I love that, but I like to think that we’ve taken an iceberg approach now since Cold War, where at the peak, at just a glance, it’s a simple story. Like in Black Ops 6 Zombies, you’re getting revenge for the person who imprisoned you. In Black Ops 7 Zombies you’re now trapped in this other dimension trying to escape. For a new player, that’s really all you need to know. But obviously, you can go look below the water and see there’s more to discover.”

Working alongside the Creative Director, who makes a lot of calls with what path the game’s story will take, Drew is also there to point out opportunities and suggestions as they arise, like resurrecting lost ideas or characters and giving them new life. But it’s not just him. Drew makes it a point to call out the community — it’s the fans who have helped guide a lot of this unique story over the years.

“Zombies is such a unique mode, and the gaming landscape is historically shaped by the fans. We’ll put things out there and see what resonates and what people are looking for, combining that with some stories that we want to tell. For example, we have a brand-new antagonist (in Black Ops 7 Zombies) and just being inside the Dark Aether there will be all sorts of new lore to explore.”

Part of that landscape evolution is the Cursed mode, which has been designed to be a more challenging experience for advanced players. In this mode, players can discover and activate Relics to face even harder challenges in exchange for new levels of power and rewards. These Relics work as significant debuffs to increase the challenge in a Cursed match, with nine to uncover across Ashes of the Damned. The more potent the Relic, the greater the challenge you’ll face. Which in turn means the more potent the Relic, the greater your Tier power becomes.

“Looking back at our most dedicated audience, it’s like, what are they looking for? They’re looking for a challenge. They’re looking for Easter eggs. So, we built an entire mode with them in mind,” says Drew. “I’m really excited about Cursed. It’s something that we’ve been thinking about for several years. It’s all about being extremely difficult, and that’s okay now because you’re opting in for that. Players can choose how they want to make the mode more difficult, which I think is really cool. And we’ll be continuing to release additional Relics throughout the seasons so that toy box will just grow for those players.”

Dead Ops Arcade is also getting some added love in Black Ops 7 Zombies. It’s no longer a mode that you must unearth on your adventure, as it will be available for you right from the game’s menu. “It is a huge mode and it is part of the family. We want to make sure people see this. It’s a massive experience that could be its own game,” adds Drew.

With 80 levels and more than 20 arenas, coupled with outrageous firepower, Dead Ops Arcade 4 will have you unleash the hurt against the Silverback clan’s armies and their vengeful new patriarch, Papaback. And for the first time, DOA embraces Round-Based Zombies mechanics with Ammo Mods, Field Upgrades, and GobbleGums, all tailored to enhance your Dead Ops Arcade experience. Also, both top-down and first-person camera options are supported, letting you switch perspectives without losing pace. Best of all, every DOA run contributes to shared progression, earning XP that advances your player level across Campaign, Multiplayer, Zombies, and Call of Duty: Warzone. “Leveraging a lot of our enemy types, seeing those and even fighting them in a different way has been really cool,” says Drew. “It feels like a cohesive and massive offering, which is great.”

And with launch approaching soon on November 14, I was curious to know if Drew could shed some light on what we can look forward to down the road. “You’re not going to know what to expect. Looking at our lineup this year, each map is going to bring something different to the table. And that is going to be a lot of fun for fans to experience with extra layers of things to uncover.”

With an awesome Wonder Vehicle to drive around, many compelling locations to explore, and what sounds like a tremendous number of surprises hiding within the Dark Aether, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Zombies is shaping up to slay starting November 14.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 launches November 14, 2025, for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Xbox on PC, ROG Xbox Ally handhelds, Cloud, Battle.net, Steam, PlayStation 5, and PlayStation 4. It is an Xbox Play Anywhere title and available day one with Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.