Call of Duty Faces 86% Player Decline Ahead of Black Ops 7 Reveal

Call of Duty, the iconic first-person shooter franchise, is facing a significant decline in player engagement ahead of the highly anticipated reveal of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. The game, scheduled to be unveiled on August 19 at the Gamescom’s Opening Night Live event, is expected to address the current slump in player numbers.

Recent data from SteamCharts indicates a stark drop in user activity. On July 17, only 27,900 users were actively playing Call of Duty on Steam, with a 24-hour peak of 66,798 players. This figure represents an 86% decrease from the franchise's all-time peak of 488,897 players. The decline suggests that the franchise, once a dominant force in the gaming world, is struggling to retain its audience.

The gaming community has also raised questions about the accuracy of previous claims regarding player engagement. In 2020, several gaming publications reported that players spent over 25 billion hours in the franchise, equivalent to 2.85 million years of gameplay. However, the gaming community has since questioned the reliability of these figures, citing issues with tracking offline play and the lack of proper evidence to support the claims.

The latest installment, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, was added to Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass to boost the subscription platform. However, data from analytics firm Ampere indicates that the game generated only a 2% increase in Game Pass subscriptions post-launch. In November 2024, player numbers rose to 33.7 million from 2023’s 20.7 million, partly due to dissatisfaction with 2023’s Modern Warfare 3, which was criticized for reusing content and offering a short, forgettable campaign experience.

By March 2025, the total player count had declined to 20.6 million, a significant drop from the previous year. Between July 10 and July 17, 2025, player numbers fluctuated between approximately 25,000 and 66,000 active users at peak hours, indicating a lack of sustained interest among loyal fans.

The community's frustration with Activision’s content and gameplay updates has only intensified since Microsoft acquired the game publisher in 2022. Complaints include poor anti-cheat implementation, unbalanced gameplay mechanics, and a lack of meaningful content updates. Even the season 4 Beavis and Butthead event was met with criticism, with many players expressing their dissatisfaction with the game's direction.

Despite the decline in player numbers, Call of Duty: Warzone, the free-to-play battle royale spinoff, continues to attract between 1 to 3 million daily active users, with monthly figures consolidating around 30 to 50 million. This suggests that while the core franchise may be struggling, there is still a dedicated fan base for the battle royale mode.

As the gaming world awaits the reveal of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, the franchise faces a critical juncture. The upcoming release will need to address the community's concerns and offer a compelling experience to regain the trust and engagement of its once-loyal fan base. The success of Black Ops 7 will be crucial in determining the future trajectory of the Call of Duty franchise.