How to unlock the Hawker HX in Black Ops 7 & Warzone

The Season 1 Reloaded update in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 and Warzone is set to introduce two new weapons into the fray. One of those weapons is the beloved Ballista sniper rifle, now called the Hawker HX, which saw its debut way back in Black Ops 2 in 2012. The Ballista became the second-most popular sniper in that game, thanks to the DSR 50, but it's maintained a cult following in the community for the past decade plus.

Now, in Black Ops 7, players can once again use the Ballista through the Hawker HX, but only after they unlock it following the Season 1 Reloaded update.

At the time of writing, Season 1 Reloaded is still a couple of weeks away, meaning we're not sure of the exact unlock method for the Hawker HX.

However, what we do know is that the Hawker HX will be unlocked through an in-game event after Season 1 Reloaded arrives. What that event is and how the sniper is unlocked is still unknown, though. We also don't know when this event will arrive after Season 1 Reloaded is released.

If past events and weapon unlocks are any indication, the Hawker HX will be unlocked by players completing every challenge in an event or through a community challenge. If it's the latter, then all Black Ops 7 and Warzone players will need to contribute to a specific challenge in order to unlock the Hawker HX for every player. That specific challenge will likely take days to complete, similar to how it took nearly a week for the NX Ravager crossbow to unlock through the Naughty and Nice event in Black Ops 7.

Unfortunately, that's all the current info we have on the Hawker HX and how to unlock it. After the calendar turns to 2026, Activision and Treyarch should divulge some additional details about the Hawker HX and Season 1 Reloaded, so we'll have to stay tuned for those announcements.

Until the Hawker HX gets here, make sure you're dominating Black Ops 7 the right way with the best loadouts for the VS Recon and Warden 308.