Black Ops 7 Season 04 Reloaded: New Maps, Endgame and Zombies

Black Ops 7 and Warzone's Season 04 Reloaded landed on June 25 as the mid-season content drop for Season 04, and despite arriving on the same day Grand Theft Auto VI pre-orders opened, the update has enough new content to stand on its own. Multiplayer gets one new map and one remaster, Endgame closes the seasonal Glitch storyline with Operation King Killer, Zombies adds the round-based Kowakujō map, Warzone refreshes Rebirth Island and brings back Champion's Quest, and the wider Call of Duty event track is led by Nick Cage. Here is what changed across Endgame, Multiplayer, Zombies, Warzone, and the general seasonal rewards.

New and Remastered Multiplayer Maps

Multiplayer gets two map additions in Season 04 Reloaded: Zenith and Launch. Zenith is a brand-new medium-sized map built for 6v6 and 2v2 play, set inside Karma's hidden jungle sanctuary after The Guild launches an assault on the compound. The location is framed as a luxury cliffside estate with state-of-the-art technology, security systems, high-end art, and a mixture of interior fights and open flanking routes. Players can push through the main building, use the cliffside paths, take the upper ground, or move through the running water beneath the compound for a more concealed route, though the alarm and red lights warn when that lower path becomes dangerous.

Launch returns as a remastered 6v6 map from the original Call of Duty: Black Ops. The setting is still a Russian rocket launch facility, with the rocket being lifted and moved into position at the start of the match before preparing for takeoff near the halfway point. The remaster keeps the core identity of the original map, with combat spread across the Loading zone, Launch Pad, Fuel Yard, Storage, main Road, interior structures, cover-heavy industrial spaces, flanking routes, and long sightlines around the launch pad staircases.

Two returning modes support the map additions. Team Blueprint Sharpshooter is a 6v6 playlist where weapon blueprints rotate throughout the match, forcing players to adapt as loadouts cycle. Elimination streaks add bonuses: faster movement, faster reload speed, faster sprint recovery, faster aim down sights speed, and finally a double score multiplier at five eliminations. Knife Fight is a 2v2 close-quarters Gunfight variant built around melee-focused classes. There are no respawns, no Scorestreaks, no Field Upgrades, and ranged weapons are heavily restricted outside specific Equipment grants and Ballistic Knife rounds.

Black Ops Classic becomes permanent

Black Ops Classic moves from a limited-time throwback playlist into a permanent Black Ops 7 mode with Season 04 Reloaded. The playlist also expands with four additional maps from older Black Ops titles: Launch from the original Black Ops, Fringe from Black Ops 3, and Hacienda and Gridlock from Black Ops 4. For players who prefer the older movement and pacing that Black Ops Classic recreates, this is one of the most important Multiplayer changes in the update, since the mode is no longer tied to a temporary seasonal window.

Operation King Killer Closes the Endgame Glitch Storyline

Operation King Killer is Act IV of Endgame and serves as the final operation in Season 04's Glitch storyline. After The Guild's Central Command Node is exposed, Operators are sent back into Avalon to collect Command Data, track down the physical terminal housing the node, and destroy it. The operation starts in Zone III or higher, opens with vehicular combat, and runs through ten escalating challenges that push players into harder encounters as the mission progresses.

The final step unlocks the Prime Target Glitch, a Nightmare Difficulty zone that ends with the Glitch Boss. Completing the final fight with Samuels, Wei Lin, or Emma Kagan earns that character's Data Freeze Operator Skin. Earning one Data Freeze skin unlocks the End of Daze Weapon Camo, while earning all three Data Freeze skins unlocks the End of Dayz Animated Weapon Camo. The operation reward track also includes the Decompression Weapon Charm, Restore Token, XP tokens, Last Breath Emblem, Upper Limit Large Decal, Dutybound Loading Screen, Hot Hands Emote, Coolant Leak Weapon Blueprint, and To the Grave Animated Calling Card.

Season 04 also introduces Operator Prestige for Endgame. Operators with a maxed-out Combat Rating can enter Prestige 1, but doing so resets Combat Rating, discards equipped Skills, removes Field Acquisitions, and returns loadout weapons to base rarity. The tradeoff is access to stronger long-term build options: Prestige 1 unlocks an extra Exotic Skill slot, Prestige 2 unlocks an extra Nightmare Skill slot, and Prestige 3 allows a fourth Skill Track. Because the reset removes the power needed for the higher zones, players who are already close to clearing Operation King Killer should finish Act IV before Prestiging.

Guardian, Psych Grenade, Fission, and Sleeper Agent

The new Guardian Skill Track is built for players who want to anchor a squad under pressure. Its perks include Payback, which damages enemies who damage the player, Battle Cache for a higher chance to spawn Ammo or Armor Resupply packs, Power Tap to recharge Equipment when picking up those packs, Fortified to reduce incoming damage based on equipped armor plates, Iron Grip to reduce hip-fire spread and flinch, and Rescue Pulse, which allows proximity-based revives for downed allies.

