The franchise’s annual release of yesteryear, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, is free-to-play for all Xbox users right now, but only for a limited time. While the upcoming CoD is part of a separate subseries, now is your chance to catch up before Modern Warfare 4 comes out at no cost. You don’t even need an Xbox Game Pass subscription, which is often a requirement for these promotions.
If you haven’t been keeping up with Call of Duty, I might suggest keeping expectations reasonable. Black Ops 7 was fairly derided on release, as is often the case when two games from the same lineage release back-to-back – 2023’s Modern Warfare 3 was equally panned when it followed 2022’s Modern Warfare 2. But hey, free is hard to turn down, and CoD is eternally popular for a reason.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is free for all Xbox players from Thursday, July 2 to Tuesday, July 7, as part of Xbox’s regular Free Play Days initiative. These often require an Xbox Game Pass subscription to participate, but that’s not the case with Black Ops 7‘s Free Play Days stint. Black Ops 7 is “free for all XBOX players,” according to the Xbox Wire announcement. It is joined in the Free Play Days For All by Diablo 4, which is similarly free for all from June 30 to July 7.
While Game Pass is usually required to play Xbox games online, that doesn’t appear to be the case with Black Ops 7 during Free Play Days. While Black Ops 7 is free, both multiplayer and Zombies can be played without Game Pass. You can trial all three main pillars of Black Ops 7, those two game modes and campaign.
If anything, this is the perfect chance to play through Black Ops 7‘s campaign. One major complaint lobbied against the game is that its campaign is way too short. The full thing comes in at around four or five hours, which is quite a bit shorter than previous CoD stories, even though it’s not exactly a series known for lengthy campaigns. Still, there’s nothing to suggest Black Ops is done, so playing through it for free isn’t a bad way to stay up to date.
Like other yearly franchises, Call of Duty has its ups and downs – and Black Ops 7 is generally considered a down – but it’s still not hard to find some fun, especially when you can play for free. Multiplayer is great for some mindless shooting, Zombies rarely disappoints, and the campaign’s misguided wackiness can even be endearing. Act fast, though, because you only have a few days left to pay Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 for free on Xbox.
- Released
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November 14, 2025
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Drugs
- Developer(s)
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Treyarch, Raven Software
- Engine
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IW Engine