Analyst Says Call Of Duty Is ‘Underperforming’ In 2025 Due To Multiple Reasons, Including Strong Competition & Community Burnout
Alinea Analytics’ Rhys Elliot has said during an interview with Eurogamer that the Call of Duty franchise has been “underperforming” this year due to various reasons, among which includes “community burnout, questionable creative and business decisions by Activision/Microsoft, and strong competition.”
Battlefield 6 is obviously one of the main competitors that Call of Duty has faced this year, with Elliot also name-dropping Arc Raiders and Fortnite as games that have been turning attention away from Activision’s shooter franchise. Elliot says Call of Duty’s “lack of innovation” has been a major sticking point with some fans, and said before the release of Call of Duty Black Ops 7 that players would fort out for the game despite the series failing to innovate.
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Elsewhere, the analyst noted that “Fortnite-like cosmetics” and “non-military character skins” have “alienated a significant portion of the fanbase who prefer a more grounded military aesthetic,” pointing to Call of Duty’s dabbling with Beavis and Butthead and Nicki Minaj. Black Ops 7 itself has toned down this side of things, but that game’s co-op campaign was a “major point of criticism” as was its use of “AI slop.”
Player reception was [also] largely negative, with a mostly negative Steam user score and review bombing galore. Long-standing player frustrations, like the perceived impact of skill-based matchmaking–and the focus on heavy microtransactions (skins and bundles) over core gameplay quality, continue to drive players away from the franchise.
Our estimates have signaled time and time again that Game Pass cannibalizes game revenues–and Call of Duty is no different.
Call of Duty is now owned by Microsoft after the Xbox format holder purchased Activision for a record-breaking sum of $68.7 billion, but still continues to be released on multiple formats. Call of Duty Black Ops 7 was released last month for PS5, PS4, PC, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One, and you can read our full verdict here.
[Source – Eurogamer]
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