Is David Mason in Black Ops 7?

David Mason returns as the main protagonist in Black Ops 7. This upcoming title was kept tightly under wraps, with no details revealed until the Xbox Games Showcase 2025. There, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 was officially revealed through a cinematic reveal trailer, offering brief glimpses of gameplay elements from the new title.

If you missed the trailer or didn’t catch the showcase, you might be surprised by David Mason’s new look; it’s noticeably different from his appearance in previous games. Naturally, this led many to wonder “Is David Mason really in Black Ops 7?”

David Mason is the main protagonist in Black Ops 7

In the Black Ops 7 reveal trailer, the very first character you see is David Mason, though his name isn’t mentioned at the beginning. As the trailer unfolds, he enters a facility named "Guild," where a robot greets him.

The cinematic continues until the end, where Raul Menendez finally appears and addresses him by name: “David Mason.” This is the only moment in the trailer where his identity is explicitly confirmed.

BO7 reveal trailer (Image via Activision)

The Black Ops 7 announcement blog post provides a brief overview of the game. Set in the year 2035, the world is in chaos, marked by violent conflict and psychological warfare, events that followed after Black Ops 2 and Black Ops 6.

The blog confirms that David Mason and his team will face a “manipulative enemy who weaponizes fear above all else,” directly establishing him as the game’s main protagonist.

For those unfamiliar with David Mason, he is the son of Alex Mason, the iconic Black Ops character who was brainwashed through a number-based system, allowing Soviet agents to control him. With the help of Jason Hudson and Grigori Weaver, Alex eventually broke free from the brainwashing.

David had a rough and traumatic childhood. At age five, he witnessed his mother’s death, which fueled his resentment toward his father. At ten, he was abducted by Raul Menendez and watched his father die. David was too young to recall the event clearly, and Woods took him under his care afterward.

Years later, during the 2025 events in the Black Ops 2 mission Suffer With Me, Woods reveals the truth: he killed Alex Mason, mistaking him for Raul. It’s then that David learns the harrowing truth about his father’s death, a tragedy orchestrated by Raul Menendez himself.

Now, in Black Ops 7, Raul Menendez has returned, a character long presumed dead. However, it's unclear whether his presence is real or a manifestation within David’s mind. As the story unfolds, more will be revealed about what this new chapter has in store.

Also read: Black Ops 7 reveal trailer brings back iconic antagonist from death

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About the author

Animesh has been a Call of Duty writer at Sportskeeda for close to two years. A fervent enthusiast of the iconic Mario Bros. franchise and several first-person shooter games, his love for gaming pushed him to merge his passion and profession, and eventually land a writing job in the genre. When creating content, he prioritizes quality and accuracy over speed, verifying multiple official sources. This has helped his meticulous first-person shooter guides garner over two million reads.

Although Animesh holds a Master’s degree in Commerce, he would willingly go back to school; just as long as the school is Hogwarts, so he can jump into the world of spell-casting and fly on broomsticks. He admires gamers Shroud and Beaulo, and would recommend story-driven games like Red Dead Redemption, Skyrim, and Far Cry 3 for their captivating narratives and deep player engagement.

Animesh also enjoys multiplayer games such as Valorant, Apex Legends, and Warzone. When he keeps his controller aside, he plays football and badminton, reads books, and cooks.

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Edited by Ripunjay Gaba