An insane Visual Pass was dropped by Treyarch for the new Homestead map in Black Ops 7, and the colour scheme is unlike anything else. The ambience reminds you of an aurora borealis being carefully painted across David Mason’s childhood home. Might be the most gorgeous Call of Duty map ever constructed. Let’s be honest.
The official account went on: “Treyarch is bringing color to the #BlackOps7 map portfolio in a big way,” followed by a view of this insane snow map at night with a green and purple light show dancing across the sky. It is giving off Whiteout from Ghosts vibes, just upgraded for the first time with 2024 graphics. Players have joined in the discussion, with one replying, “@CallofDuty Hey look, it’s Whiteout from Ghosts,” which… totally and yet is way more detailed.
Players were losing their minds in the comments section. Amidst the positive ones with “This is so peak” and “UNREAL 🥹🥹🥹🥹,” the rest, well, it would not be a CoD community if it were not forever divided. Then the usual criticism of SBMM, the anti-SBMM crowd, and everyone knows that every map reveal has to have that energy ensues.
But visually?? Best looking map of the year for sure, according to most. Against the rude common sense, one player declared, “@CallofDuty That map looks so beautiful!” Another added to that statement saying, “Might be my favorite looking map so far,” and honestly, same. Northern lights are something that we haven’t really had in CoD maps before, and it really gives ambiance. Imagine a sniper duel going on underneath this light show? That is a whole different level of awesome.
This map is stirring up some interesting queries with one player asking, “@CallofDuty Are the trees climbable?” Like… a legit question to ask. Another suggested, “Should be able to call in a score streak to spray the sky and turn a sunny map cloudy,” which is totally broken but also kinda awesome?? Treyarch, please.
However, the view has not been bifurcated on this front. “Too bad it is mostly done using new tech. Pity its a rigged game – looks great but won’t buy into this,” said someone worthy of skepticism. Then you have feedback about doors?? “@CallofDuty No doors and look at muh colors lmao. The fact this is the new marketing strategy is pathetic.” Like, bro, they’re showing a pretty map; what do you want from them?
It’s quite interesting that so many connect this instantly to older CoD maps. Multiple replies have Ghosts mentioned specifically with “Reminds me of that map in COD Ghosts, in a good way” and “I’ve played this map before in Cod Ghosts.” Which is understandable, given that Homestead here, with greatest snow wilderness vibes, reminds of what Whiteout used to be in those days. However, of course, with far more visual flair and those northern lights activities to make the map stand out quite a bit.
The hype gets bigger with responses such as “@CallofDuty I hate you guys, now I’m more hyped 💀 every time you post something” and [[“Day One For Sure.” People are already asking about beta access with “@CallofDuty Can we get this in the beta,” which is, well… a good question, will this actually be in the beta, or will it first be available at launch?
Then there’s this severely random injection from an anon promoting some web3 gaming thing, the wrong place for that, mate. Classic “Outbreak mode please” request shows up on every post related to Black Ops since Cold War. Along with the inevitable, “Yo fix carry forward or no more money from me.” If nothing else, CoD Twitter stays consistent.
Overall, the reception seems overwhelmingly positive for the visuals. The colors really are popping in a way that feels fresh for the series – especially after some of the more muted palettes we’ve seen in recent titles. Treyarch seems to be leaning into more vibrant environments and players are here for it. In fact, one French-speaking player, probably infatuated by it too, asked for the BO3 maps’ palette, saying, “On peut avoir les mêmes couleurs que les maps de BO3?” to translate, “Can we have the same colors as BO3 maps?” Actually, Black Ops 3 did have some phenomenal visual design, and there really is no wrong answer in bringing that up.
This is cool because it does not just look pretty, but it also ties into actual story content since this is the childhood home of David Mason. So we’re probably looking at some campaign moments or maybe even zombie content down the road?? The map description specifically talks of revisiting under the northern lights, so there’s definitely some narrative weight behind it outside of it just being another multiplayer arena.
I think the lighting effects would create some really cool gameplay moments on their own – imagine trying to mark enemies while the aurora is switching colors above your head or using those natural light changes as cover! That kind of environmental detail could influence how matches actually play out, instead of just being there for makeup. Treyarch has always been good at making maps that look good AND play well, so we sure hope Homestead can catch up in both fronts.
A release date for Black Ops 7 might not be out as of yet, but these reveals are surely building it up. Seeing through it and some other maps shown, Treyarch might be going for a more diverse visual direction than what we’ve been shown in recent CoD titles. After the more realistic military settings of recent games, a return to more colorful and imaginative environments could be exactly what the series needs.
Also, random, but somebody asked “@CallofDuty Why did it go away ?” which like… go away what?? The northern lights?? Childhood homes?? The confusion gets real sometimes in these replies. Altogether, the community seems genuinely excited about this direction – next question being, how does it actually play when the game drops? Fingers crossed gameplay is on point, because this could be something special.
