[Helljumper]

Activision users dip below 100m for first time in several years.
Call of Duty fans are switching off from the franchise, Activision's latest user figures suggest.

Monthly active user data published by Activision shows player numbers have dipped over the past 12 months - from 127 million in June 2021 to just 94 million this year.

The details are part of a tough round of financial results for Activision Blizzard this quarter, despite the recent and highly-profitable launch of Diablo Immortal.

Overall figures for Activision Blizzard saw revenue down 28 percent year-on-year to $1.64bn, and overall total monthly active users down 12 percent despite growth from the Blizzard side of the business.

Activision-specific player numbers have repeatedly fallen each quarter since hitting a high point of 150 million monthly active users in March 2021.

This period followed the arrival of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, and was boosted by the ongoing success of Call of Duty Warzone.

Activision monthly active users have not fallen this low - or below 100 million - since 2019, when Call of Duty Mobile arrived on the scene.

So, what's to blame? Activision has acknowledged that last year's Call of Duty: Vanguard was a misfire, while it seems likely interest in Warzone is also waning - especially as a replacement arrives later this year.

All eyes will now be on the twin launches of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2 later this year for Activision to turn things around.

Call of Duty fans switch off in their millions

Call of Duty fans are switching off from the franchise, Activision's latest user figures suggest.

www.eurogamer.net

 

[Mickmrly]

Maybe the reticule DLC was not such a hit? I can't remember if that was last year or the year before's entry though.

 

[lock2k]

I thought COD was already dead in the beginning of last gen. All I heard about was Fortnite and shit. Guess I was wrong. lol

 

[Snes nes]

Don't worry people will just buy the new game coming out and it'll go over 127 million again.

 

[lock2k]

It certainly is still strong.

It's just that... it was so ubiquitous during the PS3-360 gen and I didn't hear that much about the franchise last gen as I heard before. It dominated internet discussions back then, it was this cultural phenomenon at the time.

 

[Boss Mog]

I was a huge CoD guy back on the 360. The 3 years of MW2, BO1 and MW3 were CoD at its peak for me. It was all downhill from there. It really fell off a cliff when they started focusing on eSports and decided to make all the maps, 3 lane arena maps. It might be more fun for eSports fans to watch but as a casual player it's not very fun at all and it' feels like it's designed to make extended killstreaks nearly impossible. I would constantly have enemies spawn right behind me and kill me. The lag compensation also became intolerable to the point where you'd watch the killcam and you'd see something completely different from what happened on your screen.

I haven't bought a CoD day one since Advanced Warfare and that was only because of Spacey. I bought a few others since then but mostly at bargain bin prices, some for as little as 1€ and only to play through the campaign.

 

[Helljumper]

I dropped out after Black Ops 1. Got MW3 earlier this year but still haven't played it. I'm surprised CoD is still strong. I wonder if they'll go third person at some point.

 

[Bolivar]

I would say it's mostly Vanguard and Warzone getting bloated with its cross game integration. MWII and the new Warzone should be big. The series is still a juggernaut even if it doesn't light up social media like it used to.

 

[lock2k]

The only one I played was Black Ops 1. I got it as a gift on the PS3. It was fun to play multiplayer against friends and kill them with a knife and all but it was never really my jam.

 

[Concern]

Just goes to show how bad Vanguard is. Cold war wasn't great either..... but mw2 going to bring those people back and then some.

 

[regawdless]

94 million is still a lot, especially if we take into account that the series has a "weak" phase at the moment. I'm not a fan at all, tried multiple times to get into the games, sp and mp, but always bounced off very quickly.

 

[CAPTAIN RAINCOAT]

If you dont run into hackers you run into Toxic lobbies

You want to solve this and other toxic game like r siege...start hardware banning them

 

[zebraStraw]

Hopefully MW2 fails. $70 games needs to fail.

Games are just adhd shooters. Hit l2 and r2 as quickly as you can.

 

[Stilton Disco]

I have played 3 COD's, 2 were modern warfare (or in that vein) that I hated and the third was Infinite Warfare, which I really enjoyed, but will never be repeated as actual COD fans apparently hated it (which is probably why I liked it).

Basically, I only really have any interest in the series in regards to it's wider industry influence, which I am happy to see wain.

 

[Amorous Biscuit]

94 million is still a lot, especially if we take into account that the series has a "weak" phase at the moment. I'm not a fan at all, tried multiple times to get into the games, sp and mp, but always bounced off very quickly.

I personally think that lots of players will have dropped the game since Covid restrictions were dropped too. The height of Warzone and Modern Warfare roughly aligned with lockdowns and stay-at-home orders from governments. Me and my friends sunk some serious hours into it for the best part of a year thanks to that. Even built a decent little community by streaming on Twitch and posting TikTok clips (humble brag of the day)

It's no surprise to see the userbase fall away given the return to a more normal day-to-day.

I do also think both Black Ops Cold War and Vanguard were missteps. Modern Warfare 2019 is a damn hard game to follow given just how good it was both graphically and in terms of game-feel. I do think that WW2 shooters are still suffering from fatigue and I'm completely with @Stilton Disco that the more interesting entries into the series have been amongst my more preferred COD games (see Advanced or Infinite Warfare)

Modern Warfare 2 has a lot of work to do. I'm hoping it builds on MW2019 and doesn't fall prey to the vocal minority of complainers or try to hard to appease streamers. The gun play felt perfect.

 

[Eneru]

The only one I played was Black Ops 1. I got it as a gift on the PS3. It was fun to play multiplayer against friends and kill them with a knife and all but it was never really my jam.

Agree while I was playing cod modern warfare which was amazing at that time every cod after was a yearly refresh with slight tweaks for me just like ea does with fifa.

Always enjoyed the killzone 2 mp much more and resistance 1 as well. Though the mps of killzone 3 and the successors to resistance couldn't match with the "originals".


It's gonna be interesting how things will change now that ms owns them

 

[lock2k]

Agree while I was playing cod modern warfare which was amazing at that time every cod after was a yearly refresh with slight tweaks for me just like ea does with fifa.

Always enjoyed the killzone 2 mp much more and resistance 1 as well. Though the mps of killzone 3 and the successors to resistance couldn't match with the "originals".


It's gonna be interesting how things will change now that ms owns them

As for Sony, I wish they would bring Killzone back. It had a really cool atmosphere and the gameplay had weight.