Obviously, all is not well in the world of Call of Duty. Black Opera 7 It appears to have struggled for players and sales, relatively speaking, amid stiff competition from games like EA's Battlefield 6 and Embark Studios' Arc Raiders, which will release just a year after Black Ops 6. Microsoft has yet to announce player numbers or sales for Black Ops 7, nor has it provided details about any increase in Game Pass subscribers as a result of its launch. It is obvious that he did not live up to his expectations.
Sales data last month showed that Black Ops 7 was struggling against more than just its rival shooter. Battlefield 6but also last year's Black Opera 6. Gaming business reported that Black Ops 7's first week sales in Europe were down 63% compared to Battlefield 6 during equivalent launch periods for each shooter, and Black Ops 7 sales were also down over 50% compared to Black Ops 6. Overall, Black Ops 7 had a “terrible” launch. This was announced by the head of the gaming business, Chris Dring, in his post on social networks..
Then, in a shocking development, Activision has vowed to never release Black Ops or Modern Warfare games back to back again.. In a statement attributed to the “Call of Duty team” (Treyarch, Sledgehammer, Infinity Ward, Raven Software, etc.), Activision acknowledged that “for some of you, the franchise has not fully lived up to your expectations. To be very clear, we know what you expect and rest assured that we will meet and exceed those expectations as we move forward.”
Activision continued: “We will no longer release back-to-back Modern Warfare or Black Ops games. There are many reasons, but the main one is to provide a completely unique experience every year. We will introduce meaningful rather than incremental innovation. While we are not sharing these plans today, we look forward to doing so when the time is right.”
Fast forward to this week, and Xbox Game Studios boss Matt Booty painted a slightly rosier picture. When asked about Black Ops 7 performance DiversityBooty responded by confirming that it is one of the most popular games on Xbox at the moment and that he is proud of what the development team was able to achieve. He then said that Call of Duty is “its own unique category” because of Activision's ability to release content on a seasonal model, so the launch isn't the end of the Black Ops 7 story.
Here is the quote in full:
“It's one of the most popular games on Xbox right now. And I'm really proud of what the team has done in terms of feature innovation, moving the franchise forward. Releasing a major franchise like clockwork every year is a really difficult task, and I'm really proud of what the team has done to push the franchise forward in this way.”
“And the exciting thing about Call of Duty is that I think as an IP it's really well positioned to continue to provide content for players in the future; the season system. And it's not just about launch, but it's its own unique category and capabilities in terms of how the team continues to deliver content throughout the year. So we're very pleased with what we've accomplished in that regard.”
In a backdrop of doom and gloom, Microsoft said that Call of Duty (as a whole) ended 2025 as the number one franchise on Game Pass based on total players and hours played for the entire year, which perhaps isn't such a surprise considering this is Call of Duty we're talking about. But it shows that even though Call of Duty has had a down year compared to previous games in the series, it is still hugely popular compared to other games.
List of Xbox game series tier levels
List of Xbox game series tier levels
Call of Duty is at a crossroads right now. The 2026 Call of Duty game is almost certainly a sequel to Infinity Ward's Modern Warfare, but what will 2027 bring? Black Ops 8? Activision's failure to create a third Call of Duty sub-brand means it has become overly reliant on Modern Warfare and Black Ops to keep the franchise at the player base executives demand. Could Microsoft take the plunge and give Call of Duty a year off to recover from its recent problems? Considering Microsoft paid $69 billion for Activision Blizzard, this seems unlikely.
As for Black Ops 7 here and now, Activision has promised “unprecedented seasonal support,” saying it “will not rest until Black Ops 7 has earned its place as one of the best Black Ops games we've ever made.”
Wesley is IGN's News Director. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can contact Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
