While Battlefield 6 has long moved on, Activision is convinced that Call of Duty can still squeeze every drop of power out of consoles launched back in 2013. Treyarch explains why Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is also arriving on PS4 and Xbox One — and the reason is easier to understand than you might think.

Few studios today continue to actively support the Xbox One and PS4 generations, which debuted back in 2013. Among the exceptions are EA Sports with its annual FC releases and Activision, which still sees potential in these aging machines. This year, it’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 7’s turn — and the shooter will be available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, with Game Pass access included for both platforms.

Millions Still Play on Last-Gen Consoles

In this context, many players keep asking why Activision insists on releasing Call of Duty games for PS4 and Xbox One. The community argues that dropping support for these consoles would allow for a bigger graphical leap — and they’re right — but doing so would also leave millions of players behind. In an interview with Dexerto, Yale Miller and Lawrence Metten, heads of production and design at Treyarch, explained the reasoning behind the decision.

According to them, Black Ops 7 is being built from the ground up for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, and then scaled back for PS4 and Xbox One. This inevitably means that some features may not be available on older hardware. Metten points to the absence of Theater mode in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 as an example, stressing that the team’s priority is not to compromise gameplay just to accommodate the limitations of 2013-era consoles.

The main reason for keeping support alive is the “surprisingly high” number of active players still gaming on PS4 and Xbox One in 2025, which helps improve matchmaking and overall multiplayer health. While the team acknowledges that these versions will come with reduced graphics and performance, they insist the core gameplay experience remains unchanged — and that next-gen design isn’t being sacrificed. Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is scheduled to launch in November on both platforms, with differences limited mostly to visuals and some specific features.

Source: 3djuegos