Summary
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 saw a 37% drop in Steam player count within the last 30 days.
- Fans cite map design, lack of events, possible AI use, and cheating as reasons for the decline.
- Black Ops 6 remains strong on consoles but faces challenges on PC with declining player numbers.
Call of Duty seems to have witnessed a massive drop in its popularity after the release of Black Ops 6, with the average player count on Steam dropping a whopping 37% in the last 30 days. While this might seem like a normal dropoff after the game's launch, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 seems to be witnessing a far steeper decline as compared to its predecessors.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 was a notable title for the franchise, as it introduced a number of new mechanics that drastically changed the meta. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6's campaign was widely acclaimed by the community after past installments failed to deliver on the single-player forefront. With the return of some fan-favorite maps and some exciting new features, many believed that the game had the perfect formula to be successful. However, the initial hype around the title seems to have dwindled significantly.
Call of Duty Fans Are Planning a Return to Black Ops 2
After 12 years since the initial release of Black Ops 2, Call of Duty fans are planning to return to the game for a special occasion.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 has seemingly lost a lot of players in the past few days. According to Steam Charts, the game has lost over 60,000 users in the past 30 days, which is 37% of its average player count after launch. The peak player count, which crossed the 300k mark in November, has also witnessed a similar trend, dropping below 200k. That being said, Black Ops 6 is still quite dominant on consoles, as it continues to be the second most played game on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.
Fans Highlight Reasons For Call of Duty: Black Ops 6's Decline in Player Count
Many fans have attributed the decline to several factors. Firstly, fans were quite unhappy about the possible use of AI-generated content in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. Additionally, some also think that the game has a lesser number of events as compared to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, which makes the game less engaging for players. The next season is also a while away, so there are no major updates on the radar as well.
However, perhaps the biggest reason for the decline might be the game's maps. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6's map design has received a lot of flak from the community, despite the return of some fan-favorite classics. In fact, some people believe that most players are playing the game just because of Nuketown. Not to mention, some also noted that the cheating situation has also deteriorated quite a bit after the release of the game, which also explains the pronounced decline on PC.
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 83 /100 Critics Rec: 91%
- Released
- October 25, 2024
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Suggestive Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
- Developer(s)
- Treyarch, Raven Software
- Publisher(s)
- Activision
- Engine
- IW 9.0
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op
- Cross-Platform Play
- Yes - PlayStation, Xbox, PC
WHERE TO PLAY
Forced to go rogue. Hunted from within. This is Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.
Developed by Treyarch and Raven, Black Ops 6 is a spy action thriller set in the early 90s, a period of transition and upheaval in global politics, characterized by the end of the Cold War and the rise of the United States as a single superpower. With a mind-bending narrative, and unbound by the rules of engagement, this is signature Black Ops.
The Black Ops 6 Campaign provides dynamic moment-to-moment gameplay that includes a variety of play spaces with blockbuster set pieces and action-packed moments, high-stakes heists, and cloak-and-dagger spy activity.
In a best-in-class Multiplayer experience, players will test their skills across 16 new maps at launch, including 12 core 6v6 maps and 4 Strike maps that can be played 2v2 or 6v6.
Black Ops 6 also marks the epic return of Round-Based Zombies, the fan-favorite mode where players will take down hordes of the undead in two brand-new maps at launch. Post-launch, players can look forward to even more exciting maps and groundbreaking experiences dropping into both Multiplayer and Zombies.
- Cross Save
- Yes - PlayStation, Xbox, PC
- Prequel(s)
- Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Call of Duty: Black Ops III, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Call of Duty: World at War
- Franchise
- Call of Duty
- Number of Players
- 1-4
- Split Screen Orientation
- Vertical or Horizontal
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Unknown
- PC Release Date
- October 25, 2024
- Xbox Series X|S Release Date
- October 25, 2024
- PS5 Release Date
- October 25, 2024
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PC
- Genre(s)
- FPS
- How Long To Beat
- 8 Hours
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
- PS Plus Availability
- N/A
- File Size Xbox Series
- 216 GB (October 2024)
- Local Co-Op Support
- 1-2 Players
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
