Finalized PC system requirements for Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 have now been released. One of the great things about COD is that it is consistently lenient on hardware, which makes sense as a fast-paced competitive shooter with such a massive player base. Activision has now published minimum, recommended, competitive/4K ultra requirements, and has even reserved space for PC handheld gamers, which is a nice touch.

We’re just under a week away from the Black Ops 7 launch, and fans expect a lot from the latest entry to the Call of Duty series. The promise of fewer silly or otherwise over-the-top cosmetics, and a new ‘overclock’ system for leveling up your equipment and scorestreaks will help set it apart from Black Ops 6. The recent launch of Battlefield 6, along with its own version of battle royale to compete with Warzone, named Battlefield REDSEC, has given BO7 some serious competition to deal with.

Can your gaming PC or handheld run Black Ops 7?

Minimum specs reveal that you can get by on generations-old hardware, which is great for anyone still using an older gaming PC. Nvidia’s ever-popular GTX 1060 is mentioned in the low-end specs, and you can still make do with an old 6th-gen Intel processor, or the very first gen of AMD Ryzen. Recommended specs (which target 60 FPS “in most situations” on high settings) mention the RTX 3060, which is currently the most popular GPU on Steam, as of October 2025. See the full specs below:

You’ll need a modern mid-to-high-end card for high FPS in 4K; Activision lists AMD’s current flagship Radeon RX 9070 XT, or you can enjoy 4K gaming in Black Ops 7 on Nvidia’s RTX 5070, which is a GPU that’s been getting easier to find at MSRP lately. On the processor side of things, you don’t need anything ground-breaking, nor do you need a Ryzen X3D chip, the popular Ryzen 5 5600X is more than good enough, even in 2025.

We can expect BO7 to run well on AMD hardware, based on beta benchmarks from last month. The series has had a recent history of running well on Radeon cards. Black Ops 6 was no different.

Handheld compatibility for Black Ops 7

• Runs of most Windows-based handhelds
• Optimized visuals and performance for on-the-go play
• Sharper text for smaller screens
• Smart power and battery optimization

“Beenox is committed to handheld support and pushing quality, performance, and usability. Grab an Xbox Ally or your favorite supported handheld, hit Start, and take your adventure anywhere.”

Source: Call of Duty

The first thing to point out is that Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 most definitely will not run on a Steam Deck by default. In other words, it won’t run on the Linux-based SteamOS that ships on the Valve handheld. Black Ops 7 requires TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot on your Windows machine, while the kernel-level anti-cheat (Ricochet) breaks compatibility for Linux devices. The workaround for this will be to install Windows on your Steam Deck.

Activision says the game will run on “most” Windows handhelds, and while this doesn’t go into specifics, you should have no problems running BO7 on popular devices from the ROG Ally, Legion Go, or MSI Claw series. Optimized visuals and performance promise to improve the experience on your handheld, and we expect Black Ops 7 to have a good compatibility rating on the Xbox Store; this is a feature that starting rolling out around the launch of the new ROG Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X.

About the Author

Charlie Noon

Charlie is the Affiliate manager for PC Guide. He has a vast understanding of most PC hardware and consumer essentials, using his knowledge to provide the best products and the biggest deals.