Reportedly, pre-orders for this year’s Call of Duty are not doing as well as those for Battlefield 6. However, the situation is not as clear-cut as it seems.

Based on Steam pre-order data, 18 days before the release of the two games, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 lags far behind Battlefield 6 in terms of pre-release sales. During this period, Battlefield 6 sold nearly a million copies, while Black Ops 7 only reached 200,000 pre-orders. These numbers look even worse when compared to data reported by Eurogamer. The website found Black Ops 7 in 173rd place on Steam’s wishlist. However, this only takes PC gamers into account.

Black Ops 7 will be available to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers, who won’t pre-order because they won’t need to; they’ll be able to access it on the day of release. Battlefield 6 has achieved impressive results. According to SteamDB, concurrent players on Steam have not fallen below 300,000. Seven million copies were sold in three days, and according to Alinea Analytics, this number has already exceeded 10 million. In the EU at least, Battlefield 6 exceeded the launch sales of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. It’s hard to say that Battlefield 6, in its current form, is enough to defeat Call of Duty at its peak, and the franchise is unlikely to get there due to its ongoing identity crisis.

“Call of Duty boasts a loyal global audience of console and PC gamers who purchase the game each year out of habit and brand loyalty. Its casual player base dwarfs Battlefield’s, and its integration with Call of Duty: Warzone constantly exposes millions of players to marketing, in-game promotions, and social tie-ins that convert attention into purchases. Even if Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 seems less exciting to us and the gaming press, the reach of the Call of Duty ecosystem — through cross-promotion, platform partnerships, and content cycles — guarantees massive sales once the game launches,” said Rhys Elliot, head of market analysis at Alinea Analytics, in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz.

When the November sales figures and player activity data are available, will Battlefield 6 surpass Black Ops 7 in regional or global rankings? This will likely depend more on what players continue to see in Battlefield than on what Call of Duty brings to the table.

Source: WCCFTech, GamesIndustry.biz, Eurogamer, SteamDB