Key Highlights:
- Call of Duty Black Ops 7 will bring back health bars.
- Enemy health bars will be visible in multiplayer matches.
- This might not be such a good idea, in the long run.
Treyarch seems eager to be back in the game again, and the upcoming Call of Duty Black Ops 7 might just be what the series needs, while facing stiff competition from the likes of a resurgent Battlefield 6.
To this extent, Treyarch has been toying with the idea of adding in a few returning features and elements from its classic titles, one of which happens to include the rather controversial health bar, which has been missing since 2020.
Call of Duty Black Ops 7 Brings Back Health Bars in the Beta
The lack of visible health bars on top of enemies has been something we’ve gotten used to in modern Call of Duty games, which seem to rely on invisible ones instead, all in an effort to preserve ‘realism’.
Treyarch seems to be ready to bring that feature back to Black Ops 7 this time around though, as per a recent X post by game design director Matt Scronce.
We're currently testing health bars in MP and hope to have them in the beta along with a setting to disable. Looking forward to feedback on them! https://t.co/nB0NCe5ysC
— Matt Scronce (@MaTtKs) September 9, 2025
When asked whether the new Black Ops will have health bars enabled by default, Matt mentioned that Treyarch was actively testing the addition of health bars in multiplayer modes. This is something a surprising number of players seem to be looking forward to.
So far, these bars seem to be only available in the multiplayer section of a closed build. However, Matt has also mentioned that they ‘hope to’ bring the same into the ongoing beta along with a toggle to disable them if so required, gathering some much needed feedback along the way,
While we don’t know whether the feature will be approved for the full, retail release of the game, it does seem rather likely given the fact that it has been more or less approved for the beta.
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Matt Scronce has worked with Treyarch for over 15 years, and has overseen the addition of health bars in the original Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War, a fan favorite title. As such, his words seem to be rather encouraging for those who want that feature to be implemented.
Interestingly enough, no mainline Call of Duty game has seen the addition of health bars in it for a long, long time. The last addition of visible health bars was in Black Ops Cold War, back in 2020 or in certain other franchises.
It’s certainly a very controversial feature, and does make you wonder whether this could be the first in a series of blunders set to doom Call of Duty to mediocrity once again.
Hopefully, There Is a Setting to Toggle the Health Bar Off
Health Bars in shooters aren’t exactly a new concept. In fact, they were commonplace in almost all Call of Duty games, before being ultimately removed in favor of the invisible health bar that we see in modern day military shooters.
While the addition of a health bar in a single player campaign makes a whole lot of sense, it might be best to leave it disabled by default for multiplayer skirmishes. Giving away your health point count to an enemy is a surefire way to get them to target you, and might make for some rather frustrating matches.
Furthermore, the idea also appears to be quite immersion breaking and stands against the already pre-established template of modern FPS games.
A suitable compromise could be made by having only the player’s health bar visible to them, while hiding the rest. This should keep the element of surprise and make for a more enjoyable experience.
While the change appears to be restricted to just the beta for now, Treyarch and Activision are more than likely to bring it to the full game, for better or worse.
