It’s finally almost time for the launch of Black Ops 7 on Xbox, with the game officially releasing this week on November 14th. However, as is becoming the norm each year, fans have already started talking about plans to ‘visit New Zealand’ to begin playing a little early.
Yes, the biggest open secret in the history of Xbox appears to be returning once again for the new Call of Duty title. Rather than waiting for the game to go live in their region (midnight local time on Xbox), players are spotting that New Zealanders can play the game now – roughly 12 hours earlier than some locations.
CharlieIntel has shared exactly how folks can do this for Black Ops 7:
How to play Black Ops 7 with New Zealand change NOW:
Xbox: Change Xbox to NZ, change COD account to NZ, ensure BO7 packs updated
PC: Xbox PC App, change PC region to NZ and COD region to NZ
PS5: Change COD account to NZhttps://t.co/BwMOduyCKw
— CharlieIntel (@charlieINTEL) November 13, 2025
Over on Reddit, we’re also seeing some success stories as players get into those BO7 NZ servers:
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Switching regions on Xbox is as simple as going into the Settings menu and finding New Zealand in the location menu, but we must stress that this is something to do at your own risk (in COD’s case you also need to change your Activision account location). Xbox fans have been using the trick for a long time and Microsoft has never seemed bothered, but there’s always the possibility of that changing. If you want to be safe and avoid any potential issues with your account, it’s best to just wait it out. You’ve been warned!
For all of the official details on when you can play Black Ops 7 — including via Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, check out our full release times guide down below.
Will you be making use of the New Zealand trick for Black Ops 7? Let us know down below.
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Ben is a News Writer at Pure Xbox, and is a fan of action, racing and straight-up shootin’ in any Xbox game he can get his hands on. When he’s not clutching an Xbox controller like his life depends on it, Ben spends his time listening to music that’s far too old for him, watching football on the telly and probably eating somewhere.