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Video game analysts claim Xbox “dropped the ball” this year, as the Call of Duty franchise appears to be underperforming. Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 launched on November 14, 2025, across PlayStation, Xbox, and PC. However, player counts and general reception are significantly lower than the series usually delivers.
According to experts, the shooter genre faced intense competition in 2025. Consequently, Black Ops 7 is struggling to maintain the dominance it held for over two decades.
A Tough Year for Activision
Activision has not released official sales figures yet. However, public metrics paint a worrying picture. On Steam, Black Ops 7 peaked at only 100,000 concurrent players shortly after launch. Analysts describe these numbers as lacklustre.
Despite this, the game found success on consoles. A recent PlayStation Blog post revealed that Black Ops 7 topped the PSN charts in November 2025. It managed to beat competitors like ARC Raiders and Battlefield 6 in digital downloads. Nevertheless, it remains unclear if it won by a wide margin.
Chris Dring of “The Game Business” noted that the franchise has had a hard year. He cited low daily active users, pointing out that the Call of Duty HQ app hit a low point in September.
Terrible launch for Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 in Europe. The game sold 63% fewer copies at launch compared with Battlefield 6. It’s also more than 60% down over last year’s Black Ops 6. (Digital and physical sales) https://t.co/7EDOQsN1ck
— Christopher Dring (@Chris_Dring) November 21, 2025
Battlefield 6 & Rivals Dominate 2025
Rhys Elliot of “Alinea Analytics” told Eurogamer that 2025 was the worst possible year for Xbox to falter. This is primarily because rival shooters delivered massive hits.
- Battlefield 6: After a disastrous 2021, EA and DICE returned with a bang. Battlefield 6 became the best-selling game of the year. It peaked at over 747,000 concurrent players on Steam, securing the biggest opening in franchise history.
- ARC Raiders: This extraction shooter sold almost 8 million copies. It also picked up a nomination for Best Multiplayer Game at the 2025 Game Awards.
- Fortnite: The battle royale giant continued its momentum with a hit Simpsons crossover.
Elliot explained that community burnout and strong competition are driving the decline. Players are simply finding innovation elsewhere.
Black Ops 7 Game Pass & Creative Changes
Beyond competition, business decisions played a major role. Microsoft released Black Ops 7 on Xbox Game Pass on day one. Elliot states this decision cannibalised traditional full-price game sales. Reports suggest the previous title, Black Ops 6, lost $300 million in potential sales due to Game Pass inclusion.
Additionally, Activision made creative changes to the game. They cancelled the divisive “Carry Forward” feature to keep Black Ops 7 grounded and authentic. Therefore, players can no longer use wild cosmetics, such as “American Dad” or “Beavis & Butt-Head” skins, in the main game.
The game recently received its Season 1 update yesterday, December 4. This update fully integrates Black Ops 7 with Warzone. However, with rival shooters dominating the charts, Xbox faces an uphill battle.
