"While Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 may be the weakest Call of Duty in several years, it is still one of the best shooters to release in 2025, a year that has been more fiercely competitive than anything we have seen in over a decade."
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is not an easy game to review, as while it is a huge step forward for the series, the way in which these steps were made has ultimately made Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 less enjoyable for sizable portions of its community, which is unfortunate considering that it is very likely the last title to be released onto 8th generation hardware, meaning that for tens of millions of gamers who cannot afford to move to current generation hardware or PC, this could be the last Call of Duty release they will get to enjoy for some time.
While there is much to be said about Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, and we will cover much of it later in this review, I feel I would be remiss to not mention the three major areas in which Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 moved the series forward while also taking two giant steps backwards at the same time.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is the first title in the history of the franchise to be part of Xbox’s Play Anywhere program, meaning that purchasing a copy via Xbox PC App, Battle.net or Xbox console allows players to download and play it on any of the three storefronts or launchers mentioned above.
This is in addition to it being made available on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (PC, Console and Cloud), PC Only Game Pass (PC) and the stream your own game program, which allows Game Pass subscribers to stream select owned games to any xCloud compatible device.
Without question, making Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 more accessible and affordable is a great move, and this is one area in which Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 took a step forward without also taking a step backwards.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 makes major changes to how lobbies work in Call of Duty by making open lobbies the default option for the vast majority of playlists, meaning unlike previous crossplay supported games, players are not fairly divided into lobbies based on their skill and performance levels, but rather thrown together into a single matchmaking pool per region.
Unfortunately the biggest supporters of this type of matchmaking system are those who enjoy picking on less skilled players, and while veteran players have welcomed this change, they are the least likely to be affected negatively by it.
The fact skill based matchmaking has been hidden in a second tab and has access to only a single playlist speaks volumes about how unpopular with the general population open lobbies will be.
Essentially it is telling someone that they do not get to enjoy the meal they paid for unless they slather it in the house hot sauce. If you do not want hot sauce, I am afraid you can only order a salad.
By all means include the option for open lobbies, but by deliberately handicapping the standard playlist, players are forced to either play in lobbies they do not feel comfortable in or restrict themselves to a single playlist.
I personally have no issue competing in open lobbies, but I know that many people will quickly become very disheartened facing the same much higher ranked players match after match, especially with the open playlist supporting persistent lobbies, meaning players will face off match after match against the same players like it is still 2007, and we have learned nothing about how toxic the gaming community can be.
In my opinion forcing players to play in open lobbies after multiple games used a much better and more fair system is a huge step back, and a knee jerk reaction to try and win back players who drifted away from Black Ops 6 over the summer due to an influx of cartoon themed skins, such as the much maligned Beavis and Butthead event, which saw Beavis and Butthead characters infest almost every lobby due to two of the four skins from the event being made available for free.
The inclusion of a cooperative campaign and repeatable PVE endgame that is ripe for expansion was a great idea. I must admit I really enjoyed playing through the campaign with randoms.
The story was good, the map design was fantastic, and cutscenes, characters and voice acting performances were second to none. Unfortunately when playing solo through the campaign, it very much feels like a cooperative campaign that has been forced to work in a single player setting.
Just like playing Mario Party all by yourself against AI characters feels a little sad and lonely, playing Call of Duty: Black Ops 7’s co-op campaign solo feels terrible due to players being forced to complete each mission entirely solo, despite the rest of the squad talking constantly as if they are right beside you.
Yes that is right, there are no NPC squadmates in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7’s single player campaign, and with the exception of cutscenes in which the whole gang is together, players will fight through each level entirely alone, only for the entire squad to reappear when it is time for a cutscene, only to disappear again the second it ends.
Gameplay issues aside, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7’s cooperative campaign does not allow players to save mid level nor pause at any time due to its online requirements, meaning players must commit to completing at least one mission if they wish to progress, and even then hitting exit too late can result in lost data.
I personally experienced this when completing the first mission and part of the second. I was forced to quit, only to find out that due to quitting a few minutes into the second mission, my progress was erased entirely and I had to start the campaign from the beginning.
While I assume this is a mistake and could already be fixed, I see no reason why players are limited to exiting at exact locations if they wish to retain any progress at all.
