After just a week, Black Ops 7 has given up campaign-gating its new extraction mode Endgame

Treyarch has been billing Black Ops 7 as the 'biggest CoD ever,' and having waded through an ocean of new, reimagined, and returning modes over the past few days since launch, it's easy to see why it's given it that label. One of its biggest and most unusual innovations is Endgame - the grindable, PvE extraction mode that serves as an epilogue to its, erm, unconventional co-op campaign. I can see the logic in gating such an experience behind the campaign - it'll get people to play it, for a start, and it'll have a narrative jump pad to spring off of. However, after just a week, Treyarch is unshackling Endgame, which is potentially a sign that uptake on the co-op campaign hasn't been as high as it hoped.

You've no doubt seen clips online already that show off some of the more leftfield and unexpected moments in Black Ops 7's campaign. While they've often drawn ridicule, I'm a touch more forgiving - at least it shows Treyarch trying to do something different. You'll get my full thoughts on the campaign and the rest of BO7 soon (scored review incoming), but I'll summarize by saying that it doesn't hit in quite the same way as BO6's trippy, abstract story, despite the experimental boss fights.

Getting FPS game fans to sink time into the campaign is always a chore for Call of Duty studios - most want to go and hunt easter eggs in Zombies or grind multiplayer. Treyarch has tried to combat this with the promise of plenty of XP and progression, four-player co-op so you can play with pals, and the allure of Endgame, the new extraction experience that awaits you at the end. However, I get the feeling that those draws haven't been as effective as Treyarch hoped, or players have dipped out of the campaign before reaching the end, because Endgame will soon be available to all. While the studio says in an announcement on X that this is due to "an awesome response to Endgame from players who've already been dropping in," I'm not convinced that's the main reason.

Regardless, this now means you can give the new mode a spin without having to blast through all 11 Black Ops 7 campaign missions. In my experience with it, it feels a bit dull and repetitive at the start, but there's some genuinely challenging content waiting later on once you've got your Combat Level high enough. Remember, though, that being killed or failing to extract in time will reset your Combat Level to zero, meaning the grind starts all over again.

Black Ops 7 Endgame will be unlocked for all players on Friday, November 21. You will no longer need to roll credits on the campaign to access the mode after this date.

For those of you that sank hours into the campaign to reach Endgame, Treyarch is making sure you don't feel too hard done by. A drop of "additional rewards" are being sent out to players that unlock Endgame before tomorrow's U-turn, and you can expect to earn sets of three one-hour tokens that'll award double XP, double weapon XP, and double Battle Pass XP. You'll also get three Perkaholic GobbleGums to use in Zombies.

While I'd hazard a guess that unlocking Endgame for everyone was always in Black Ops 7's plans, I don't think Treyarch thought it would be doing so this soon. Maybe I'm wrong there, but that's my hunch. Regardless, from tomorrow, you can all give it a spin and build your way up to the mode's final encounter - I won't spoil anything, but it'll be a proper challenge.