Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Stumbles Out of the Gate – Has the Franchise Lost Its Shine?
The highly anticipated Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 has finally landed, but its arrival has been met with a surprising lack of fanfare. Despite a lengthy promotional campaign, the game has failed to capture the same level of excitement as its predecessors, trailing behind competitors like Battlefield 6 and Arc Raiders in terms of player engagement. But here’s where it gets controversial: Black Ops 7 didn’t just underperform—it recorded fewer day-one players than Battlefield 6’s current active user base, a month after its release. Is this the beginning of the end for Call of Duty’s dominance?
Traditionally, Call of Duty games have been unstoppable juggernauts, even when annual releases felt rushed or repetitive. Titles like Black Ops 6 and Modern Warfare III saw declining player counts over time but still managed to rake in profits. Analysts expected Black Ops 7 to follow this pattern, but the numbers tell a different story. According to Steam Charts, the game peaked at just under 88,000 players on its first day—a far cry from Black Ops 6’s 315,000 users at launch. And this is the part most people miss: Black Ops 6 was also available on Game Pass from day one, yet it retained more Steam players than Black Ops 7 has managed to attract.
To add insult to injury, it appears that many potential Black Ops 7 players have instead flocked to Battlefield 6. EA’s shooter not only broke its own peak player record with over 747,000 users on day one but also surpassed Call of Duty’s all-time high. Currently, Battlefield 6 maintains around 300,000 concurrent players on Steam—nearly four times the size of Black Ops 7’s audience. Is Call of Duty losing its grip on the shooter market, or is this just a temporary setback?
It’s worth noting that Black Ops 7’s total player count on PC is likely higher when factoring in Game Pass and Battle.net users. However, this doesn’t change the fact that the game has had the weakest Steam launch in Call of Duty history. Initial reviews have been mixed, with the co-op campaign facing heavy criticism for being a nightmare for solo players. Will sales figures paint a kinder picture, or is Black Ops 7 destined to be a cautionary tale for the franchise?
What do you think? Is Black Ops 7’s underperformance a sign of fatigue in the Call of Duty formula, or is it simply a victim of tough competition? Let us know in the comments below—we’re eager to hear your take on this surprising turn of events!