Call of Duty experiencing largest decline in years - even discounts didn't help
The Call of Duty series is experiencing its most serious crisis in history. Despite громкие promises, Black Ops 7 is showing numbers that seemed impossible for the brand just a few years ago.
Aggressive marketing, free weekends, and discounts of up to 50% have not stopped the outflow of players. The peak online of the Call of Duty launcher (Warzone, Black Ops 6 and 7) on Steam has fallen to 52,632 users, which dropped the series to 44th place in the overall platform ranking.
The decline is especially noticeable in comparison with other games. Currently, CoD is inferior to VRChat, Dead by Daylight, the old Team Fortress 2, and new projects like Arc Raiders and Marvel Rivals.
Even the holiday season didn't help: in December, the online presence decreased to 43,569 users. This indicates a record low interest in the series — lower than Battlefield 6, which during the holidays surpassed CoD by more than 50,000 players on Steam.
There are several reasons. Players are tired of the chosen course of development of the series. Treyarch received praise for the Zombies mode, but the cooperative campaign and the use of AI to create cosmetics caused negativity. The return of bright crossovers, including Fallout, only усилил the irritation of fans waiting for a return to the roots.
Now hopes are pinned on Infinity Ward, which in 2026 will try to win back the audience. The task is complicated by competition with GTA 6. For Xbox, the situation is especially critical: the company is faced not only with a drop in console sales, but also with a crisis in Call of Duty — a key asset in the purchase of Activision Blizzard.
