Call of Duty CRASHES! Black Ops 7 Sales Plunge - What Went Wrong?!

Uh oh, looks like trouble is brewing for the latest Call of Duty. Early sales figures are suggesting that *Black Ops 7* might be facing some serious headwinds, especially in Europe. The launch seems to be struggling against both its predecessor and, surprisingly, Battlefield 6.

Call of Duty CRASHES! Black Ops 7 Sales Plunge - W...

According to a report from The Game Business, *Black Ops 7's* European launch week sales have plummeted a whopping 63% compared to Battlefield 6's launch. Ouch. To add insult to injury, the report also points out that sales are down over 50% compared to last year's *Black Ops 6*. That's a pretty significant drop, no matter how you slice it. But, as always, context is king.

It’s important to remember that relying solely on data from individual online storefronts like Steam can be misleading. Call of Duty is also readily available on Battle.net, Activision's own platform, and console sales aren't reflected in Steam numbers. Similarly, Steam's concurrent player counts, while useful, don't paint the whole picture. *Black Ops 6* saw the Call of Duty app peak at 315,000 concurrent players on Steam at launch. *Black Ops 7*, on the other hand, only pushed the app to just over 100,000. Neither Microsoft nor Sony are sharing official player numbers, which makes getting the real story even tougher. We're left trying to piece things together.

Despite the initial setbacks, the Call of Duty team is trying to stay positive, or at least project that image. A recent tweet from the official Call of Duty account read: "Thank you to our community and developers. This is just the start #BlackOps7 🔥". Okay, guys, we'll see. It's hard to ignore the numbers.

Another factor playing into all of this is the unexpected success of Arc Raiders. Embark Studios' extraction shooter has apparently sold over 4 million copies worldwide and boasts a peak of over 700,000 concurrent players since its launch in late October. What's even more interesting is that Arc Raiders' Steam concurrents are still growing, suggesting this title has legs and is stealing attention.

Chris Dring, head of The Game Business, didn't mince words, calling the *Black Ops 7* launch "terrible" in a social media post. He even clarified that the decline compared to *Black Ops 6* is actually "down more than 60%." Ouch, again!

I've heard some anecdotal evidence suggesting that Battlefield 6's earlier release might have stolen some thunder, with some Call of Duty fans jumping ship and simply skipping this year's CoD. I can see that. Gaming time is limited, and people are being more selective.

Of course, Call of Duty is still a juggernaut. It's consistently at the top of player charts and has definitely weathered sales disappointments before. Remember Vanguard or Infinite Warfare? It's not always smooth sailing. The next big thing will be seeing the November sales figures from the U.S. That's expected to give a much clearer picture of how *Black Ops 7* is performing domestically. Stay tuned.