Activision has outdone its “Black Ops” ways with Friday’s release of the latest marketing tactic for the upcoming “Call of Duty: Black Ops 7,” which caps off a week of fake news from the Microsoft-owned video game franchise.
It began Monday with real-world advertising for a fake robotics company called The Guild going up around San Francisco. These posters included a QR code that led to the company’s corporate website, where their mission of “Tech You Can Trust” was advertised.
Then came “cover” stories in Wired and Forbes and more real-life advertising for The Guild, culminating in a “Call of Duty: Black Ops 7” trailer dropping Friday that featured footage of The Guild “going public,” and one of its executives ringing the opening bell on the New York Stock Exchange to commemorate the day.
All of this was merely a tease for the story to come in “Black Ops 7,” in which The Guild features heavily as “a global tech force that positions itself as the ultimate safeguard for humanity.”
Per promo materials released by Microsoft’s Activision Friday, “In the new game, The Guild develops robotics to better society – and their CEO Emma Kagan claims to be humanity’s last line of defense against this emerging threat.”
As Variety previously reported, “Black Ops 7″ is set in 2035, more than four decades after the events of 2024’s “Black Ops 6.” From developers Treyarch and Raven Software, the game will star Milo Ventimiglia as David Mason, a protagonist previously introduced in “Black Ops 2, Kiernan Shipka as The Guild CEO Emma Kagan, and “CoD” alum Michael Rooker reprising his “Black Ops 2” role of Mike Harper.
The game was officially announced during Xbox Games Showcase in June and now, Microsoft and Activision are teasing that the “full reveal” of “Call of Duty: Black Ops 7” — including an expected official release date for the fall — will take place on Aug. 19 at 11 a.m. PT in connection with Gamescom’s Opening Night Live.
“As we ramp up to the worldwide reveal of ‘Call of Duty: Black Ops 7,’ we set out to create something as bold and thought-provoking as the game itself,” Activision chief marketing officer Tyler Bahl told Variety. “Set in 2035, it draws on themes of technology, robotics, and the military-industrial complex, amplifying the tension and intrigue that define the ‘Black Ops’ experience. We believe it will be one of our most impactful and talked-about campaigns yet.”
Watch the new trailer for “Black Ops 7” in the video below.