The latest installment in the Call of Duty series, Black Ops 7, failed to achieve the expected success on Steam. According to SteamDB data, the game failed to surpass 100,000 concurrent players during its launch, making it one of the worst Steam launches in the franchise’s history.

Why are Black Ops 7’s Steam player numbers low?

Even on the first Friday evening after launch, during peak gaming hours, the numbers were insufficient. SteamDB data confirms that the game failed to reach 100,000 concurrent players. In comparison, rival games Battlefield 6 reached a 24-hour peak of 271,000 players, while ARC Raiders reached approximately 421,000 players.

Of course, SteamDB data alone isn’t a sufficient metric to gauge a game’s overall popularity. Black Ops 7 is also available for PC players on Battle.net, Activision’s own platform. It’s also important to remember that numerous Xbox and PlayStation 5 players also play the game on their consoles. Therefore, the total player count may be much higher than the Steam figures.

AI and other controversies
One reason for the decline in interest in this year’s Call of Duty is complaints about the use of AI. The “Calling Cards,” once a source of pride for players, now use AI-generated visuals, which has turned some players off the game entirely. However, some design choices, such as the inability to pause the game in single-player mode, have also drawn criticism.

So, what are your thoughts on Black Ops 7’s performance on Steam? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!