The success of Battlefield 6 has seemingly had some adverse effects on the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. According to a report from Alinea Analytics (via GamesIndustry.biz), Activision’s upcoming shooter has only sold 200,000 copies as part of pre-orders through Steam so far. Another report by Eurogamer indicates that Black Ops 7 is also falling behind in terms of Steam wishlists, coming in at 173rd place. This puts it behind games like the Gothic remake, and even Battlefield 6.
It is worth noting, however, that given the business model typically used by the Call of Duty franchise, pre-order figures for Steam aren’t really indicative of what kind of success the games will see. On PC alone, there are quite a few places where potential buyers can pick up a copy of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, including the Microsoft Store and Battle.net. It is quite possible that, for fans of the Call of Duty franchise, Steam rates rather low as the preferred platform to pick up a copy of the latest game.
Video Game Insights analyst Vic Bassey also believes that, for annual franchises like Call of Duty, Steam wishlist data isn’t quite helpful, since buy-in for potential sequels tends to be much higher. “Like FIFA, it’s difficult to measure the success of upcoming CoD releases based solely on wishlist data,” said Bassey. “A lot of factors come into play. However, what we do know is that players already embedded within a gaming ecosystem tend to buy the serialized release rather than adding it to a wishlist.”
Alinea’s Rhys Elliot believes that Call of Duty also has also traditionally had a much larger console player base than Battlefield, which tends to be a favourite among PC-centric gamers. To that end, Elliot describes Call of Duty as a “multi-platform powerhouse with a sales base that extends far beyond Steam and the PC market.”
“Call of Duty has an entrenched global audience across consoles and PC – including more casual gamers – that purchases the game each year out of habit and brand loyalty,” continued Elliott. “Its casual player base dwarfs Battlefield‘s, and its integration with Warzone ensures that millions of players are constantly exposed to marketing, in-game promotions, and social tie-ins that convert attention into purchases.”
“Even if Black Ops 7 feels less exciting to us and the enthusiast media, the sheer reach of CoD’s ecosystem – through cross-promotion, platform partnerships, and content cycles – guarantees massive sales volume once the game launches.”
As for how sales might shake up for Battlefield 6 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 in the long term, Elliot believes that while the former is enjoying quite a bit of success for now, the latter has quite a bit of franchise momentum that will likely end up pushing it well ahead. However, there are still hopes, notes Elliot, for the long-term health of the Battlefield franchise.
“If EA delivers on its roadmap cadence, keeps momentum through a crowded shooter season, and successfully rolls out battle royale that feels like Battlefield (not Apex Legends with tanks),” he said, “[we could see] EA nurture Battlefield into some real competition for Call of Duty in the coming years.”
Battlefield 6 is available on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Check out our review for more details. In the meantime, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is coming to PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S on November 14.
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