While I feel it is too late to save the single player campaign, I would love to see both single and cooperative campaigns exist side by side, as there is room for both in Call of Duty, and I would love to see similar cooperative campaigns and repeatable endgame modes in all entries going forward, alongside the linear cinematic single player campaigns that millions of players have enjoyed for over two decades.
The main issue with two of the three major changes introduced with Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is that they do not add to Call of Duty, but instead focus on taking away something from one group of players to reward another.
Fans of single player campaigns have lost what they enjoy so cooperative fans can be happy, while the vast majority of players who prefer fair and balanced lobbies have lost access to that in most playlists so the hardcore elites can feel superior by racking up a massive KD picking on newbies and casuals.
By all means support these players, but not at the experience of other players, which I feel is the main issue with Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, and why it will struggle to reach the heights achieved by some of the more casual friendly and ultimately beloved entries in the long history of the franchise.
Many of the changes made to Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 seem to have been made in reaction to the success of other games, which is never a good idea, as whenever Call of Duty has tried to be more like Battlefield it has done poorly, just like Battlefield has struggled when trying to mimic Call of Duty.
Ultimately Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is a great game and a worthy competitor for best shooter of 2025. However it is arguably the worst Call of Duty game since Call of Duty: Black Ops IV, which ironically was the last time the developers deprived players of a single player campaign in effort to redirect development resources towards a different demographic (battle royale players).
On current generation hardware and PC, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 looks fantastic, but it always looks amazing, and honestly it did not wow me. Do not get me wrong there were some areas in Avalanche which looked stunning, but as long as 8th generation consoles are supported, there is a limit to how impressive Call of Duty can be visually.
While nothing has been confirmed as of November 2025, it is believed that Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is the last game to support PS4 and Xbox One natively, which makes sense considering the amount of live service titles dropping support for 8th generation hardware in 2026.
Gunplay is one area in which I feel Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is a drastic improvement over Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. While the latter had fantastic gunplay, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 builds upon this foundation to create some of the crispiest gunplay in the history of the franchise.
I have yet to try a weapon that did not feel perfect, and while it is early days, and the developers could still mess things up badly, as of November 2025, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 feels like one of the most balanced Call of Duty games to release since Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019).
The inclusion of not one, but two additional PVE modes (campaign and endgame) alongside a fully fleshed out zombies mode is a vast improvement over titles such as Call of Duty: Vanguard, whose additional mode was the ill fated and ultimately uninspired Champions Hill mode.
While it is early days yet and endgame could fizzle out before the end of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7’s run, if the developers keep it updated with seasonal updates, I see no reason why it could not become a mainstay of the franchise, something which would please players and shareholders alike by increasing the replayability of PVE content for players, which in turn improves player count, creating a whole new demographic to sell cosmetics to.
While I prefer playing in first person, the inclusion of the option to use a third person camera view in the co-op campaign and endgame mode is a really good idea, and makes both modes far more attractive to players who are more used to playing games such as Fortnite, Arc Raiders and DayZ.
I must admit, I am not that worried about crossover skins in Call of Duty. While I tire of seeing Snoop Dogg showing up multiple years in a row, I ultimately have a pretty high tolerance for such things, but I must admit the inclusion of Beavis and Butthead skins in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 was too much.
Every match was filled with the hideous things, and by the time the season ended, I had been radicalised to support Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 no longer carrying forward weapons and skins from Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, despite that move ultimately being less player friendly to me and has resulted in my losing access to the weapons and skins I own.
I hope going forward the developers find a balance between the insanity that was Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and the bland beige aesthetic of Battlefield 6, as whenever the needle swings too far in one direction bad things happen.
While Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 was deemed too wild and it resulted in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 launching to a far more hostile audience than normal, Battlefield 6 has its own struggles with the developers struggling to create interesting skins people actually want to buy while avoiding uproar from the playerbase who feel even the wrong shade of green on a scarf is going a step too far.
With the future of both games heavily dependent on successful monetization, it will be interesting to see what lessons are learned by both teams as Call of Duty and Battlefield go head to head in a highly competitive race for the first time since 2016.
With Xbox having signed a very public deal to bring its games to Nintendo platforms during the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, many expected Call of Duty to show up on Nintendo platforms by now. However with reports that developers are struggling to get Switch 2 developer kits, Nintendo Switch II owners will likely have to wait until 2026 for Call of Duty to return to Nintendo platforms.
