Microsoft believes Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is a quality game, but its financial results have disappointed even adjusted expectations, which were lowered a year ago after the failure of Black Ops 6. This is according to insider TheGhostOfHope, who specializes in Call of Duty.
Overall, the state of the franchise is causing serious concern among corporate executives, which is increasing pressure on the Call of Duty team to radically change the business model. Microsoft is aiming for a more stable revenue stream and reduced development and support costs for the series.
Sources report that Microsoft management directly addressed Activision's top managers with a strong message: changes are inevitable, and "nothing is off the table." On the agenda are possible studio mergers (including Treyarch, Infinity Ward, and others) and a complete overhaul of monetization models, from the battle pass to microtransactions.