Do you need to own Black Ops 7 to play Black Ops Royale?

Screenshots of Black Ops Royale, coming Call of Duty: Warzone on March 12. — Black Ops Royale is on the way, but do you need to own Black Ops 7 to play it? (Image credit: Activision)

Do you need to own Black Ops 7 to be able to play Black Ops Royale?

Unlike Blackout, which was tied to owning Black Ops 4, Call of Duty's latest incarnation, Black Ops Royale, is free to play. It's part of Warzone, not Black Ops 7, though its weapons, equipment, and map are all tied to this year's game only. Pre-Black Ops 7 weapons will not be compatible with this mode.

Scavenge to survive, and fight through high-stakes chaos to gain the upper hand in Black Ops Royale. Drop into Avalon, gear up, upgrade weapons, and rely on your instincts in an all-new and unique Call of Duty: Warzone experience rooted in Call of Duty’s first Battle Royale.
Activision

That's not the case now, as Black Ops Royale will be part of the Warzone package. It's being tagged on as another mode, similar to how Battle Royale and Resurgence currently are.

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The difference being it's on Avalon, it has a different ruleset (no loadouts or buy stations, for example), and it uses the Black Ops 7 weapon and equipment catalog. So anything you use on the other modes from previous Call of Duty games won't be part of the loot pool here.

But as Warzone is integrated with Black Ops 7 anyway, you'll be able to enjoy the same leveling progress across both. If you want to get a heads-up on the map layout, though, and you do own Black Ops 7, jump into Endgame and explore!

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Richard Devine is the Managing Editor at Windows Central, where he combines a deep love for the open-source community with expert-level technical coverage. Whether he’s hunting for the next big project on GitHub, fine-tuning a WSL workflow, or breaking down the latest meta in Call of Duty, Forza, and The Division 2, Richard focuses on making complex tech accessible to every kind of user. If it’s happening in the world of Windows or PC gaming, he’s probably already knee-deep in the code (or the lobbies). Follow him on X and Mastodon.