Not only has Black Ops 6 not lost sales because of Game Pass: It has performed better than ever

Call of Duty has finally arrived on Game Pass, and that has raised many questions. The most pressing for many has been, will it continue to sell as well? After all, Game Pass goes against game sales. Why buy a game when you already pay for Game Pass? But Microsoft always says that people buy more games thanks to their service, which many studios have disagreed with. So, what happened with the latest installment of the franchise, Black Ops 6? Well, apparently, it has worked great.

It has worked great… for Activision Blizzard, at least

According to comments from Activision, Black Ops 6 is the biggest Call of Duty in history. But there’s a catch. It is the Call of Duty that has had the most players during its launch month. In addition, it has had the most hours played, and the most matches played during that same month.

Matt Piscatella, executive director of the video game research firm Circana, states that the only way to define the engagement numbers of Black Ops 6 is as “bonkers.” Strangely, youthful choices for a mature man in a professional setting seems to have been a great launch, at least for Activision. Because when we move from player numbers, the effects of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 are much more nuanced.

As Piscatella himself commented last week, the effect of Black Ops 6 in other areas has been much less spectacular. Subscriptions have indeed increased, but not dramatically. Game sales on PlayStation have decreased, but it has not resulted in massive cannibalization. Furthermore, it does not seem to have significantly affected console sales. From this, it can be inferred that those who have a PC or both consoles have reasons to acquire Game Pass, but those who have PlayStation do not see reasons in Call of Duty to switch to Xbox.

Otherwise, the game’s sales have been modest. To put it kindly. Being 5% higher than last year’s launch, Modern Warfare 3, they are still 28% lower than the 2022 launch, Modern Warfare 2. Something that might be offset by moves in Game Pass. But it shows that, although undoubtedly a success in terms of player numbers, the move still has to prove to be a success in economic terms.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 DOWNLOAD

The Cold War pitted the United States against the former USSR in the second half of the 20th century in conflicts that took place in various countries, featuring factions funded and/or manipulated by one or the other superpower. In Call of Duty: Black Ops, you will experience these and many other wars in first person.