Battlefield 6 has had its open beta, and now it's Call of Duty's turn, as the official store page on Xbox website confirms that Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 will have an open beta that will be live for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers on October 2, 2025, and for everyone else on October 5. The description doesn't say how long the beta will last, or if there will be a second weekend, but further down in the description it does say that "Open Beta duration is 2 days" at a minimum.
That said, we'll likely have much more information on the beta and on Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 in general after Gamescom ONL 2025 today, which is kicking off in just a little more than an hour at the time of this writing. The game's full reveal is set to kick off the showcase today, and it's a good bet that we'll hear more specifics about the open beta, and get a confirmation of the game's release date that seems to have already leaked just last week.
Though the store page does potentially confirm the release date, since it says that the Reznov Challenge Pack that can be unlocked in Black Ops 6 "Must be redeemed by November 14, 2025."
What's interesting about these open beta dates, and the leaked release date, is that it means Black Ops 7 will be having its beta right around the time Battlefield 6 is launching, and if the leaked release date is correct, Battlefield 6 will have had a full month to build an audience and potential lead on Call of Duty before its even out on store shelves.
There's been a lot of talk about what the bout between both shooters will look like this year, with some thinking that EA has the chance to take a win over Activision, though others are less convinced, even while admitting that Battlefield 6 is looking like it'll be a tentpole entry for the series.
Call of Duty has the strength of its annual releases and years of community built behind it, so it's definitely unlikely that Battlefield 6 will be able to go toe-to-toe with it Black Ops 7 on the sales charts. But it can certainly try, and for shooter fans, it's exciting to see both series back in fighting shape after years of Call of Duty dominance.
About the author: David has been writing about videogames, technology, and culture since 2020, with a focus on reporting daily news across multiple publications, including GameDaily.Biz, GameSkinny, and PlayStation Universe before joining Wccftech in 2025. David started contributing as Canada/US reporter for Wccftech's gaming section in 2025. Besides being up-to-date on the industry's movements, he loves interviewing developers, reviewing games, and writing intricate essays about the symbolism and layered meanings to be found in rich narratives as he's done for publications like GamesIndustry.Biz, LostInCult, and others. Outside of games he loves movies, music, theatre, his hometown, and his family, though not necessarily in that order.
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