The Black Ops 7 Nicolas Cage skin is not arriving quietly, which would have been weird anyway. Activision’s Season 4 Reloaded update is bringing the actor into the shooter on Thursday, June 25, as part of an event pass that leans into his long career of playing men who look like they’ve seen some things, maybe even their own patch notes.

What is included with Nicolas Cage in Season 4 Reloaded?

Cage arrives through the Season 4 mid-season update, with his standard operator look locked behind the premium track of the event pass. That base version dresses him in black, with short hair and a bulletproof vest. Practical, severe, and not exactly subtle once the match starts and Nicolas Cage is sprinting through the map.

Players who finish the event pass can unlock a second version called the unlimited variant. This one gives Cage longer hair and a crimson snakeskin jacket, because restraint has never been the point of Call of Duty cosmetics or Nicolas Cage’s best screen work.

The paid track also includes several Cage-themed extras:

  • An animated calling card
  • Three weapon blueprints
  • An emote
  • A finishing move

The free track is not empty, either. Players can earn the AN-94 primary weapon, the Executioner’s Duet melee weapon, and additional cosmetics without buying into the premium side.

Why does this crossover feel so oddly fitting?

The joke, if you can still call it a joke after years of crossover skins, is that Cage’s filmography already covers most of the characters being invoked here. He played Dracula in Renfield, voiced Superman in Teen Titans Go! To The Movies, appeared as Superman in The Flash, played Spider-Man Noir in the Prime Video series, starred as Ghost Rider in Ghost Rider, and played a serial killer in Longlegs.

So when the update is framed as adding Dracula, Superman, Spider-Man, Ghost Rider, and a terrifying killer, the answer is simply: yes, Nicolas Cage. It is efficient casting, if nothing else.

The addition also lands in a slightly awkward moment for Activision’s broader cosmetic strategy. The company has said the upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 won’t feature “clowny” crossover skins. That rule apparently hasn’t reached Black Ops 7 yet, or at least not in time to stop a Hollywood actor in a crimson snakeskin jacket from entering the battlefield.

How does Cage compare with earlier Black Ops crossovers?

Cage is not the first familiar face to join Black Ops 7. Terry Crews appeared as a Season 3 skin, while Season 1 featured Lucy, Maximus, and The Ghoul from Amazon’s Fallout series. Those additions already made the roster feel less like a military unit and more like a streaming-service home screen full of rifles.

Still, Black Ops 7 has not gone quite as far as Black Ops 6, which managed to put Roger from American Dad in the same combat space as Donatello from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. That remains a high-water mark for tonal confusion—or a warning sign, depending on how you feel about animated aliens in firefights.

For players, the appeal is simple: recognizable characters make the grind feel more personal, or at least more absurd. Cage brings a different kind of recognition, because he is not just one role. He is a whole shelf of roles, many of them already louder than the average killstreak.

What else changes in the update?

Season 4 Reloaded is also making the Black Ops Classic playlist permanent. That means players who prefer the stripped-back mode will no longer have to wait for it to rotate in. It will be available whenever they want a cleaner version of the experience, which may be especially useful after being finished off by Nicolas Cage in snakeskin.

The update keeps Black Ops 7 on its weird little path: part shooter, part celebrity showcase, part museum of licensing agreements. For viewers and players who enjoy the series at its most chaotic, Cage is a natural fit. For anyone hoping Call of Duty would calm down, the evidence is not encouraging.