Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 sales in UK trail Battlefield 6 and are 61% less than Black Ops 6

The industry is seeing its first glimpse at the retail performance of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. In the UK, Gfk market data shows the shooter game lagging behind Battlefield 6. Opening week physical sales have also suffered a precipitous 61% drop from Black Ops 6. While the numbers don’t include digital purchases, lackluster Steam player counts pointed to a disappointing launch.

Christopher Dring of The Game Business teased the early statistics on social media. Exact figures aren’t provided, but Dring revealed that the latest Call of Duty game is playing catch-up to its EA rival. Black Ops 7 sales are also significantly behind past entries in the series.

The Install Base forums have recorded some UK data that confirms the poor start of Black Ops 7. Black Ops 6 notched 105,000 physical sales in its first week. They estimate that the follow-up military shooter has only moved 40,000 units.

The wild card is the digital market and Xbox Game Pass availability is also a factor. Still, with a similar physical/digital split as in 2024, Black Ops 7 sales may only be at 170,000. Meanwhile, Black Ops 6 posted a more healthy 450,000 mark. More players could be purchasing downloadable copies this year. Yet, all Modern Warfare and Call of Duty games had more successful debuts.

How past Black Ops 7 sales compare to Battlefield games

Activision’s title is tracking slightly ahead of Battlefield 2042, but that’s likely not the case when compared to Battlefield 6. Concurrent Steam player counts maxed out at around 100,000 a few days after the Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 release date. Meanwhile, Battlefield 6 broke all COD records by peaking at over 747,000 players.

The picture may not look as bleak for the Treyarch project when retailers in other countries report their activity. Nevertheless, gamers have several theories as to why Battlefield has finally upended the normally more lucrative Call of Duty.

Some fans have noticed less pervasive marketing from Microsoft and Activision. Others believe Black Ops 7 brings minimal improvements and a disappointing single-player campaign. Arc Raiders has also surpassed expectations, making it difficult for any high-profile release to attract attention.