Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Faces Historic Sales Decline and Player Backlash
London, UK - November 21, 2023 – activision’s latest installment in its flagship Call of Duty franchise, Black Ops 7, is experiencing a dramatic downturn in sales and facing unprecedented negative reception from players, raising concerns about the future trajectory of the historically dominant series. Initial sales figures reveal a important drop in European demand, coupled with scathing user reviews and a surge in competitor adoption.
The release of Black Ops 7 on November 13th has been met with an uncharacteristic silence from Activision, a stark contrast to previous launches where the publisher actively touted record-breaking numbers. This reticence comes as data from GSD reveals european sales plummeted 63 percent compared to the debut of Battlefield 6 and more than 50 percent lower than Black Ops 6 sales from the prior year. The situation is notably alarming given the series’ long-held position as a market leader and the significant financial stakes involved for Activision.
Player sentiment reflects the sales slump. black Ops 7 currently holds a user score of 1.7 on Metacritic, marking it as the lowest-rated game in the entire Call of Duty history.Steam statistics corroborate the negative response, peaking at just over 91,000 concurrent players in the last 24 hours – a figure significantly lower than the nearly 300,000 concurrent players Black Ops 6 attracted during its launch window a year ago.
The decline in Call of Duty player base appears to be benefiting Electronic Arts’ Battlefield 6. Ampere Analysis reports that over 25 percent of Call of Duty players in September transitioned to Battlefield 6 in October, contributing to the EA title’s remarkable sales of 7 million copies in just three days – the best-ever US sales performance for any game in the last three years.
Looking ahead, the Call of Duty franchise faces further headwinds. The anticipated release of Grand Theft Auto 6 on November 19,2026,poses a substantial threat to future installments.Criticism surrounding the game’s use of AI-generated content and a perceived weakness in the campaign narrative are also contributing to the current challenges. Industry analysts anticipate activision will implement aggressive promotional strategies in the coming weeks to attempt to bolster sales during the holiday season.
