This is one I saw coming, but definitely not within the first week of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 being out in the wild. Endgame, the PvE extraction mode, is being opened to all Black Ops 7 players on Friday, November 21.
To this point, the only people playing Endgame are those, myself included, that have cleared the campaign. You've probably seen a lot of chatter about the campaign online, albeit, I maintain, most of it has been spread around without any context as to what's actually going on.
Nevertheless, Treyarch has confirmed that once the first official week is in the bag, you can jump into Endgame and start grinding for the Genesis Mastery Camo without ever touching any of the campaign missions.
We've seen an awesome response to Endgame from players who've already been dropping in, so we're making it available to everyone in #BlackOps7 starting Friday, Nov. 21.Team up with other players to complete objectives, increase your power, earn unique Weapon Camos, and take on… pic.twitter.com/2igahTPHv6November 19, 2025
I have thoughts. I don't deny the claims of positive feedback on Endgame. It's a lot of fun, and it's where I'm going to be spending the next chunk of my time on Black Ops 7. It's crazy, it's fast, there are some wild enemies, but it's so much fun. The fact there's absolutely NO PvP is the icing on the cake.
Not every mode in Call of Duty needs to have you sweating out of your eyeballs.
However, the timing of this decision poses two questions. The first is whether or not the player count in Endgame has been what they hoped it would be. The requirement to clear the campaign first may well have put some off bothering in the early days.
All the top players immediately either hit Zombies to clear the Easter Egg, or they're grinding for Singularity and Master Prestige in Multiplayer.
The obvious question posed though is whether this has been done in reaction to the overwhelmingly negative sentiment around the campaign. I don't include myself in that, for the record. Is it the best? Absolutely not. But we live in a time where we simply won't get something like the first two Black Ops games. Gaming has changed.
But I thought it was fine, if you actually consider the context of what's really happening rather than basing opinions solely from ragebaiting social media clips. The gameplay is fun enough, and it's hardly a massive time sink to clear it, get the rewards, and walk away.
The fact this is happening so quickly, though, I can't help but think it's a reaction to all the negativity. Endgame is genuinely fun, with the added bonus of seeing the Avalon map that will be a focus of the Blackout mode coming down the line. And yes, Avalon has many POIs that were maps in Black Ops 6. Places that were in Avalon.
Those of us who cleared the campaign in the first week — and that includes from now right up until Endgame is unlocked for everyone — will get some rewards for our efforts. Three hours of 2XP for levelling, weapons and Battle Pass when they start, and three legendary Gobblegums for Zombies.
Thus, if you started the campaign already, whether you like it or not, push through, complete it in time, and get yourself something useful for the rest of your grind. You don't have to play in co-op, I did the whole thing bar the final mission solo, and I'm a terrible player. If I can, anyone can!
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