This year’s new Call Of Duty saw sales drop 40% from Black Ops Cold War, to become the least successful launch in 14 years.
It was obvious from the moment it was announced that Call Of Duty: Vanguard was not generating much excitement with fans but now we have solid figures with which to judge that level of apathy.
According to the most recent UK sales data sales dropped by 40% compared to last year’s Black Ops Cold War, down 26% in terms of physical sales but down a massive 44% for digital.
It’s still the second biggest launch of the year, behind FIFA 22, but according to website VGC it’s the worst launch the series has seen since Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare in 2007.
Exactly why the game performed so poorly is open to interpretation, but the presence of free-to-player spin-off Warzone may have convinced many fans to stick with that and skip this year’s game.
Indeed, it’s speculated that rumours about both the 2022 and 2023 games may be intentional leaks on the part of Activision, to maintain interest in the franchise for the future.
Warzone is something of a double-edge sword though and in recent months the battle royale has seen increased fan discontent with the level of cheating – which has reached epidemic levels in recent months and also effects the paid-for games.
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There’s also the fact that Battlefield 2042 and Halo Infinite have provided more substantial competition than usual, compared to previous years, which may have convinced some to save their money this time around.
It’s also possible the ongoing controversies concerning toxic work conditions and rampant discrimination may have kept people away. How much stories like that affect sales is always unclear but Activision seemed to be worried enough that they removed their own logo from trailers for the game, in the immediate aftermath of the revelations.
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