Call of Duty Pivots Strategy Following Black Ops 7 Backlash & Low Ratings

Activision has revealed a massive change for the Call of Duty franchise. The company will no longer release Modern Warfare or Black Ops titles back-to-back. Instead, Activision will strive to give players a “completely new experience” every year.

This decision comes after the publisher realised the current strategy fails to meet expectations. Consequently, the company is planning significant changes to how it schedules major releases moving forward.

Black Ops 7 Struggles to Find Footing

While Activision has not explicitly released sales figures, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 has clearly struggled to find its audience. The title topped PSN charts in November. However, it failed to find similar support on Steam. Post-launch, the concurrent player count on the platform peaked at only around 100,000 players.

Furthermore, analysts like Chris Dring of “The Game Business” claim that Xbox “dropped the ball” at a crucial moment. Fans have also expressed burnout. Many voiced complaints specifically about the use of AI-generated assets within the title. Currently, Black Ops 7 holds the lowest user score in Call of Duty history on Metacritic.

A Return to Unique Yearly Experiences

In a recent blog post, Activision addressed the community directly. They stated that developers are listening to player feedback. The biggest takeaway is the commitment to end back-to-back releases within the same subseries.

Activision noted that recent back-to-back launches, such as the Modern Warfare titles in 2022 and 2023, contributed to player fatigue. In contrast, the company saw better engagement when they alternated experiences. For instance, the release schedule of World War 2 (2017), Black Ops 4 (2018), and Modern Warfare (2019) offered distinct gameplay each year. This variety allowed players to skip a year if they disliked a specific theme without missing two years of content. Returning to this model should benefit both the publisher and the fanbase.

Upcoming Free Call of Duty Access & Support

Despite these strategic shifts, Activision promised “an unprecedented level of support” for Black Ops 7. The developers are not giving up on the live-service title.

For players who haven’t tried the game yet, a new opportunity is arriving soon. Activision revealed that gamers can experience the Multiplayer and Zombie modes for free next week (the week of December 19). Additionally, a Double XP weekend will launch alongside this free trial. This event offers a perfect chance for new players to stack up quick XP.