It’s an odd scene on Steam: more players are buzzing about the Palworld dating sim than the new Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. Activision and Treyarch’s shooter can’t climb past the 170s on the Most-Wanted chart and sits well outside the top-10 best-sellers.

With less than two weeks to launch, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 finds itself in unfamiliar territory: the Treyarch/Activision Blizzard release missed Steam’s Top 150 Most Wanted entirely, landing at No. 173 — trailing everything from the Palworld dating spin-off to the much-anticipated Gothic remake. On the best-seller list, it has only managed to reach No. 85.

The Call of Duty franchise has long dominated the genre, but competition is fiercer than ever. Battlefield 6 is grabbing a hefty share of mindshare and returning to a more understated, classic tone — closer to Battlefield 3 — in contrast to recent CoD entries’ flashier, celebrity-driven approach.

Some read Activision’s recent moves — like a free Black Ops 7 multiplayer trial overlapping with Battlefield 6’s battle-royale launch — as a panic play, but the truth is more calculated: the team timed the new Black Ops 7 beta to counterprogram EA’s multiplayer debut and siphon attention.

Maybe It’s Lagging on Steam Wishlists Because Game Pass Puts It Within Easy Reach

Softer wishlist momentum doesn’t automatically signal apathy. A major factor is day-one availability of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 on Game Pass. After Black Ops 6 broke user records on the service, a substantial chunk of PC and console players will simply access the game via subscription rather than purchase it on Steam. And most of CoD’s audience still plays on consoles; by Activision’s own figures, only about 25% of daily active users are on PC.

Even so, the franchise hardly looks imperiled. The new entry is almost certain to move millions and keep Call of Duty near the top. But its current Steam standing is a caution flag: after years of fragmented strategy and intensifying competition, CoD may be showing the first hints of fatigue.

Source: 3DJuegos