The shooter video game market is experiencing one of the most interesting comparisons in recent years, with data that tells an apparently clear story but in reality full of nuances. Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 pre-order sales on Steam stop below 200,000 copies 18 days after launch, while Battlefield 6 had already reached almost one million units in the same period. A gap that seems to testify to a change in balance in the sector, but which hides a much more complex reality.
Things get even more interesting when looking at wishlist rankings on Steam. Battlefield 6 reached third position, while Black Ops 7 languishes at 173rd. Numbers that would seem to mark a collapse for the Activision franchise, at least on Valve’s platform. Yet, as Vic Bassey of Video Game Insights points out, measuring the success of an annual series based solely on these metrics risks being misleading.
The serialized nature of the Call of Duty franchise completely changes purchasing dynamics. As with FIFA, regular players simply tend to buy the new chapter without going through the wishlist. \