For some time, speculation has grown that Call of Duty may be losing its appeal. While there are no concrete figures detailing player numbers for each release over the past several years, an observable trend in engagement is difficult to overlook.
US market analysis firm Circana published data on player engagement with Modern Warfare 4 following its launch, comparing it to those recorded for Black Ops 7.
The figures draw on Circana’s proprietary Player Engagement Tracker, which monitors player activity in the US across Steam and PlayStation, and worldwide on Xbox. According to Circana analyst Mat Piscatella, 19 percent of players on PlayStation played Modern Warfare 4 in the week ending 24 October, compared to 17 percent on Xbox and 4.2 percent on Steam.
Excluding Steam, those figures are down compared to last year’s Black Ops 7, which saw 23 percent engagement on PlayStation, 29 percent on Xbox and a mere 1.5 percent on Steam during its launch week.
Call of Duty still managed to land in the top 10 across all three platforms during the same week ending 24 October, per Circana. In fact, it sat just below Fortnite on PlayStation, which represents a respectable result.
The sharp drop in activity on Xbox could be explained by Modern Warfare 4’s lack of a day-one release on Game Pass. Black Ops 7 was the second (and last) Call of Duty to launch on Game Pass on the same date as its premium release. Game Pass availability typically lifts player numbers, though not always sales.
The decline on PlayStation is a little harder to explain, but it may be a side effect of the hugely successful Black Ops 1 & 2 ports released this summer on PS4 and PS5, which drew back former players who may simply have lost interest in modern Call of Duty, regardless of the perceived quality of Modern Warfare 4.
Judging by the data available, such as SteamDB figures showing Modern Warfare 4’s launch compared to Black Ops 7’s and other recent releases, there is evidence that this year’s game perhaps was not as popular as it could have been.
Indeed, even Activision’s tenor when talking about Call of Duty first weekend sales has changed. The publisher issued a single statement following Modern Warfare 4’s launch, through Xbox CEO Asha Sharma, which does not even mention the game by name.
“One of the most celebrated Call of Duty games in its 24-year history, and now $40bn in franchise revenue,” Sharma wrote on X. “An incredible milestone. Congrats to the Activision team. And to the players, thank you for being with us.”
Last year’s Black Ops 7 post-launch statement sidestepped talk of sales and revenue entirely, instead praising the “great response to the quality and depth of gameplay in Black Ops 7”.
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Call of Duty: Black Ops 7
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