How to Play Split-Screen on Black Ops 7

The verdict: two players, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S only, and you still need the internet

Black Ops 7 split-screen works for two players sharing one screen, and only on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. Activision's own editions FAQ states that split-screen gameplay "will be available on Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5" and that "to ensure performance integrity, split-screen gameplay will not be supported on Xbox One or PlayStation 4." PC is not named as a split-screen platform. If you are on PC, an Xbox One or a PS4, this is the answer: there is no setting to find, and the picks below are what to buy instead.

Two further rules catch people out, and both come from the same official page. Black Ops 7 "will use texture streaming across all game modes," which means "you'll need a continuous internet connection to play any game mode, including Campaign" - so this is not a couch game you can play with the router off. And a PlayStation Plus or Game Pass Essential subscription "is required to access all social features and play all game modes except for solo gameplay in Co-Op Campaign." Checked October 11, 2026.

If it is supported, here is the setup

Plug in the second controller and turn it on. On both consoles the second pad has to be paired and awake before you start, not after.

Sign player two into their own account. Press the button the lobby prompts with on the second controller. Player two needs their own console user and their own Activision account - a guest profile is not the same thing, and this is the step most people are stuck on when they search for this.

Go to Multiplayer or Zombies, not Campaign.Local split-screen lives in the online-connected modes. The campaign's co-op is played online with each player on their own screen, which is a different feature with a different requirement.

Expect some playlists to refuse you. A local pair takes two slots in a lobby and some playlists are configured to decline that. If a mode greys out, it is the playlist, not your setup.

The buying trap on the physical edition

The same Activision page carries a line worth more than most of the review coverage: "Physical editions of the game will not operate on Xbox Series S or a digital-only PlayStation 5." Those two consoles have no disc drive. If you are buying a boxed copy for a split-screen evening, check which console is actually under the television first - a disc is cheaper right up until it is a coaster.

Why this is such a common search

Call of Duty has had an unstable relationship with split-screen for about a decade. It appears, disappears, returns in some modes and not others, and changes between console generations - so there is no stable public memory of what the current game does, and every new release produces the same wave of "why can't I play split-screen" searches. The honest framing is that Black Ops 7 does support it, on fewer platforms and with more strings attached than a split-screen game used to carry. The broader story is on why split-screen disappeared, and the platform-by-platform lists are at split-screen on PS5 and split-screen on Xbox.

Which pick fixes which problem

"I am on PC."Then Black Ops 7 split-screen is not available to you. Borderlands 3 is the closest substitute with a shooter's shape, though its PC version splits two ways rather than four. The full PC picture is at split-screen on PC.

"We want a campaign, not a lobby." Halo: Campaign Evolved. Two players split-screen on console, four online, with crossplay and shared progression on the online side. It is the pick for the exact thing Black Ops 7 does not do locally.

"There are four of us." Borderlands 3 on console is the only full-size four-player split-screen shooter still sold as a current release. If you do not need it to be a shooter, the whole list is at four-player split-screen games.

"We do not want to pay a subscription." Rayman Legends and Overcooked! All You Can Eat. Both are local four-player, both work with the console offline, and neither needs PS Plus, Game Pass or Nintendo Switch Online to play on one screen. Which is the general rule - see whether split-screen needs a subscription - with Black Ops 7 as the headline exception.

"We want Zombies specifically." Then Black Ops 7 on a PS5 or a Series X|S is the purchase, with the subscription and the connection requirement accepted going in. There is no substitute for Zombies in this registry and we are not going to pretend otherwise.

What we are not claiming on this page

We have not tested Black Ops 7 split-screen ourselves, and you should treat any page that says it has with suspicion a week after release. Everything above is either a direct quotation from Activision's support site or a straightforward consequence of it. We have deliberately not listed which individual playlists accept a local pair, because that changes with every playlist rotation and a page that claims otherwise would be wrong within the month. If the official FAQ changes, this page gets updated and the check date above moves with it.