In brief: With the launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 a little over a week away, Activision has shared critical release details, including pre-load times, PC customization features, and system requirements. Although the game is slightly more demanding than last year's entry, it is lighter than many of 2025's biggest releases and includes handheld-specific optimizations.
Unlike recent entries in the top-selling first-person shooter franchise, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 will not offer early access to the campaign for customers who pre-order. The campaign, multiplayer, and Zombies modes will launch simultaneously for everyone on November 13 or 14, depending on the platform and region.
However, those who pre-order can begin pre-loading on November 10 at noon ET. Players on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series, along with Windows Store users and Game Pass subscribers, can start playing between 6 a.m. ET on November 13 and 1 a.m. ET on November 14. The game will launch globally on Battle.net and Steam at midnight ET on November 14.
The spec sheet recommends an AMD RX 9070 XT, Nvidia RTX 4080, or RTX 5070 to maintain high framerates while using ultra graphics settings in 4K, without specifying whether upscaling is accounted for. Users with the 5070 should note that Activision also advises having at least 16GB of VRAM for 4K gameplay, but this GPU only has 12GB, so they may need to adjust some settings.
Meanwhile, the minimum required graphics cards include the AMD Radeon RX 470, Nvidia GTX 970, GTX 1060, and Intel Arc A580. However, the spec sheet also notes that Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is optimized for smooth gameplay, efficient battery usage, and legible text on handheld gaming PCs, suggesting good performance on various low-end devices. The minimum download requirement is 116GB.
Unfortunately, the game's TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot requirements mean that it likely won't support the Steam Deck or other devices running SteamOS or Bazzite. Microsoft is using Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 and other recent releases to promote Windows-based PCs such as the Asus ROG Xbox Ally.
PC-specific features include support for AMD FSR 4 with frame generation, DLSS 4 multi-frame generation, sub-frame mouse polling, dynamic RGB integration with Corsair components, and over 800 other settings. Nvidia and AMD drivers are now available.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 bumps up system requirements but still runs lighter than most 2025 titles
