Call of Duty sales down by over 60% in 2025, former Activision CEO says

Microsoft says that Black Ops 6 was the "biggest Call of Duty release ever," but that success apparently has not been replicated for Black Ops 7.

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While Microsoft has yet to confirm specifics (it probably won't), multiple reports indicate that Call of Duty is on a downslide. The $35 billion franchise was once a prestige brand that sold tens of millions of games per year and generated billions from microtransactions. That's all changed now that Microsoft is in control. Call of Duty games launch into Game Pass, which could negatively impact sales.

That's apparently what's happening, at least according to former Activision-Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, who is currently involved in a class action lawsuit surrounding the Microsoft-Activision merger (Sjunde Ap-Fonden v. Activision Blizzard et al. Case No. 2022-1001-KSJM). According to Game File, a new document filed by Kotick and his legal team asserts that Call of Duty sales are down by 60% in 2025.

• Read more: New Call of Duty games won't come to Game Pass Premium, older games still remain on middle tier
• Read more: Call of Duty franchise revenues exceed $35 billion
• Read more: Call of Duty lost $300 million in sales last year due to Game Pass

"Call of Duty is on track to perform over 60 percent below last year because of intense competition from titles like Battlefield-destroying the FTC's now defeated argument about Call of Duty's purported monopoly and the lack of competition in the first-person action game category," Kotick said in the filing, as per Game File.

Including Call of Duty on Game Pass was always going to affect sales--Xbox gamers who are trained and entrenched to pay for Game Pass, for example, would likely subscribe instead of paying full price. However, the extent as to which this is happening remains to be seen. Black Ops 6's success indicated that the game may not have had its sales "cannibalized" by Game Pass. but no clear-cut information was offered.

While Microsoft hasn't revealed specifics on Black Ops 7's performance, it's possible that the game missed the mark in terms of reception, sales, and earnings.

The game's positioning on the PlayStation Store's top downloads may give some indications how well the game did, at least on PS5. According to the data published by Sony, Black Ops 7 didn't make it in the top 5 most-downloaded games of the year on the PS Store, breaking a 10-year streak for the franchise.

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The sales slide may be temporary. Reports indicate that Microsoft is readying Call of Duty on Switch 2, and that the game could be released sooner than expected. This should help offset any sales misses that happened because of Game Pass.

By our figures, the Call of Duty franchise has made at least $35 billion in total lifetime revenue across a multitude of high-level releases that have sold tens of millions of copies.

Elsewhere in the document, Kotick also remarks on Activision's current performance, which hasn't been published by Microsoft for multiple quarters now:

"Indeed, Activision Blizzard's actual operating results in 2024 and 2025, well below the Company's Long Range Plans, demonstrate how prescient the Board was in assessing the industry headwinds and how they could negatively impact the value of the company."

Important context: Activision apparently never hit these targets under Kotick's leadership either.

Microsoft had always intended to change and morph Call of Duty to meet its service-first digital games business, which emphasizes the conversion of consumers into long-term subscribers.