The Call of Duty series appears to be on a downward spiral, as new data reveals Black Ops 6‘s player count is the lowest the franchise has seen in years. While Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 had 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.

After launching for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC back in October 2024, Black Ops 6 quickly broke records for the Call of Duty franchise, becoming the biggest release in series history. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella stated that Black Ops 6 had achieved a new record for day one players, as well as Xbox Game Pass subscribers. While both Modern Warfare 2 and Modern Warfare 3 are now available on Microsoft’s lucrative subscription service, Black Ops 6 became the first entry in the series to launch on Game Pass on day one, which is speculated to be the main reason behind the shooter’s huge success.

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Call of Duty’s Player Count Continues to Decline

Unfortunately, despite a 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 by The 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, with Black Ops 6 pulling in 20.6 million players in March 2025.

With that being said, Black Ops 6‘s debut on Xbox Game Pass was 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 that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 received massively negative reviews from critics and players, primarily due to the short and lackluster campaign included with the title.

The reason why Black Ops 6‘s player count has declined so much remains a topic for debate, but there are likely a multitude of different reasons. With Black Ops 6 being 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-hard Call of Duty fans, issues with cheaters in both Warzone and Black Ops 6, as well as controversies surrounding microtransactions and cosmetic items, have likely seen many players step away from the series.