Psych Grenade joins Endgame as a new Minor Ability, exploding on impact and leaving a lingering cloud of hallucinogenic gas that brain-rots enemies caught inside it. Fission arrives as a new Exotic Skill, giving elite kills a chance to trigger a large explosion that damages nearby enemies, with upgrades increasing the explosion's damage and radius and eventually spawning friendly Toxic Fears. Sleeper Agent is the new Nightmare Skill, giving hits a chance to turn base enemies into allies that rush hostile targets and detonate on impact, with upgrades that make the Sleeper Agent attract enemies and drop cluster munitions.

The Endgame loot pool also gains two new Exotic Weapons. Defrag is a full-auto assault rifle augmented for extreme accuracy with an affinity for Mortar Rounds, while Cryoshear is a melee weapon cold-forged into a heavier close-range option with an affinity for Frost Rounds. Endgame also remains free to play through the end of Season 05, giving returning players more time to clear the mode's operations and reward paths without buying into the full Black Ops 7 package.

Kowakujō: The New Round-Based Zombies Map

Kowakujō is the headline Zombies addition in Season 04 Reloaded, adding a new round-based map set inside a crumbling feudal Japanese castle in the Dark Aether. The story continues from Totenreich, where the crew discovered that the Dark Aether is unraveling. Their next objective is to free the final Shadowsmith and recover the mysterious World Seed, sending them into a volcanic landscape tied to Takeo's past and the curse gripping his soul.

The map's lava is not just visual dressing. Rivers of molten rock immediately damage players and slow their movement, but enemies also take damage from the same hazards. This makes the terrain dangerous but useful, especially when kiting zombies through the castle grounds. The risk is that zombies left in lava too long can become Scorched Zombies, adding another fire-based threat to the map's enemy mix.

Oni, Hellhounds, and Scorched Zombies

Kowakujō introduces the Oni as a new supernatural enemy. It wields a massive kanabō war club, wears heavy armor, and uses electricity in combat. The Oni can electrify its melee weapon before launching a powerful area-of-effect attack, and it can also fire electric bolts at distant players, making it a threat both up close and at range.

The map also adds fire-drenched Hellhounds and Scorched Zombies. Both are built around searing attacks that punish players who lose space in the castle's tighter lanes. A new classified Wonder Weapon is included with the map and is positioned as a mystical answer to the flaming undead, while the Ghostly Rifleman Trap gives players another defensive tool. Once power is active, dual komainu statues marked with trap icons can be used to call the castle's long-dead riflemen for fire support against the horde.

Main Quest, Cursed rewards, PPSh-41, and GobbleGum

Kowakujō launches with a new Main Quest. Completing it rewards the Purified Takeo Operator Skin, a Calling Card, and 10,000 XP. Collecting the required Intel, including Audio Logs, Documents, and Artifacts, grants another Calling Card and 10,000 XP. Players who complete the Main Quest before Directed Mode arrives for Kowakujō also receive a unique Calling Card variant.

The map includes a Kowakujō Mastery Challenge with an Animated Calling Card and 10,000 XP as the completion reward. Its objectives cover surviving 25 rounds, using the Wonder Weapon to eliminate 25 zombies in five seconds 25 times, earning Duelist Medals by killing charged Oni with melee weapons, upgrading the Ghostly Rifleman trap, completing the Obstacle Course, and finding all Stray Cats on the map. Cursed mode adds another reward path with limited guidance, a limited HUD, and only a starting pistol, rewarding Flame Cipher, Toxic Cipher, and Blood Cipher Pack-a-Punch Camos with Calling Cards and XP.

The Mystery Box also gains an Ultra-Rarity Legacy Weapon: the PPSh-41 SMG. In Black Ops 7 Zombies, this version is positioned close to Wonder Weapon strength, with full Pack-a-Punch progression and Ammo Mod capability. Its large magazine and rapid fire rate make it a strong fit for Kowakujō's lava fields and fire-heavy enemy pressure. The new Hellping Hound Legendary GobbleGum summons a friendly Hellhound for five minutes in standard Zombies modes, while Dead Ops Arcade receives three Hellhounds that last for a full round or until they are killed.

Warzone: Rebirth Island, Squad Gun Game, and Champion's Quest

Warzone's Season 04 Reloaded content centers on Rebirth Island, new limited-time modes, and the return of Champion's Quest. Rebirth Island shifts back into a brighter summer setting as the winter elements are removed, but the update keeps important Season 02 additions such as the Turbine POI north of Prison, the Outpost east of Stronghold, and other smaller map changes. It is not a full map replacement, but it does reset the island's seasonal tone and visibility after the winter version.

