In a statement, Activision has confirmed to ScreenRant that this rumor is false. The original article can be read below.

The next game from perennial powerhouse Black Ops 6 was a big hit, and this next Call of Duty is purported to be Black Ops 7, potentially taking place after Black Ops 2, which remains the subseries' latest-set game chronologically.

Any excitement over where Call of Duty and Black Ops are going has been dampened for now, though. Leaker TheGhostOfHope (via The Game Post) posted a tweet claiming developer Treyarch and publisher Activision will make sweeping changes to Black Ops 7's battle . According to the tweet, certain "higher value" LTMs and their unique rewards will only be playable and can only be earned by those who have purchased the battle . The current model, which features a Even Track, is purportedly being phased out.

Call Of Duty: Black Ops 7 Rumor, Explained

Extra Incentive To Make Regular Purchases

Limited-time modes tend to offer unique gameplay that can't be found in your run-of-the-mill CoD match, and often come with new seasons. An LTM for Black Ops 6 Season 3 Reloaded, for instance, saw players compete across multiple matches with varying modifiers, like low gravity or third-person perspective. LTMs have long been part of CoD's rotating content plans, incentivizing players to return each season to play something new, and hopefully stick around to earn rewards.

If the rumor of LTMs being paywalled behind the battle is true, then it would appear to be a fairly overt way to incentivize more seasonal purchases. Call of Duty is already a purchase every year (although this last release did see Black Ops 6 hit Game on day one), but up until now, battle es have largely only featured cosmetics, which usually provide no tactical advantage. Certain LTMs end up more popular than others, but if this change ends up occurring, it would be a clear attempt at eliciting FOMO, hoping to persuade players to invest in CoD every couple of months to play all the content.

Fan Rage About Paywalling LTMs Is Understandable

CoD Is Already Full Price Every Year

Replies to the above tweet are predictably less than thrilled about the potential change to CoD's LTMs. It would be monetization for monetization's sake, taking what is currently an often quirky change to the usual gameplay available to all, and restricting access to only those who've opened their wallets to get extra cosmetics. The presumption that these LTMs would be of "higher value" is also disingenuous and anti-consumer, since such a claim is entirely subjective.

It's even more questionable considering CoD has made similar missteps in the past. For classic games like the original Modern Warfare trilogy, map packs were a microtransaction, which led to DLC playlists having a smaller population, often leading to longer queue times. The same could happen with LTMs. For instance, two friends likely couldn't play it together if only one has purchased the battle . The next Call of Duty – presumably Black Ops 7 – hasn't been revealed yet, but if this rumor turns out to be true, it could be a rough period for players who don't already purchase battle es regularly.

Source: TheGhostOfHope/Twitter (via The Game Post)