It seems significant that Microsoft and Activision do not disclose sales figures Call of Duty: Black Ops 7a sequel that was not as well received by players as Black Opera 6 was a year earlier. However, Microsoft has announced that the Call of Duty franchise is leading Xbox Game Pass in 2025 in two key categories.
On social media, the official Xbox Game Pass account noted that Call of Duty ranked first in total players and hours in 2025. More specific figures were not included in the announcement.
Besides #1 in November, @Call of Duty ended 2025 as the #1 franchise on Xbox Game Pass based on total players and hours played all year 🫡
Here's to @Call of Duty and its global community. Season 1 #BlackOps7 + Call of Duty: Warzone is just warming up.— Xbox Game Pass (@XboxGamePass) December 10, 2025
The timing is interesting as earlier this week Activision released its own statement admitting that Black Ops 7 did not reach the mark that the publisher set for itself. In addition, Activision has committed to refrain from any future annual CoD releases that are direct sequels, as was the case with Black Ops 6 and 7.
“[We know] that for some of you, the franchise has not fully lived up to your expectations,” the statement read. “To be very clear, we know what you expect, and rest assured that we will meet and exceed those expectations as we move forward… We will no longer be releasing back-to-back releases of Modern Warfare or Black Ops games. There are many reasons, but the main one is to ensure that we provide a completely unique experience every year. We will pursue meaningful, not incremental, innovation. While we are not sharing those plans today, we look forward to doing so when the time comes.”
Despite the mixed feelings that come with these announcements coming so close, it's likely that Call of Duty took the top spot on Game Pass despite lagging behind in other metrics. At least one video game analyst chastised Microsoft for “dropping the ball” and blamed Black Ops 7's disappointing performance on burnout, poor creative decisions, and the use of ineffective AI.
The real question now is Will EA's Battlefield 6 beat it? Black Ops 7 is on sale. As of early November, Battlefield 6 sold 10 million copies on all platforms. It remains to be seen whether this will be enough to unseat Call of Duty as the year's best-selling franchise. Call of Duty has not been inferior to any shooter in this category since 2006.
