Skip to main content

Call of Duty 7 to be Set in Vietnam

Update: Treyarch has announced that the official title of Call of Duty 7 will be Call of Duty: Black Ops.  It is due out November 9th.


Activision’s in-house development team, Treyarch, are poised to release the next in the series of those “other” Call of Duty games. But it looks like this year might see the end of the tried-and-true (and tried again) formula of World War II that has dominated the Call of Duty franchise right up until Modern Warfare showed that there was money to make away from the historical settings. Lots and lots of money.

According to Venture Beat, the next Call of Duty entry, due out later this year, will be based in Vietnam. This will be the seventh game in the Call of Duty series, and the third from Treyarch. The series has seen one game released per year since Infinity Ward’s original Call of Duty debuted in October of 2003.

Treyarch’s last offering, the World War II based Call of Duty: World at War was released in November of 2008, and quickly became a best seller.

It has been a big week for Activision. From the lows of lawsuits and accusations of prison-like conditions, to today’s game-changing announcement of an exclusive deal with Halo creator’s Bungie, the company will likely be discussed to pieces for months to come.

Vietnam games have rarely done well, but the risk may be necessary since the World War II setting has been mined so deeply, and by many people. It has almost gotten to the point that it can be awkward for the average gamer to meet a German person in real life knowing they have probably slaughtered thousands upon thousands of his or her digital ancestors in increasingly fantastic and graphically pleasing ways.

Yet, even though the choice of Vietnam, or at least the Vietnam era, is something of a logical step between the exhausted World War II era and the next Modern Warfare setting that will be out next year (lawsuits permitting), it is still likely to garner some controversy to set an action game in the middle of an unpopular war that still resonates through America more than 40 years later. Gamers that are burned out on the standard war shooter will likely wait and see what Treyarch offers before judging, but Activision might have difficulty in convincing the average person to play a game set during the Vietnam War.

Details are still scarce, but the game is expected to debut at the end of the year. Assuming it follows the traditional pattern set by the last few games, expect a heavy emphasis on multiplayer, and an engrossing, but short single player experience. Expect to hear more about this game (and hopefully see a playable demo) at E3.

The game will officially debut with a trailer on Spike TV, and on GameTrailers Friday night or early Sunday morning.

Editors' Recommendations

Ryan Fleming
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Ryan Fleming is the Gaming and Cinema Editor for Digital Trends. He joined the DT staff in 2009 after spending time covering…
The best field upgrades for Modern Warfare 3 Zombies
A man holding a mysterious glowing vial.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3's Zombies mode puts a slight twist on the mechanics you are already familiar with. It now plays much more like a souped-up DMZ mode rather than its old round-based format. And Field Upgrades have been modified in terms of both their effects and how you get them just for this game type. There are six different Field Upgrades you can bring into the map and use on a cooldown timer to help improve your chances of survival, but you can only pick one at a time. You will begin the game with only one option, but steadily unlock the rest as you level up. Once you have them all, the question then becomes which is the best Field Upgrade? We've managed to exfiltrate with the answer.

Healing Aura
Regardless of whether or not you're playing with a team or running solo, Healing Aura is no doubt the best Field Upgrade to bring on any Zombie run. When activated, you and any teammates in the area will not only gain immediate healing, but it will also instantly revive any downed teammates. The downside to all this power is that this upgrade has the slowest recharge time and is unlocked at level 19.
Aether Shroud
This is another upgrade that you will be glad to have. Aether Shroud makes you you temporary invisibile to all Zombies. This won't make you invincible, mind you, and PMCs can still take shots, but if you're getting swarmed and have no way to escape, becoming instantly invisible to a bloodthirsty pack of zombies can save your skin more often than you think. This upgrade has a medium recharge rate and is unlocked when you hit level 39.
Frenzied Guard
Just past the halfway mark, Frenzied Guard has a massive upside, but not without some risk. When you pop this Field Upgrade, you instantly repair all your armor, but also draw all the aggression of any enemy nearby for 10 seconds. However, another perk is that anything you kill during this time also repairs your armor, so situationally, it can be great or detrimental. This one recharges slowly, unlocking at level 9.
Frost Blast
Frost Blast does exactly what you expect: it fires a freezing blast that will slow down any enemy you hit with it and deal a bit of damage. It's decent in a pinch, but not a game-changer. You can get it when you hit level 29.
Tesla Storm
An odd ability on paper, Tesla Storm is only good if you have a team working together. Activating it will create a lightning chain between you and your team that will damage and stun enemies that get close to any one of you. It lasts for 10 seconds and can be great in the final moments while holding out for an extraction, but not in other situations. It recharges slowly and is the last upgrade you unlock at level 50.
Energy Mine
This is your default Field Upgrade, so it makes sense that it's the "worst" on the list. Energy Mine isn't exactly bad; you simply lay down a mine that does what a mine does -- explodes. It's just that setting up traps like this in Zombies isn't all that applicable except when kiting a boss around or waiting for the helicopter. It has a medium recharge speed.

Read more
Modern Warfare 3 Zombies: Mercenary Convoy guide
Soldiers in a car driving and shooting zombies.

The old format of Zombies has been left behind in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 in favor of a more open-world, objective-based take on the undead survival game type. This time, you will squad up and drop into a map with specific objectives you can choose to complete to earn tons of XP, while also pushing the narrative forward and unlocking new, more difficult tasks to take on. The early-tier missions are generally very simple, but in Act 1, you will be given the objective to find and destroy a Mercenary Convoy somewhere on the map. This sounds easy enough on paper until you realize you have no idea where this convey is or how to find it. Every run in Zombies risks losing all your hard-earned progress, so we'll lead you to the Mercenary Convoy to take it out before the zombies even know you were there.
How to find the Mercenary Convoy

Your first challenge will be to find this Mercenary Convoy. The problem here is twofold: first is that it isn't marked on your map in any way, and second is that, being a convoy, it is mobile. Once you land, you and your team should find the nearest vehicle and head toward the center of the map. Depending on how the threat levels are on your particular map, you are looking for roads and highways that are around the medium-threat level zone. You will have to patrol these roads until you come across the convoy, which only consists of three vehicles. Once you are in range, it does appear on your map to let you know you've found it.

Read more
How to play split screen in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Soldiers battle in an abandoned airport.

If you're excited at the prospect of playing split screen in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, we've got good news: You can! Even better news is that it's a straightforward and easy task to accomplish. All you'll need to ensure is that you have two controllers and that both usernames have been linked to their own Activision accounts. Once you've scored both controllers and gotten your accounts squared away, though, you'll only need to follow a few simple steps to start playing together.

Read more