Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Suffers 'Terrible' Launch in Europe, With 63% Fewer Copies Sold Than Battlefield 6 — but There's Important Context to Consider

The show of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is starting to travel into focus, with income information suggesting it’s struggling not conscionable against rival shooter Battlefield 6, but besides past year’s Black Ops 6.

The Game Business reported that Black Ops 7’s European motorboat saw opening week income down 63% versus the blockbuster Battlefield 6 during the equivalent motorboat periods for each shooter. Black Ops 7 is besides down by much than 50% versus Black Ops 6, The Game Business said.

There is an important discourse that indispensable beryllium considered erstwhile discussing Black Ops 7 sales. For example, determination are Black Ops 7 income made crossed assorted online stores that marque it hard to instrumentality information from 1 store only, specified arsenic Steam, and usage it to marque a telephone connected a game's occurrence either mode (Call of Duty releases connected Battle.net, for example).

And of people Black Ops 7, similar each Microsoft games, launched time 1 connected Game Pass. Downloads made via subscription services are not tracked here, and Microsoft has yet to denote immoderate important boost to Game Pass arsenic a effect of Black Ops 7’s launch. For each we know, Black Ops 7 deed its targets successful presumption of Game Pass subscriptions. And what adjacent is occurrence for Call of Duty these days successful the discourse of Game Pass?

Meanwhile, overmuch is made of Steam concurrents, wherever Black Ops 7’s motorboat appears to person fallen level compared to Black Ops 6’s. Last year, Black Ops 6’s motorboat propelled the Call of Duty app connected Steam to a highest subordinate number of 315,000 connected Steam. Black Ops 7 boosted the Call of Duty app to conscionable supra 100,000 concurrents. But Steam, too, does not overgarment the afloat representation of a game's playerbase, fixed neither Microsoft nor Sony marque subordinate numbers public.

Of course, Black Ops 7 has had a large challenger this twelvemonth from Battlefield 6, and it does so look similar the tide has turned, astatine slightest astatine launch. Battlefield 6 secured the biggest opening ever successful the Battlefield franchise, selling implicit 7 cardinal copies successful conscionable 3 days. Microsoft — oregon Activision Blizzard — has yet to denote a income fig for Black Ops 7, nor has it announced a subordinate fig oregon adjacent vague engagement stats, which is much surprising. Last week, Activision released a connection thanking players for their “great response” to the game, which was presumably much astir Multiplayer and Zombies than it was the Campaign.

Thank you to our assemblage and developers. This is conscionable the commencement #BlackOps7 🔥 pic.twitter.com/dWDt6Jvpx0

Adding to the brutal contention is the breakout deed that is Arc Raiders, which is doing fantastically well, too. Embark Studios’ extraction shooter has sold implicit 4 cardinal copies worldwide and had a highest of implicit 700,000 concurrent players crossed each platforms since its motorboat successful precocious October 2025. Arc Raiders Steam concurrents are really growing, suggesting income are continuing astatine a dependable pace.

All successful all, Black Ops 7 had a “terrible” launch, The Game Business’ main Chris Dring said successful a station connected societal media. Oh, and that down much than 50% fig connected Black Ops 6 is successful information down much than 60%. Anecdotally, there’s surely a feeling among immoderate Call of Duty players that Battlefield 6 and past Arc Raiders stole Black Ops 7’s thunder. Getting successful up of Black Ops 7 was important for Battlefield 6, and determination are galore Call of Duty fans who jumped vessel and past skipped Black Ops 7 arsenic a result. But it indispensable beryllium remembered that Call of Duty remains a gaming behemoth, regularly tops subordinate fig charts, and it’s travel done income disappointments (Vanguard and Infinite Warfare accidental hi) before. All eyes are connected U.S. income information for November, wherever we'll hopefully get much grounds of Black Ops 7's income show domestically.

Thoughts present crook to 2026’s Call of Duty. It seems improbable that Microsoft and Activision volition springiness the annualized franchise a twelvemonth off, truthful volition we spot different Modern Warfare game? A instrumentality to World War 2? Or thing wholly different? With the menace of GTA 6’s November 2026 merchandise day casting a shadiness implicit Call of Duty and everything other that dares to spell up against it adjacent year, things aren’t going to get immoderate easier for Activision.

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].