As cameras panned around the Las Vegas venue of COD Next, I tried and failed to identify anything real.

There were the LED walls, which flanked attendees on all sides with larger-than-life Call of Duty logos. There were the hosts, overflowing with excitement for Black Ops 7's meager alterations to CoD's current form. There were the hyped creators in attendance, many of whose livelihoods are directly intertwined with the success of Call of Duty. And there was Black Ops 7 itself, a back-to-back sequel that not even its developers appear to feel strongly about.

It was the pinnacle of videogame marketing excess: loud, abrasive, and insecure. Between extended ad reads for Little Caesars Pizza, AMD, Monster Energy, and Herman Miller chairs, we were treated to Black Ops 7 multiplayer with live

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