Squad Gun Game brings Gun Game into a larger Resurgence format. Ten squads of three drop across a rotating playlist of Rebirth Island, Haven's Hollow, and Fortune's Keep. Each elimination gives the squad one point, and every five eliminations advances the team to the next weapon tier. The first squad to cycle through all ten weapons wins. Ammo and armor plates are unlimited, downed players respawn after ten seconds, and eliminated players reveal the location of their remaining squad members, pushing the mode toward constant squad fights instead of looting.

Buy Back Quads returns later as a Weekend LTM from July 9 through July 13 on Battle Royale maps with 152 players. The mode is built around cash economy: eliminated Operators who hold at least $4,000 automatically redeploy, giving squads a way to recover without relying only on Gulag outcomes or teammate buys.

Champion's Quest returns to Core Battle Royale

Champion's Quest returns as Warzone's elite squad challenge. To gain access, a squad must either win five consecutive Core Battle Royale matches or win 30 matches across a single season. After qualifying, players must secure the Champion's Contract briefcase in a match, then complete a multi-step objective chain involving critical assets, randomized delivery locations, a radioactive isotope, a hard drive, and a missile transport vehicle.

The revised quest is designed as a match-wide event. Enemy teams can contest objectives, intercept carriers, and disrupt progress, while the Golden Ticket system lets rival squads extract stolen quest items and earn progress toward a Champion's Quest token. Rewards include the Containment Crew - Alpha Weapon Camo and Axia Grimm Animated Operator Skin for one Champion's Quest win, with additional animated cards, emblems, camos, blueprints, finishing moves, and emotes tied to further completions up to ten wins.

Nick Cage Event Pass, AN-94, and New Attachments

Season 04 Reloaded also adds a general content track across Endgame, Multiplayer, Zombies, and Warzone. The Nick Cage Event Pass is the main event wrapper, with the free track including rewards such as the Opportunist Samuels Operator Skin, Wide Eyed Spray, Double Weapon XP Token, On Set Loading Screen, Battle Pass Tier Skip, Art of Respect Animated Emblem, Hired Muscle Grimm Operator Skin, Personal Tyrant Weapon Charm, Executioner's Duet Melee Weapon, and AN-94 Assault Rifle. The premium track adds the Nick Cage Operator, Unlimited Nick Cage Operator Skin, weapon blueprints, HUD Theme, emote, Finishing Move, Gunscreen, and other cosmetics.

The AN-94 returns as an event reward assault rifle. It is a full-auto rifle with a fast first two-round burst before settling into a slower fire rate, making accuracy on the opening shots especially important. It supports the standard attachment categories for a primary assault rifle and also has a Prestige Attachment, the 15" MFS Triumvirate Barrel, which increases the hyperburst shot count to three and increases upper-body damage while adding recoil and a short delay between hyperburst and full-auto fire.

Executioner's Duet is the new melee weapon, also earned through the event. It consists of dual-wielded axes with high damage, short range, fast attack speed, and very high mobility compared with other melee options. Three new in-season attachments round out the weapon content: the XR-3 Ion Vulcan Minigun underbarrel attachment, the DS20 Mirage Dual Fire Kit, and the Velox 5.7 Carbine Chassis. The XR-3 Ion attachment improves focused hip fire and aiming movement speed while blocking optics, the DS20 Mirage kit replaces ADS with high-powered slug rounds and improves hip-fire accuracy, and the Velox 5.7 chassis converts the pistol to full-auto with improved range at the cost of handling.

Other Season 04 Reloaded events include Summer of Action, a daily login event with Tier Skips, Double XP Tokens, and the Catharsis X9 Maverick Assault Rifle Weapon Blueprint, plus the Kowakujō Zombies event with rewards such as the Ironclad Weapon Camo, Embers of War Animated Weapon Camo, Magma Chamber EGRT-17 Assault Rifle Weapon Blueprint, GobbleGums, and more. There are also Multiplayer and Warzone Ranked Series events with ladder-based rewards including Emblems, Weapon Camos, charms, and other ranked cosmetics.

Final Thoughts

Season 04 Reloaded is stronger than a filler mid-season update because it spreads major additions across every active side of the current Call of Duty ecosystem. Multiplayer gets both a fresh Zenith map and the return of Launch, while Black Ops Classic becoming permanent gives throwback players a stable playlist instead of another rotating limited-time option. Endgame gets a proper Act IV finish through Operation King Killer, a new Prestige layer, new skills, and new Exotic Weapons, while Kowakujō gives Zombies a full round-based map with its own enemies, traps, Main Quest, Cursed rewards, and Mystery Box content.

The main difference from the earlier Season 04 rollout is that Warzone now has enough to be part of the same conversation. Rebirth Island's summer refresh, Squad Gun Game, Buy Back Quads, and the return of Champion's Quest give Warzone players more than a passive seasonal update. Add the Nick Cage Event Pass, AN-94, Executioner's Duet, weekly attachments, and the ongoing Endgame free-to-play window, and Season 04 Reloaded feels like Black Ops 7 setting up its final active stretch before Modern Warfare 4 arrives on October 23, 2026.