It seems that Black Ops 6 is losing players at a massive rate after the game had the “biggest ever” launch for a Call Of Duty title.
READ MORE: ‘Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6’ review: the best entry in years
Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6 was released at the end of October and quickly broke records for the franchise. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said the title “set a record for day one players, as well as Game Pass subscriber adds on launch day. And unit sales on PlayStation and Steam were also up over 60 per cent year-over-year”.
One month later, developers confirmed Black Ops 6 had broken records for most players, most hours played and most matches held in the first 30 days of any Call Of Duty title.
However it seems that players are now abandoning the game. According to SteamDB (via The Gamer), the platform’s dedicated Call Of Duty launcher saw a 43 per cent drop in usage in December. The numbers have continued to fall this month as well. Shortly after launch, an average of 165,000 people were playing via Steam but now that number is just 82,000.
Black ops 6 down to pre-launch numbers on Steam on a Friday night w/ the Squid Games update now live and controversy around the Anti-Cheat & Server related issues peaking. Yikes. pic.twitter.com/jHtWsiqlu0
— Ren (@Ren_Lol) January 4, 2025
Black Ops 6 was the first Call Of Duty title to launch on Xbox’s subscription-based Game Pass service which would have helped the game break those launch records, but the drop in Steam players is a worrying trend, because they would have paid full-price for the title.
Fans have suggested a number of different reasons for the exodus. Black Ops 6 still has issues with cheats and developers have admitted their anti-cheat software “did not hit the mark” in dealing with the problem. Players have also complained about a number of bugs within the game while a range of paid-for cartoonish skins and a “bong gun” have also turned off users wanting a more authentic experience.
Last week, Black Ops 6 launched a crossover with hit Netflix show Squid Game while the season two update is set to come out later this month.
In other news, Marvel Rivals has announced details of a bumper season one which will introduce members of the Fantastic Four as playable characters.
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