Even though Black Ops 6 launched as the most successful
Call of Duty
The game has experienced a swift decline in player numbers, hitting the lowest point for the franchise in several years.
Based on a report from
The Game Business
According to Ampere’s data, Black Ops 6 saw a decrease in total players compared to both March 2023 and March 2024.
When
Black Ops 6
launched on
Game Pass
, Activision reported that this was their most successful launch yet, drawing in 33.7 million players. This surpasses their former record set by Modern Warfare 2 from 2022, which saw 31.4 million players during its debut month.
Nevertheless, the number of players for Black Ops 6 has been decreasing, with a sharper decline compared to previous years. Even though it boasted the highest player base at release, by March 2025, it recorded the fewest participants up until then.
Black Ops 6 player count lowest in recent years
In March 2025, Call of Duty boasted 20.6 million active players, marking a decline from both March 2024 with 20.8 million players and March 2023 with 22.4 million players. Thus, even though it started with more participants upon release, it ended up with less five months afterward.
We’ve consistently noticed the number of players gradually decreasing over time.
Steam
However, this represents only a small fraction of the Call of Duty player base; thus, although it indicated a pattern, it did not reflect the overall state of the franchise.
However, Ampere’s numbers show the total player count, and it lines up with what we’ve been seeing on Steam. March 2025 had the lowest number of average players we’ve seen since it came to Steam in 2022, averaging only 44,613 players a day.
Xbox has also experienced a notable decline, slipping from being the top platform for playing Call of Duty to the second spot, as PlayStation reclaimed the leading position.
Why the drop?
Why has the number of players declined so quickly? It’s probably due to many small issues instead of one major problem.
Following the many Xbox gamers who tried it using their Xbox Game Pass membership—whether they played through the campaign or briefly tested the multiplayer before moving on—it seems clear how interest has been piqued.
Cheating has been a significant problem.
across all multiplayer modes.
Also, these numbers include Warzone, where the player base was disappointed not to get a new main map with Black Ops 6’s launch. Whatever’s happened, it’s clear Call of Duty hasn’t been as successful in keeping its players engaged as it normally is.
Warzone’s first-ever battle royale map, Verdansk, arrived in the much-celebrated Season 3 update, which saw an uplift in Steam players. However,
server disconnects
have been causing major issues in Season 3, so much so that
Ranked Play has been temporarily disabled
, so time will tell how much this impacts the player count going forward.