Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is the franchise's lowest selling entry in almost 20 years

Although it was released six weeks earlier in the year, EA's Battlefield 6 is the first game in the long-running series to outsell a Call of Duty game in the United States in a calendar year. In fact, Battlefield 6 was the best-selling 'premium' game on all platforms in the U.S. last year, according to a new report from analyst Mat Piscatella.

2

Ranked based on dollar sales, that is, money earned, EA's shooter tops the list, followed by Take-Two Interactive's NBA2K26 and Borderlands 4. Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is number five on the list, which makes it one of the year's best-sellers but an underperformer when it comes to what is widely considered to be one of gaming's biggest franchises.

Call of Duty games usually top the list or drop into second place when a Rockstar game like GTA V or Red Dead Redemption 2 rolls around. Coming in fifth means that Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is the lowest a CoD game has placed in annual sales charts since Call of Duty: World at War, which released all the way back in 2008.

In addition to lukewarm reviews from critics and gamers alike, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7's sales in the U.S. have dropped off dramatically when compared to recent entries. Of course, 2025 was a banner year for first-person shooters that aren't Call of Duty, with the aforementioned Battlefield 6 and the breakout hit Arc Raiders garnering praise and massive player bases in the lead-up to Call of Duty: Black Ops 7's launch. Throw in the chaotic and cartoony action-RPG action of Borderlands 4, and there's a case to be made for "shooter fatigue" playing a role in gamers skipping this year's CoD.

That said, Call of Duty is still a juggernaut. Although its annual sales have dropped off compared to previous titles, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 was still the best-selling game in the U.S. for December 2025 across PC and consoles.