Beavis and Butthead. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. An eyesore of a glowing rainbow unicorn thing.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 has seen its fair share of “goofy” skins during its nine-month lifetime. The reception to those has been mixed to say the least, with the lines between player expression and competitive gameplay often being blurred by the equipping of such colourful designs.
So, can we expect to see the extravagance of some of these designs pared back when it comes to the release of Black Ops 7?
“Yeah, it’s a good question, and we have thought about this, and I think if you look at us, we’re always looking at community feedback”, explains Miles Leslie, associate creative director. “We always try to make sure that we are trying to touch the widest audience. I’ve had the pleasure of working on Call of Duty now for almost 20 years, and we’re constantly looking at ways to push into different audiences and fans, and that’s what you saw with that; there are fans that really love it. Obviously, there are fans who those may not be their favorite. We’re going to try to calibrate that as we move forward, and we take that feedback seriously. But again, we are trying to make sure that all fans feel represented in the game and figuring out that tight balance is something we’re paying attention to.”
It comes as Battlefield 6 — a far more self-serious depiction of warfare — emerges as a genuine contender to Call of Duty’s online shooter dominance. Don’t expect to see similar outrageous outfits making their way into EA’s military sim, though, with design director Shashank Uchil stating, “I don’t think it needs Nicki Minaj. Let’s keep it real, keep it grounded.”
For now, you can check out my full preview of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. For more from the devs, check out their thoughts on Call of Duty being called ‘lazy’, the use of generative AI, and how Black Ops 7 was made in parallel to Black Ops 6.
Simon Cardy is a Senior Editor at IGN who can mainly be found skulking around open world games, indulging in Korean cinema, or despairing at the state of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Follow him on Bluesky at @cardy.bsky.social.
