Black Ops 6 Struggles to Retain Players Despite Record-Breaking Launch
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 had a massive launch in October 2024, setting franchise records and becoming the first title in the series to debut on Xbox Game Pass. Despite this initial success, recent data shows the game is struggling to retain players.
According to a report from The Game Business using Ampere data, Black Ops 6 saw 20.6 million active players in March 2025, a slight drop from the 20.8 million reported in Black Ops 6 Struggles to Retain Players Despite Record-Breaking LaunchMarch 2024 and down from 22.4 million in 2023. While the dip isn’t dramatic, it continues a downward trend for the franchise.
Steam player counts also reflect a sharp decline, suggesting that many players may have moved on after sampling the game through Game Pass. Although Black Ops 6 reached an impressive 33.7 million players in its first year—significantly higher than Modern Warfare 3’s 20.7 million—long-term engagement remains an issue.
Factors likely contributing to the drop include ongoing problems with cheaters, dissatisfaction over microtransactions, and stiff competition from other titles available on Xbox Game Pass. While Black Ops 6 was praised at launch, keeping players invested has proven more difficult.