However with Call of Duty skipping Nintendo platforms since Ghosts in 2013, I am not sure a few more months will matter much either way.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 has one of the best selections of maps I have ever seen, featuring a perfect balance of remastered classics and all new maps to keep things fresh.
With seven new and two remastered maps scheduled to drop in Season 1, I am curious to see how long Activision can maintain this level of seasonal new content, which is frankly unheard of for the Call of Duty franchise.
Out of all the excellent maps in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, I must admit, the map I was most excited to see return is Hijacked, which has been a fan favourite since it first appeared in Call of Duty: Black Ops II (2012).
While I love many of the new characters introduced in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, I must admit the multiplayer operator list, at least at launch, looks a little sparse, especially if you exclude the Zombie Mode operators, which feel out of place in the year 2035 considering they have not aged since their appearance in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, set over 40 years before.
In addition, Zombie Mode operators are a stark reminder that due to Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 no longer carrying forward as originally planned, players do not have access to the skins they unlocked or purchased for these characters previously in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, despite having access to them in Call of Duty: Warzone.
While Call of Duty: Black Ops 7’s campaign still has its fair share of profanity and operators will occasionally drop an F bomb, compared to titles such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II ↪ and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III ↪, there are far fewer instances of harsh profanity and a drastic drop in blasphemy, which I appreciate.
While I seldom use profanity myself, it does not overly bother me, except for the double standards on display when Jesus, Jesus Christ and even worse variations such as Jesus F****** Christ are used fairly often in games and movies, especially when no reputable company would dare use the names of other religions’ deities or figures in such a manner.
When did you hear anyone use Zeus, Mohammed, Allah, Thor or Odin as a curse word? Probably never outside of someone making a point about how no one uses these names as curse words.
I am a follower of Christ and believe he is the only way to the Father (God). However I would never seek to offend those of other religions by using the name of a major figure in their religion as a curse word; it is crass, disrespectful and is an example of double standards in mainstream media, where just about every other religion is shown more courtesy than Christianity.
Luckily for the developers (and others who engage in blasphemy), Jesus Christ addressed blasphemy against himself during his earthly ministry by stating anyone who speaks against him or blasphemes him will be forgiven (unlike those who blaspheme the Holy Spirit, the third member of the trinity in Christianity).
Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the one to come. - Matthew 12:31
While Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is hardly kid friendly when it comes to language, I must admit that it feels like a far more mature game with less profanity than it did when characters such as Soap would spew harsh profanity and blasphemy in almost every major scene.
There is nothing inherently mature about being unable to get out a full sentence without dropping an F bomb or using the name of Jesus Christ as a curse word, and while the former does not worry me, I am certainly happy to see any positive movement in regards to showing respect for the beliefs of other people, especially when it comes from a franchise as large and iconic as Call of Duty.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is a first person shooter game developed by Treyarch and published by Activision, it released on 14 November 2025, and is available on PC, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 supports:
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 offers the following matchmaking options:
The Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 in-game store sells:
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 supports the following peripherals:
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is rated PEGI 18+ and contains:
To say Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is anything less than a fantastic shooter would be objectively untrue, however it is not as good as 2024’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, despite improvements in a few key areas.
If the developers can learn from the poor reception to certain changes in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 and incorporate that feedback alongside the improvements made in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 in their next game, the future has never looked brighter for Call of Duty.
However if they refuse to learn, or roll back too many of the changes altogether, we may be looking at a future where Call of Duty is no longer the dominant power of the highly competitive and lucrative shooter genre.
We found Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 to be a great game, meaning it delivers a memorable experience with only minor imperfections that don't detract from the overall enjoyment of the game.
"While the sun has long ago set on Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, its legacy lives on, with the Modern Warfare series receiving two sequels, two remasters, two Battle Royales, and three remakes, a feat that no other Call of Duty series has come close to copying."
"Despite its shaky start, Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War went on to become one of the most beloved titles in the history of the Call of Duty Franchise."
"While I can not fault the developer's passion, it is time they stopped trying to make HYPERCHARGE: Unboxed a thing, as much like Gretchen's dream of making "fetch" a thing, it is never going to happen."
