OK, I’ll admit it: I actually quite like the newly revealed Fallout crossover in Black Ops 7. I’m not proud of it, given my past criticisms of Call of Duty‘s bizarre, totally unrelated collabs. Sure, seeing Ella Purnell call in a UAV or The Ghoul wall-bouncing with a rocket launcher is jarring, but as a fan of Fallout (the games and the Amazon series) they’re pretty cool skins. However, I’m not sure liking it is the same as supporting it. I think some elements work well here, but on the whole, seeing Pip-Boys and blue jumpsuits in Black Ops 7 before Season 1 has even wrapped does absolutely nothing to support CoD’s mission to be more “authentic.”
Last year, there were increasingly loud grumbles about Call of Duty’s ridiculous crossovers (Nicki Minaj, Seth Rogen, and the alien out of American Dad are just some of the biggest targets) and out-of-place cosmetic items and emotes (need I say more than ‘farting unicorn finisher move’). Hearing this, and seeing FPS game fans respond positively to Battlefield 6’s promises of more grounded, realistic skins, Activision pledged that things would change with Black Ops 7.
“Some of you have said we’ve drifted from what made Call of Duty unique in the first place: immersive, intense, visceral and in many ways grounded,” it said at the time. “That feedback hits home, and we take it seriously. We hear you.”
It also said that “Black Ops 7 needs to feel authentic to Call of Duty and its setting,” stopped cosmetics from previous games being carried over, and assured that future “bundles and items will be crafted to fit the Black Ops identity.” For the most part, it’s made good on that promise since launch. There’ve been some examples of eccentricity, sure, but nothing too polarizing. However, it’s only taken until today’s Season 1 Reloaded update for that to unravel.
As I mentioned, the new Fallout-themed event is impressive in its efforts to appease fans of the post-apocalyptic franchise. The three core characters from the Amazon show have their own skins. Ella Purnell’s Lucy is part of a store bundle, while Walton Goggins as The Ghoul and Aaron Moten as a power armor-clad Maximus both feature in the premium tier of the event pass. You can also earn generic Vault Tec jumpsuit skins in the free track.
There are also several Fallout-inspired gameplay experiences across multiplayer, Zombies, and in Warzone, too. Some of these are actually pretty neat and feel like more suitable fits. The Project RADs limited-time mode in Zombies, for example, sees a new irradiation mechanic introduced alongside actual Deathclaws as enemies. A new variant of Nuketown sees it pick up Fallout’s future-analog aesthetic and looks pretty convincing. Aside from that, though, I’m not really vibing with the other Fallout-ifications.
This is, essentially, a full-on Fallout hijacking of a major update. Like I said, I love this franchise, and think that some elements of it are pretty cool. However, does it belong in Call of Duty, especially after the promises Activision made about immersion and authenticity? No way. If this was happening later on in BO7’s cycle, I’d maybe forgive it. But the fact it’s taken under two months for such a situation to arise makes it feel like attitudes haven’t really changed at Activision. Maybe there was some unavoidable pressure from the Xbox and Microsoft overlords – the opportunity for two of its biggest owned IPs to collide, right around the time Fallout Season 2 aired, probably sounds like a no-brainer to the suits. But regardless of whose call it was, I do wonder if this now opens the floodgates for more Nickis, Seths, and Rogers.