Activision’s latest effort to reignite excitement around Call of Duty has fizzled out. Despite a massive update and a wide-open free multiplayer and Zombies trial, PC players showed almost no interest in Black Ops 7, signaling serious franchise fatigue.
Activision is trying everything to reverse the negative momentum surrounding Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, but so far none of its strategies seem to be working. The publisher launched the largest update in the series’ history and introduced a promotion giving players free access to all multiplayer and Zombies content. These moves should have produced a substantial spike in interest, yet instead they revealed that this year the audience simply isn’t responding to the franchise. The bigger question now is whether next year’s installment can overcome player burnout.
Black Ops 7 Seems Beyond Saving
According to data from SteamDB, the free trial that began on December 16 has not led to any meaningful increase in player count. Comparing last Wednesday to this Wednesday, before and after the promotion, the difference amounts to only 800 concurrent users (51,365 vs. 52,144). The pattern is the same across the other days the game has been free: instead of boosting interest, Activision has only slowed the decline.
While Steam numbers don’t represent the entire player base — since the game is available on many platforms — they are excellent for detecting trends. They showed that the launch underperformed, that Season 1 failed to give Activision the rebound it hoped for, and now they indicate that even free access isn’t generating meaningful engagement. Discounts haven’t helped either: despite flash sales dropping the price by half in the United States, sales still fall short of what is typical for the franchise.
The situation for Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is extremely fragile. The game’s lifecycle is only just beginning, yet concurrent player numbers are already unusually low. This suggests a long and difficult year ahead for Activision, with likely drops in revenue from both direct sales and microtransactions. The setback is especially problematic now that Microsoft, the company’s parent, is demanding higher profitability. The real question is whether the sweeping changes promised for 2026 will be enough to revive the franchise’s momentum.
Source: 3djuegos
