Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is the 22nd installment in the Call of Duty series. Black Ops 7 is a back to back Call of Duty sequel – it is a sequel to Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, and it is a downloadable content (DLC) pack to Black Ops 6. Codenamed “Jupiter,” Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is a culmination of the “Black Ops” storyline. If you look at the trailers of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, the story is about the mind-bending signature of Treyarch and the Black Ops brand. Call of Duty fans don’t really know where Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 really takes place, is it after the events of Black Ops 6? Or what they said: Treyarch said that Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 takes place 10 years after the events of Call of Duty: Black Ops II.
I have reviewed Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. I have gotten my hands on impression of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II Multiplayer Open Beta. I reviewed Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II. I went hands on with the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III Open Beta. I previewed Call of Duty: Black Ops 6’s Open Beta. Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is scheduled to be released for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S & X, and PC via Steam & Battle.net on November 14, 2025.
Today, I’ll talk about my first impressions of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 with my playthrough of the Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Beta. I’m playing the PlayStation 5 version of the Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Beta.
Gameplay
For the most part, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 plays similarly to Black Ops 6. I see a lot of polish in the omnimovement in Black Ops 7. You can move around without being restricted. I felt some janky sliding, or weird controls with omnimovement in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. I alluded it in my Black Ops 6 preview, but they polished the controls in Black Ops 7. Movement feels a little faster, which is exactly what Call of Duty fans was asking for for years.
Controls
As I said, in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Omnimovement was odd, weird, and not perfect. It was a bit primitive. When you slide, it felt weird. When you “jump” in a dolphin dive, it was weird. Both have been polished. When you walk forward and “strafe” as in sidestepping moving around, it was not bad in Black Ops 6, but it has been improved, and polished. Aiming Down Sights (ADS) has also been polished.
Graphics
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 looks good, not the best looking game, but good. I like the map design on the surface level. I didn’t address the underlying gameplay and the underlying map design itself in a different (“Gameplay”) section. I’ll address it in “Online Connectivity” section a bit. I’ll address it also in the “Misc. feedback,” because Skill Based Matchmaking is not going away. Treyarch says SBMM was not in Black Ops 7 during beta, but my gameplay says different, so I’ll address it there. Map design and SBMM goes hand in hand, controls go hand in hand here, too. It’s all wrapped together in one place.
Anyway, back to my point: Graphics is good, not perfect, but good. My issue is more on the character graphics. Some parts of the game looks like “A.I.” and did not get any approval by leadership. Microsoft openly “promotes,” and tells employees to use A.I. or work on A.I. or get fired. (Microsoft owns Activision.)
Online Connectivity
I’ll be up-front here: Online Connectivity for the most part is crisp, there is little to no lag, little glitches, issues when it comes to Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 online gaming. I experienced some glitches, some crashes, but not a whole lot. You may think this is good, but THIS is an Open Beta. I do not know how the game is going to play at launch. During the beta, SBMM was turned on about a day into the “Early Access” part of the beta. I was having fun with the game in the first few matches of Black Ops 7, and then it felt like something switched in the next few matches. This ramping up of the SBMM, feels similar to Modern Warfare II’s Open Beta. Good the first weekend, but turned harder in the next weekend.
Music & Sound
Besides the main menu, music seems cool. But after that, there is no spark. There is no anticipation. Sounds are punchy, special effects sound good. Weapons sound good. But I don’t feel anything from Black Ops 7, I guess I’d have to experience Black Ops 7’s story to get the feel for it. At this point, I don’t fee anything.
Misc Feedback
I still maintain that Call of Duty in general doesn’t need SBMM. During the “Early Access” and the “Open Beta,” Treyarch launched a mode called “Open Moshpit.” With “Open Moshpit” the Skill Based Matchmaking was less of a factor according to Treyarch. But, as a long-time player, I couldn’t get good gameplay. I was playing well at first. Then all of a sudden, it got harder, and harder. I learned during the beta, that your previous experience carries over from game to game, match to match, as if they were testing your skill. Now, I will turn to the maps themselves, and the gameplay. I’ve played Call of Duty: Black Ops 3. We didn’t have a lot of sliding, a lot of jumping around, and at that time, there WAS a larger pool of players. Everyone had a different gameplay style.
Call of Duty has conditioned players to slide, jump, and whatever else to break other players. Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is very, very sweaty. That‘s with “Open Moshpit” turned on. That’s the gameplay part of Online Connectivity and SBMM wrapped into one place. I will now turn to the map design, because the map design utilizes the jump mechanic… a lot. So, naturally, the conditioned players are sliding, and jumping all over the place like it’s candy, so the skill gap got wider, wider, and wider. Treyarch says “Open Moshpit” is the default matchmaking in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, as “Open Matchmaking.” In my mind, though, I don’t believe Activision or Treyarch as much as I throw them.
Replay Value
At the core, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is a good Call of Duty title. I mean, at the core. Gunplay is tight, gunplay is fast, fluid, fierce, and clean. Hit detection is hit or miss. I haven’t learned the little nuances of gameplay, like perks – the little stuff. Mostly because I am looking at gameplay and SBMM to bring to this preview. But however, the little time I had with the perks in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, I liked it. It’s nice. The overload mechanic is a nice addition to the gameplay. I quite like it.
CarlosX360’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Gameplay Playlist
In Conclusion
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 7’s Early Access went from October 2, 2025 to October 5, 2025.
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 7’s Open Beta went from October 5, 2025 to October 8, 2025.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7’s Beta was pretty short. Early Access was 4 days, Open Beta was 4 days, but Treyarch extended the Open Beta for one extra day. I enjoyed the long stretch of beta gameplay, but did not have fun with SBMM turned on. I don’t know what was going on with my experience, but I do not like the sweaty nature of Call of Duty today. As far as the core Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Multiplayer experience, I can say that I like the game. That is, if you removed SBMM/EOMM entirely or at least 50% less strong. A lot of players had different experience than I did. I honestly don’t like the manipulation of gameplay.
