Call of Duty has seen a record decline in interest, and sales haven't helped

The franchise is experiencing its most significant decline in years, and Black Ops 7's current performance looks alarming even by the standards of recent seasons. Despite a massive advertising campaign, free weekends, and generous discounts of up to 50%, the audience decline has continued.

The peak online presence of the Call of Duty Steam launcher, which combines Warzone, BO6, and BO7, has dropped to 52,632, dropping the franchise to 44th place in the platform's overall rankings. For a brand that dominated the charts for years, such numbers would have seemed unthinkable not long ago.

The decline is especially painful compared to its competitors. Currently, CoD is lagging behind VRChat, Dead by Daylight, the aging Team Fortress 2, and more recent titles like Arc Raiders and Marvel Rivals. Even the Christmas and New Year's season didn't help maintain interest: in December, online presence fell to 43,569 users. This is lower than Battlefield 6, which outsold CoD by tens of thousands of players during the same period.

The crisis is attributed to audience fatigue with the current development path. The Zombies mode received positive reviews, but the co-op campaign and the use of AI for cosmetic items sparked a wave of discontent. High-profile crossovers, including Fallout, only further irritated fans of the series. Hopes are now pinned on Infinity Ward and a 2026 release, but the situation is complicated by competition from GTA 6 and the overall weakening of Xbox following the acquisition of Activision Blizzard.