Call of Duty and straight-up wacky skins go hand in hand at this point. After releasing the Beevis and Butthead skins to Terminator skins, everyone was more or less expecting Black Ops 7 to be a part of that very same bandwagon. However, after user feedback regarding skin collabs and the whole shabang in general, the studios behind Call of Duty titles are hearing it and reportedly cancelling them for the next title.
In an interview with CharlieIntel, Treyarch senior director of production Yale Miller, spoke about the reception to the skins from Black Ops 6 and thus turning down collabs. What we do know is that Black Ops 7 was going to include more “big brand” skins, but some have faced the cancellation hammer after a heavy reaction from fans.
Miller said in the interview that “there are opportunities that we have had lined up that, after some of our conversations, we straight up turned down. Big, big brands, big things, and we’re like, no. We’re not gonna do that because it just doesn’t fit.” Miller, however, didn’t mention any of the collabs that were cancelled, but he has said that the team developing the game isn’t looking for “grounded” skins, but has said that it’s about looking for things that “make sense for Black Ops 7.”
One example of skins that apparently “make sense” and one that Miller says fits Black Ops 7, is the T.E.D.D operator. Miller said that the operator skin isn’t “grounded,” but when fans saw the skin they felt it belonged to the Black Ops title. A big sidetone, it’s worth saying that the T.E.D.D operator, which is available to those who purchase the Vault Edition of the upcoming game, did get a slight tweak based on player feedback.
Miller mentioned that “all intentions (are) to stick to stuff that we can hand in our hearts, say, yeah, that feels (like) Black Ops,” he continued to say, “that’s really our goal. And I think that’s a good clarification versus grounded.” I will reference this very comment when, in a few months’ time, the wacked-out collab skins start seeping through the gaps over at Treyarch.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 launches on November 14th for Xbox, PlayStation and PC. For those who are keen on the game’s release, the beta begins on October 2nd for pre-order maniacs and the beta opens fully on October the 5th for all casual players. For me, reserve your pre-order. There hasn’t been much in the way of convincing me to play this game for me, as there is some mighty completion this year with Battlefield 6 making a mark on the FPS combat scene once again.
Is this a small win for Black Ops 7? Or should we all expect the skins to eventually come snowballing in? Now a safe bet would be to say it’s a small win. However, future judgement tells me as a cautious fan that the line will break, and we will see yet more cash grabs in the franchise again. Take me back to the days when we had actual combat uniforms and camos for the gear, not a full-blown American Dad character tac sprinting over Nuketown, like come on guys, how far does the apple fall from the tree here?
