Call of Duty has just announced that some big changes are on the way for Call of Duty: Black Ops 7‘s matchmaking, and it’s possible that those changes will make their way to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 as well. It’s not currently clear how Black Ops 7‘s matchmaking is changing exactly, but the “new system” is said to be inspired by those found in classic Call of Duty games.
More specifically, the newly announced Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 matchmaking update will take direct inspiration from the recently released PS4 and PS5 ports of Call of Duty: Black Ops 1 and 2. While Activision hasn’t released exact sales figures yet, a recent Circana report claims that both Black Ops and Black Ops 2 were among the top 10 most played games on PlayStation in the week ending July 11, with Black Ops at the number 9 spot and Black Ops 2 in the number 6 spot. Interestingly, the Call of Duty launcher app took the number 4 spot.
Call of Duty Black Ops 7 Is Getting a New Matchmaking System Inspired by Classic CoD
On July 22, the official Call of Duty Twitter account made an announcement regarding Black Ops 7‘s multiplayer component. This announcement began by stating that the Call of Duty development team has “continued to learn a lot about Multiplayer matchmaking through player data and community feedback” over the last year, and that the recent reception to the PlayStation Black Ops 1 and 2 ports have reinforced the notion that there are “many elements” of those classic games that fans still love.
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In light of these recent revelations, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is getting a “new matchmaking system” for its Black Ops Classic, Quick Play, and Party Game modes. This updated matchmaking system will arrive with Black Ops 7‘s Season 05 update, which lands on Thursday, July 23 at 12pm ET. It’s currently unclear exactly what this new Black Ops 7 matchmaking system will look like, or if it will be implemented in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4‘s upcoming Beta or final release.
For years now, Call of Duty‘s matchmaking systems have been a strong point of contention for fans, with many longing for the removal of skill-based matchmaking and a reversion to the systems found in classic Call of Duty titles. Prior to Call of Duty: Black Ops 7‘s launch, much of the game’s multiplayer-focused marketing revolved around its new Open playlists, which were touted as a return to more traditional, non-skill-based matchmaking modes. It’s unclear how this newly announced matchmaking system would affect Black Ops 7‘s Open playlists.
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Call of Duty‘s announcement post concludes by saying that Open playlists will still be available in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 after this Season 5 update, and that Open playlist options will also be available in the upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 Beta. The Modern Warfare 4 Beta will run from August 21–25 for those on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S with Early Access, and August 28–September 1 for anyone on those platforms and Nintendo Switch 2.
- Released
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October 23, 2026
- Multiplayer
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Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op


