Black Ops 7 Season 1: Community Pushback Over New Zombies “FOMO Event” Leaderboard-grind event returns, sparking debate among Call of Duty players

Black Ops 7 Season 1: A Zombies Event That Rewards the Grind

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 launched Season 1 on December 4 with one of the biggest content drops in franchise history. Players were hyped — until a familiar Zombies event returned, sparking heated debate. Some fans are calling it “a FOMO event to reward the unemployed,” as it heavily favors players with hours to grind every day.

This new limited-time leaderboard challenge takes a very simple approach: complete Zombies tasks repeatedly to earn points, and finish as high as possible when the timer runs out. Rewards are granted based on your final ranking — plus a few extras earned along the way.

🧟 Zombies Leaderboard: How It Works

Players can earn points by repeating four core tasks:

Zombie elimination – 1 point each
Complete a T.E.D.D task – 50 points
Disable OSCAR – 100 points
Finish a Quest – 5,000 points

On paper, it sounds straightforward. In reality, only players who can grind hours upon hours per day will realistically hit the upper tiers before the event ends. And that’s where frustration grows.

🔥 The “FOMO” Debate Heats Up

Players with limited gaming time — because of jobs, school, or life in general — are speaking out. A common sentiment across the community: the more free time you have, the better your rewards.

Some of the louder frustrations include:

Logging in after work only to find players already thousands of points ahead
Concerns that commitment, not skill, decides the leaderboard winners
Feeling like rewards are “free prizes for no-lifers”

One Zombies fan shared that even taking a week of PTO wasn’t enough to place high last time this event ran. Another dropped the perfect sarcastic reply:

“Okay, and I have neither [a job nor a life]. Sounds like a fair trade. Let me win the event camo.”

Not everyone disagrees with the format, though. Some point out: if you truly have a life outside Call of Duty, maybe placing first isn’t supposed to matter that much. With the top rewards being Zombies-only cosmetics and Gobblegum power-ups — items that don’t affect multiplayer — the FOMO talk can feel exaggerated.

🚀 The Good News: This Update Is Massive

While the event is controversial, there’s a lot of content in this seasonal update worth celebrating — arguably the biggest early-season drop in COD history.

Highlights across game modes include:

Multiplayer
- Three brand-new maps
- A remastered Standoff from Black Ops 2
- Fan-favorite party modes like Prop Hunt returning
Zombies
- A new round-based map: Astra Malorum
- Stunning cosmic setting built for replayability
Endgame
- New world events including the enormous Origins robot stomping across the map
Warzone
- New maps, new POIs, and fresh modes to shake up pacing
Weapons
- A wave of new firepower introduced across every mode

For many players, this is the strongest first-month update COD has ever delivered.

🎮 Can This Update Save Black Ops 7?

Player numbers have reportedly been lower than expected, leading to concerns about the game’s long-term traction. Will Season 1 fix that?

Multiplayer remains fun — but not groundbreaking
Zombies fans may be drawn back by Astra Malorum’s classic round-based action
Endgame shifts feel exciting with new event chaos

It may not be a full “save,” but the foundation is much stronger today than at launch.

💭 Final Thoughts

The new Zombies event may feel unfair to players with limited time — and, honestly, it does reward the grind more than skill. But when the rewards are mostly cosmetic power-ups, maybe it’s not worth the stress.

Black Ops 7 Season 1 delivers a massive wave of content that proves this game still has serious potential. Whether you’re grinding the leaderboard or just hopping in for a few rounds after work, there’s something new to enjoy.