Crisis of the King of Shooters: New Call of Duty Shows Worst Sales in the US Since 2008
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 became the best-selling game of December 2025 in the US, but at the end of the year it only took fifth place and significantly lagged behind the performance of Black Ops 6.
Over the past 20 years, the Call of Duty series has only a few times not taken first place among the best-selling games in the US. Repeating the success of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 in 2024 was difficult, but, according to internal charts, Black Ops 7 not only did not reach the previous level, but also dropped to fifth place at the end of 2025.
The analytical company Circana published data on game sales in the US for December 2025 and for the entire year. In December, Black Ops 7 became the best-selling game on physical and digital platforms, extending Call of Duty's seven-year series in first place this month. The last time the series conceded leadership in December was in 2018, when Super Smash Bros. Ultimate took first place.
The best-selling game of 2025 in the US was Battlefield 6. Success in December allowed Black Ops 7 to rise from seventh place as of November to fifth at the end of the year. Nevertheless, this is the worst final result for Call of Duty in the US since 2008, when Call of Duty: World at War finished the year in seventh position.
One of the reasons for the drop in sales is the release of the game on Game Pass Ultimate, which could reduce retail sales. At the same time, Black Ops 6 was also included in the subscription a year earlier, so the factor was not the only one. Sony also reported that Black Ops 7 took only seventh place among the most downloaded games on PS5 in the US, Canada and Europe.
Activision and Microsoft did not disclose the exact sales of Black Ops 7, but the game received significant discounts shortly after release.
