Call of Duty’s The Haunting Returns September 17 with a DOOM Crossover

The Haunting is returning to Call of Duty on September 17, bringing its annual Halloween transformation to Black Ops 7 and Warzone. This year’s event will be led by a crossover with id Software’s DOOM franchise, connecting two of gaming’s most recognizable first-person shooters for a season built ar

Activision announced the collaboration with a direct message: “Rip and tear. Survive the night.” Treyarch has also confirmed that The Haunting will arrive alongside Season 06, making the event part of the next major seasonal update for Black Ops 7 and Call of Duty: Warzone.

The initial reveal establishes the date and central crossover but stops short of providing a complete roadmap. Specific limited-time modes, maps, weapons, challenges and store bundles have not yet been detailed through official written channels.

DOOM descends upon Call of Duty

DOOM is a natural fit for The Haunting’s more aggressive interpretation of horror. The franchise is built around confronting armies of demons with overwhelming firepower, relentless movement and weapons designed to turn every encounter into controlled chaos.

Its arrival also gives The Haunting a different tone from a conventional survival-horror event. DOOM is rarely about hiding from monsters or conserving ammunition. Its central fantasy is becoming the most dangerous presence in a world already overrun by creatures from Hell.

That identity aligns closely with Call of Duty’s fast combat. Both franchises emphasize responsive first-person shooting, recognizable arsenals and the satisfaction of surviving impossible numbers of enemies through mechanical skill and offensive pressure.

Activision’s use of “rip and tear” makes the collaboration explicit, but the company has not yet specified which incarnation of the DOOM protagonist will appear. The announcement refers to the wider DOOM property rather than formally naming a particular Operator skin, bundle or Battle Pass reward.

Players should therefore avoid treating costume designs or weapons noticed in promotional material as confirmed purchasable content until Activision publishes the corresponding roadmap, Battle Pass breakdown or store announcement.

The Haunting will affect Black Ops 7 and Warzone

The event has been confirmed for both Black Ops 7 and Warzone. This shared release suggests that its content will extend across multiple parts of the Call of Duty ecosystem, although the exact distribution remains unknown.

For Black Ops 7, The Haunting could potentially encompass Multiplayer, Zombies and seasonal progression. Warzone traditionally receives the largest environmental transformation during these events, with nighttime map variants and horror-focused rule changes forming part of previous Haunting celebrations.

Those precedents provide useful context, but they do not confirm the 2026 content. Activision has not yet announced a Zombie Royale variant, a dedicated Multiplayer playlist or a special Black Ops 7 Zombies experience for this edition.

The launch trailer should consequently be understood as a thematic announcement rather than a complete gameplay briefing. It confirms the event’s horror direction and DOOM partnership, but detailed mode rules will require a separate official explanation.

That distinction is particularly relevant for Zombies players. The presence of undead enemies in a general Haunting promotion does not automatically prove that Black Ops 7 Zombies will receive a new map, quest or permanent gameplay system.

Season 06 begins alongside the nightmare

Treyarch has confirmed that Season 06 and The Haunting will begin together on September 17. This places the Halloween event at the center of the seasonal launch rather than presenting it as a smaller midseason activation.

A new Call of Duty season normally introduces a broader package of content that can include Multiplayer maps, weapons, Operators, Zombies additions, Warzone changes, balance adjustments and a refreshed Battle Pass. However, the complete Season 06 package has not yet been officially presented.

The launch date itself is confirmed, but Activision has not published the precise activation time in its initial announcement. Call of Duty updates frequently go live at a standardized global hour, yet relying on previous schedules would not be sufficient to establish the exact September 17 timing.

Players should also expect a substantial update download, especially if Warzone locations receive seasonal transformations. No official installation size has been announced, and the final requirement may differ between PC, Xbox and PlayStation.

Season 06’s arrival will also renew the progression cycle. The extent to which DOOM is connected to the standard Battle Pass, a separate Event Pass or individual store bundles remains one of the most important unanswered questions.

The return of Call of Duty’s Halloween tradition

The Haunting has become Call of Duty’s recurring Halloween event, allowing the series to temporarily abandon its usual military tone in favor of supernatural enemies, horror crossovers and altered versions of familiar environments.

Past editions have featured night maps, undead transformations, special objectives and guest characters from established horror properties. The format has changed between games, preventing any previous feature from being treated as guaranteed for Black Ops 7.

