The Predator is coming back to Call of Duty, 11 years after he appeared in 2014’s Call of Duty: Ghost.
Activision confirmed the arrival of the Predator in Black Ops 6 and Warzone Season 6 as part of the seasonal Haunting event on October 9. It’s a well-timed crossover that coincides with the release of Dan Trachtenberg’s upcoming Predator: Badlands movie.
The image and trailer below give us a look at the Predator we can expect in Call of Duty later this week. Season 6 launches shortly after the ongoing Black Ops 7 beta ends on October 9 (it just got extended by 24 hours).
It’s worth noting that Black Ops 6 cosmetics do not carry forward into Black Ops 7 (well, almost all of them do not). So you won’t see Predators running around when Black Ops 7 launches in November. The cosmetic will remain playable in battle royale Warzone, however.
Call of Duty’s foray into goofy skins territory is well-documented, although recent releases have certainly amped up the conversation around them. With the likes of Beavis and Butt-Head and American Dad hitting the game this year shortly after weed-obsessed bundles starring Seth Rogen, some fans said they’d had enough of what they called the ‘Fortnite-ification’ of their beloved Call of Duty, and pleaded with publisher Activision to return to its mil-sim roots.
Then, last month, Activision shocked the Call of Duty community when it confirmed that Operators, Operator Skins, and Weapons from Black Ops 6 would no longer carry forward into Black Ops 7. This came as a big surprise to players who had expected content they’d bought for Black Ops 6 to carry forward, as it has done with previous entries. Explaining the decision, Activision said Black Ops 7 “needs to feel authentic to Call of Duty and its setting.”
There’s a positive reaction to the Predator in Black Ops 6, although some are saying they wish he was coming to Black Ops 7 instead. “See I’m perfectly fine when COD does collabs with other mature IPs,” said redditor blackviking147. “The Mil-spawn skin is still the only time I was genuinely interested in finishing a COD battle pass and I use it in Warzone to this day ‘cause it’s voiced by Keith David.
“Predator, Rambo, Die Hard, Spawn all of those were amazing collabs that didn’t destroy the game’s identity ‘cause they’re movie properties from around the game’s time period and or decked out in milsim gear so it stays in the aesthetic.”
“Would have been great to use this skin in Blops 7,” added LaylaLegion. “Oh well. Guess I’ll have to just rebuy all my BP skins for the third time because SOME PEOPLE would rather do that than get over seeing a ninja turtle in the game.”
This comment touches on the ongoing debate about Activision’s decision to kill carry forward for Black Ops 7. Despite the online chatter, there are a number of Call of Duty players who have expressed frustration that their goofy skins won’t carry forward into Black Ops 7, lamenting the fact they won’t get the amount of use out of their purchases that they’d expected. Now, if these players move on to Black Ops 7, they will have to leave those expensive virtual items behind — including the Predator.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
