Summary
TheCall of Dutyseries appears to be on a downward spiral, as new data revealsBlack Ops 6’s player count is the lowest the franchise has seen in years. WhileCall of Duty: Black Ops 6had a massively successful launch, becoming the first entry in the series to launch day one on Xbox Game Pass, it doesn’t appear to have been enough to keep players coming back for more.
Call of Duty’s Player Count Continues to Decline
Unfortunately, despitea record-breaking launch and largely positive reviews from both players and critics,Call of Duty: Black Ops 6’s player count has quickly declined. Although console figures are unknown, Steam charts show a massive decline in players compared to previous years, and now more official data appears to show a worrying trend for the series. As reported byThe Game Business, with data from Ampere,Call of Duty’s player count has continued to fall in recent years. In March 2023, the series pulled in 22.4 million players, but March 2024 saw a considerable decrease, with just 20.8 million players. While this year’s decline hasn’t been quite as drastic, it continues to fall, withBlack Ops 6pulling in 20.6 million players in March 2025.
With that being said,Black Ops 6’s debut on Xbox Game Passwas clearly a success at launch, as data shows 33.7 million people played the shooter last year. In comparison,Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, which launched in 2023, had 13 million fewer players. There are likely two reasons for this, with the main factor being that it was not a day-one Xbox Game Pass title. The second is thatCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 3received massively negative reviews from critics and players, primarily due to the short and lackluster campaign included with the title.
The reason whyBlack Ops 6’s player count has declined so much remains a topic for debate, but there are likely a multitude of different reasons. WithBlack Ops 6being on Xbox Game Pass, there’s a strong chance that gamers have simply moved on to other great titles on the service after giving the shooter a try. As for die-hardCall of Dutyfans, issues withcheaters in bothWarzoneandBlack Ops 6, as well as controversies surrounding microtransactions and cosmetic items, have likely seen many players step away from the series.
