It has been a tough year for Black Ops 7, worsened by the rising competition in the first-person shooter market. First, it was Battlefield 6, then ARC Raiders joined the party. All these have culminated in Black Ops 7 recording its worst Japanese retail launch sales in the series’ 20-year history.
The franchise has had its dark moments, like the poor reception of Modern Warfare 3. However, with rising competition, Activision and Microsoft need to do more now to rebound the franchise, the way Black Ops 6 did.
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Last week, we reported that Black Ops 7 sales were 50% down in Europe and trailing behind the previous release in both sales and player numbers. Latest figures coming from Japan show that the franchise hit a new low there.
According to data shared by @Zuby_Tech on X, the PS5 version of the game sold 12,311 copies while the PS4 version sold under 1,800 copies. Based on the chart, which includes all sales records of nearly all previous Call of Duty releases, Black Ops 7’s performance is worse compared to the 2007 Call of Duty 3, which sold only 14,117 copies.
However, a comment from @ActualSmur79512 reminded everyone that the franchise is not really popular in Japan, at least for the last decade. “That’s not really saying much. Cod hasn’t been relevant in Japan for about 10 years now. The U.S. is where Cod lives and dies. Next month’s Circana charts will be interesting to say the least,” they wrote.
While that may be true, it is not enough to dispute the fact that the franchise has failed to impress fans this year. The sales numbers of Black Ops 7 have been down in virtually every region, suggesting that this is not a localized problem.
There is still the likelihood that Black Ops 7 might have fared better without the competitors that both launched close to its release. There is also the issue with the game launching day one on Game Pass, a subscription service that has previously been accused of cannibalizing sales.
If you have played Black Ops 7, feel free to share with us what you think is the reason for the dismal sales numbers.
