Treyarch's next Call of Duty game is likely to be "revealed" before 2026

Although Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 not officially available in all regions until November 14th, it's effectively active right now as many players are getting into the game a day early by changing regions. Early feedback from the community seemed to indicate that the three pillars of the game were expected. The campaign has been criticized for its open combat mission-like structure, which feels like a frustrating successor Modern Warfare 3 (2023). The Zombies mode seems to be well received by those who have enjoyed recent offerings like BO6while old school fans are still hoping Cursed will satisfy their interests. And after the first fears, Black Ops 7 multiplayer seems to be a content-filled experience that's made significantly more enjoyable by Treyarch's move away from SBMM.

However, mind behind Call of Duty and fans who have stuck with the series for years are always looking forward to what's next, even as players tackle brand new skins and levels. While Modern Warfare 4 looks like a warranty for next year and some sort of Sledgehammer Call of Duty can be expected to arrive in 2027, players might actually see a small teaser Cod 2028 before one of these games is introduced. In fact, the first “reveal” of Treyarch's sequel Black Ops 7 could come before the start of 2026, assuming the studio reuses the gimmick from it Black Ops 6.

Black Ops 7 is a classified look to watch

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 introduced a new Prestige reward system to the franchise that aims to make each Prestige feel meaningful and give players who don't normally feel motivated to Prestige a reason to keep ranking. Instead of bragging rights and an experience token, Prestiging has provided exclusive operator skins, weapon designs, and more. There was also a special reward package for players who reached the 1000 Prestige Master level, with Treyarch keeping the plan and appearance hidden until the first player to reach the 1000 level revealed it.

Some soon BO6 Zombies XP exploits allowed players to level up faster, which is how level 1000 was reached in a matter of weeks.

Treyarch probably didn't expect players to reach this summit just weeks after launch Black Ops 6but that's exactly what happened, and the player who accomplished this noble goal was rewarded with the Samuels Operator. Because of this character's armor and his presence in the near future Black Ops 2 campaign, it didn't take long for players to suspect it Call of Duty 2025 would be the successor to the beloved 2012 edition, which was finally confirmed months later. While Treyarch probably expected level 1000 to be reached closer to the time BO7Full disclosure, this clever attempt to tease your next game was still fun.

Black Ops 7 takes exactly the same approach to Prestige rewards as its predecessor, meaning players unlock new operator skins, blueprints and so on every handful of levels. It also means there's a new “secret” skin to chase this year, and based on what Treyarch did with that big reward during BO6 era, there's a real chance he'll take advantage of it BO7Level 1000 secret skin as a teaser for what's to come. Perhaps this suggests a post-apocalyptic setting Black Ops 7with some tough character Fallout-like armor. Perhaps it will be a returning campaign legend like Alex Mason or Jason Hudson who designs a game focused on them when it's Treyarch's next turn to bat. Call of Duty series. Maybe there will even be a Zombies-themed unlock to give a glimmer of hope to those who want a standalone Cod Zombie experience.

Black Ops 7's secret look probably won't be hidden for long

Based on what happened in Black Ops 6it's hard to imagine players not finding out Treyarch's secrets before the end of the year. After all, there are several ways to reveal the level 1000 unlock early:

Another XP exploit like the one in Terminus can be found in Ashes of the Damned, allowing someone to run to level 1000 before the patch arrives.
Dataminers could have extracted the level 1000 skin from Treyarch's files, spoiling the surprise.
Through a bunch of Double XP tokens and AFK tricks, someone can probably work their way to level 1000 by the end of December if they really want to.

To be clear, there's a chance that Treyarch won't be teasing their next project with a level 1000 skin like they did in Black Ops 6. There was some criticism at the time about Samuels not being “cool enough” to reward hundreds of hours of gameplay, so maybe Treyarch will go with a flashy design that doesn't hint at its future plans. Still, it's likely that Treyarch has some idea of what it wants to do with what it's likely to be Black Ops 8so to unlock level 1000, a gameplay or character trailer is fine. If that happens, players will find themselves in the odd position of knowing more official information Call of Duty 2028 than the two games coming out before it.