We’re two years deep into the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S era, and most major franchises have stopped title releases for last-gen consoles. Battlefield, for example, has completely ditched the PS4 and Xbox One. Yet, here comes Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, launching November 14, 2025, and still makes room for consoles dropped in 2013. Twelve years later, the PlayStation 4 will get another COD game. But why? Black Ops 7 devs Treyarch Studios address concerns about how last-gen consoles are holding it back.
Why Black Ops 7 Still Supports Last-Gen Consoles
Treyarch says millions of people still play on old machines and promises current-gen features aren’t being held back. The developers admitted that a “shocking number” of Call of Duty players are still on PS4 and Xbox One, which is enough to sway business decisions. If you want the massive possible player base, you can’t abandon the hardware half your audience is still using.
Of course, there’s a tradeoff. Treyarch knows the “visual experience is nowhere near where it needs to be” on last-gen. Your PS4 won’t pull off Series X graphics. But they claim the core gameplay features, including movement, shooting, zombies, the whole shebang, are still intact.
Call of Duty still releases on PS4 & Xbox One because “a shocking number of people play it,” Treyarch tells us
“We still feel like we can make an experience where the gameplay experience is largely there. Obviously, the visual experience is nowhere near where it needs to be.” pic.twitter.com/MbymOFbVWy
— CharlieIntel (@charlieINTEL) September 24, 2025
Built for New Consoles First, Then Scaled Back
One big concern among fans is if both old devices will hold the series back from reaching its full potential. Treyarch insists that’s not the case. Their production approach is to build Black Ops 7 for the latest-gen (PS5, Series X/S, PC) first, and only afterward see what can reasonably be scaled down for last-gen.
If a feature won’t run on PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, it gets cut there. Simple. Case in point: Theater Mode is back in BO7 but only on current-gen and PC. Treyarch didn’t scrap it only because old hardware couldn’t handle it, they disabled it for that audience. In an interview with CharlieIntel, the developers said, “That’s something that we knew we wanted to do, Theater. We can’t support it on old-gen. That’s not a reason not to do the feature. We’re gonna bite the bullet and disable it on old-gen.”
There’s also the matchmaking angle as Call of Duty lives and dies on its player counts. The more players in the pool, the healthier the lobbies and the quicker the matchmaking. Keeping PS4 and Xbox One in the mix means millions more bodies to fill matches and, from Treyarch’s perspective, that’s reason enough.
Sure, the graphics and performance take a hit on classic consoles, but that doesn’t “break the experience,” as they put it. You’ll still be able to take down enemies, scream at campers, and get demolished in Zombies mode but with reduced graphical bells and whistles.
While we focus on the platforms subject, there’s also concern for the Nintendo support. Microsoft made noise about a 10-year Call of Duty deal with Nintendo during the Activision-Blizzard acquisition, but Black Ops 7 won’t be on Switch at launch. Rumors suggest the long-awaited Switch 2 still won’t see COD in year one. So, last-gen PlayStation and Xbox players are covered, but Nintendo fans will still be disappointed not to receive the latest hyped shooter.
