Why has Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 seemingly sold below expectations? We asked industry experts to find out.
There’s been a lot of chatter surrounding Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 since its launch. The latest release in a juggernaut franchise, some are seeing cracks in the armour due to a mixed reception to various parts of the game, as well as the little data we have pointing to surprising sales figures.
It is no secret that this year is a tough one all round for the video games industry, but it’s also true that the last month or so has been packed full of big releases that could theoretically challenge Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. Battlefield 6, as mentioned previously, as well as Arc Raiders which remains a powerhouse. Are these the main two sources of what ails CoD, or is it something else? Or, perhaps, is Call of Duty totally fine.
To help me find out what’s going on with Microsoft’s heaviest hitter, I sat down with two experts on the numbers behind the headlines in the video game industry. The first, Chris Dring from The Game Business. He first reported the difference in sales between Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 and Battlefield 6 last week. The second, Rhys Elliott, head of market analysis at Alinea Analytics, a company that has continuously published sales estimates for a variety of titles in recent months, delving into industry performance on some of the largest releases within that window.
So first, why has Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 seemingly sold below expectations?
Dring: “Well, below expectations: I don’t know what they were expecting. That’s the first thing I’ll say. It seems lower for us because we’re used to certain numbers. Call of Duty has had a hard year. It had a spectacular launch with Black Ops 6 12 months ago – that did very big numbers out of the gate, did very well on Game Pass and sold very well, too.
“But actually I track daily active users, and all year Call of Duty’s numbers have been quite low – lower than usual. There have been some exceptions though, January was great coming off Black Ops 6, there was a boost in April / May, but generally speaking fewer people are playing Call of Duty this year than they have been before. That’s despite Black Ops 6 as the previous gaming being brilliant in people’s eyes.
“In fact, in September, it was the lowest point I’ve seen Call of Duty since the launch of their Call of Duty HQ. So it’s just been slightly lower. It’s been a tougher year for Call of Duty, but it’s not the only game to have a tougher year. Fortnite, too, has dipped a bit.”
Elliot: “Call of Duty is underperforming this year due to a combination of community burnout, questionable creative and business decisions by Activision/Microsoft, and strong competition. Xbox dropped the ball on the wrong year, as this year saw some of the most exciting shooter releases in years.
“One reason for the decline is the intense competition from rival shooters, mostly Battlefield 6 and Arc Raiders. The new Battlefield title had a massive launch, securing the biggest opening in its franchise’s history. Arc has sold almost 8 million copies so far, and the latest Fortnite Simpsons crossover was a hit. Attention is scarce.
“Players have expressed growing dissatisfaction with CoD’s lack of innovation, feeling that the franchise is ailing.