The event’s strength has traditionally come from modifying the atmosphere of modes players already understand. Darkness changes visibility and movement decisions, supernatural threats complicate otherwise predictable rotations, and limited-time rules create situations that would not fit the standard competitive experience.

Warzone is particularly well suited to that structure. Its large maps provide enough space for isolated horror encounters, environmental storytelling and unexpected threats without removing the underlying battle royale objective.

The challenge for the 2026 edition will be ensuring that DOOM influences more than the cosmetic store. A crossover based on demon hunting creates obvious opportunities for PvE encounters, high-powered weapons and aggressive limited-time mechanics, but Activision has not yet confirmed any of those possibilities.

For now, their inclusion remains a reasonable creative expectation rather than a verified feature.

DOOM weapons remain an open question

A major part of the speculation surrounding the crossover will involve DOOM’s arsenal. The Super Shotgun, BFG, Chainsaw and Crucible are strongly associated with the series, while more recent entries have introduced equipment such as the Doomblade and Shield Saw.

None of those weapons has been formally confirmed for The Haunting. Their popularity makes them obvious candidates for blueprints, finishing moves or temporary equipment, but Activision has not identified which DOOM items—if any—will become usable.

There is also a significant difference between a functional weapon and a cosmetic blueprint. A DOOM-themed shotgun skin could retain the exact statistics of an existing Black Ops 7 weapon, while a temporary event pickup could operate under its own rules.

Until the official gameplay breakdown arrives, players should not assume that a recognizable weapon appearance represents a new addition to the permanent arsenal.

The same caution applies to demons. DOOM contains an extensive bestiary ranging from Imps and Cacodemons to Revenants, Mancubi and enormous Titans. The crossover announcement confirms the franchise, but not which enemies will appear or whether they will function as combatants rather than decorative elements.

Cosmetic access has not yet been explained

Activision has not disclosed how the main DOOM rewards will be distributed. Several possibilities exist within Call of Duty’s current structure:

Standard Battle Pass rewards.
Premium Battle Pass or BlackCell content.
A separate limited-time Event Pass.
Individual Operator bundles.
Challenge-based unlocks.
Free rewards tied to event participation.

These are established Call of Duty distribution methods, not confirmed details for The Haunting. Pricing, COD Point requirements and individual bundle contents remain unannounced.

Players interested primarily in the DOOM collaboration should therefore wait for the full Season 06 blog before purchasing currency. The first trailer confirms participation by the franchise but does not establish which items will be earnable through gameplay and which will require a premium purchase.

It is also unknown whether DOOM cosmetics will be usable in both Black Ops 7 and Warzone or whether particular rewards will be limited to one part of the Call of Duty platform. Cross-mode compatibility must be confirmed for each item when the official catalog is released.

A crossover that makes mechanical sense

From an editorial perspective, DOOM is a stronger match for Call of Duty than many purely cosmetic collaborations. Both games are shooters, and the Doom Slayer’s direct approach to combat can be translated into Call of Duty without requiring the developers to abandon the fundamentals of gunplay.

The larger question is whether The Haunting will take advantage of that compatibility. Operator skins and weapon blueprints would satisfy collectors, but a dedicated mode involving demonic invasions or temporary DOOM equipment would give the partnership a more distinctive gameplay identity.

The timing is also appropriate. Launching on September 17 gives The Haunting several weeks to develop before Halloween itself, leaving room for new challenges, midseason additions and staggered store releases.

However, none of those later additions should be treated as guaranteed. At the time of the reveal, Activision has confirmed only the September 17 launch, the connection to Season 06 and DOOM’s involvement across Black Ops 7 and Warzone.

The full horror roadmap is still to come

The Haunting’s launch trailer establishes its central promise: Call of Duty’s battlefield is about to become considerably less human.

DOOM gives the event a clear identity and creates considerable potential for demon-themed enemies, weapons and rewards. Black Ops 7 provides Multiplayer and Zombies foundations, while Warzone offers the scale required for a larger supernatural takeover.

Exactly how those elements connect remains deliberately unclear. Activision still needs to reveal the Season 06 roadmap, event modes, Battle Pass structure, challenge rewards and the commercial terms of the DOOM collaboration.

The Haunting begins in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 and Warzone on September 17.