Black Ops 7 Season One arrives soon and adds one of the coolest maps I've seen in Call of Duty

Black Ops 7.
(Image credit: Activision)

  • Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Season One arrives on December 4
  • It's shaping up to be one of the biggest updates in series history
  • It adds a heap of new maps, weapons, and more for every mode

The first season of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 has been revealed, and it's one of the biggest updates in series history.

Set to release next week on December 4 it brings heaps of content to all of the first-person shooter's major modes.

This includes four multiplayer maps on day one: the all-new Fate, Utopia, and Odysseus in addition to a remaster of the fan-favorite Standoff from Black Ops 2. These will then be followed by a festive version of Hijacked and, subsequently, an all-new Japan-inspired map called Yakei and a remaster of Meltdown, again from Black Ops 2.

If all that wasn't enough, Fringe, a map from last year's Black Ops 6, will also be introduced.

Black Ops 7 Season One.

(Image credit: Activision)

Out of all of these maps, Fate and Yakei are by far the most interesting to me. Fate is set in a twisted version of Menendez's iconic Nicaraguan lair from the Back Ops 2 campaign complete with a floating island and giant machetes sticking out of the ground.

It's incredibly nostalgic, but with a surrealist flair that, in my eyes, makes it one of the coolest looking maps in the series so far.

Yakei has a similarly strong art direction that makes me eager to dive in. Set on the rooftops a futuristic Japanese city, it's bathed in neon lights and flashy billboards with plenty of ledges that look perfect for parkour.

To accompany this raft of maps is a selection of new modes including the return of Prop Hunt, One In the Chamber, Sharpshooter, Gun Game, Takeover, and Sticks & Stones.

Around the festive period there will be two 'Codmas' limited-time modes too: Snowfight and Holiday Havoc.

A barrage of new weapons will be arriving throughout the season too, including the Kogot-7 SMG, Maddox RFB Assault Rifle, Sokol 545 LMG, NX Ravager Crossbow, Ballistic Knife, Sturmwolf 45 SMG, and the Hawker HX Sniper Rifle.

There will also be new attachments to earn, with one particularly scaring sounding one allowing you to use the super fast-firing Akita shotguns akimbo.

Endgame gets a mega content boost

Black Ops 7 endgame.

(Image credit: Activision)

The campaign's co-op Engame mode, which was recently made available to all players regardless of campaign progress, is about to get even bigger thanks to four incredibly weird new world events.

In 'Colossus of Avalon', high level players will have to take down one of the giant mechanical robots that we previously saw menacingly marching in the backgrounds of Black Ops 2 Zombies maps.

There will be another new boss in the 'Wraith Wing' world event in the form of a giant VTOL that hunts down squads. Rather than focusing on a single big boss, 'Toxic Tyrant' will challenge players to defeat waves of powerful enemies triggered by a deadly bio weapon loose in the world.

Publisher Activision is also teasing one more world event, but we'll have to wait and see what that is.

For the most experienced players, a new Exotic Skill system will offer the chance to further upgrade your character with special abilities by completing these world events.

Zombies expands and much more

Black Ops 7 Zombies.

(Image credit: Activision)

The new Astra Malorum map headlines the wealth of additions coming to Zombies with its own new enemy types, wonder weapon, traps, and main quest to dive into.

Fans of the survival mode get a new environment too in Exit 115, which is set in the Reba's Diner area of the existing Ashes of the Damned map.

I'm barely scratching the surface here, as this all comes alongside new challenges, camos, limited-time events and much more.

Big changes are coming to the free-to-play Warzone component too, namely in the form a new resurgence map and two Black Ops 7-themed points of interest appearing in Verdansk.

For the full details of everything coming in the huge Season One release, check out the latest post on the official Call of Duty blog.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is available now for PC, Xbox Series X and Series S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4.

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Dashiell Wood
Gaming Editor

Dash is an experienced tech journalist who currently serves as the Gaming Editor at TechRadar, where he helps oversee coverage of video games and related products.

Before joining the team, he was Contributing Writer at PLAY (formerly Official PlayStation Magazine) and has also written articles for many of the UK's biggest gaming magazines including Edge, PC Gamer, and SFX.

Now, when he's not getting his greasy little mitts on the newest hardware or gaming gadget, he can be found listening to J-pop or feverishly devouring the latest Nintendo Switch otome.

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