Call of Duty Loses 50 Million Players

Where Activision has gone wrong. 

The “Call of Duty” franchise has been Activision’s bread and butter for years. In 2020 alone, “Modern Warfare (2019)” and “Warzone” brought in nearly $2 billion to the AAA game publisher and maintained approximately 150 million unique players per month. 

However, the once-booming franchise has now lost the interest of 50 million fans. 

Having been a “Call of Duty” fan myself since the days of purchasing USB-powered wireless routers to play on Xbox Live, I have seen the franchise flow in and out of glory many times, yet never quite like this. 

It appears that even the most die-hard “CoD” fans are tired of Activision nickel-and-diming them to the root. For instance, the past three games in the series have been among the least well-received in franchise history, mainly because of the integration of Battle Passes that allow players to purchase in-game content which used to be available via challenges in previous games. 

I personally have not seen fans this divided since the days of “Call of Duty: Ghosts” when a substantial amount of players quit the franchise to play “Battlefield.” 

The most recent “CoD” game had about ten multiplayer maps at launch—among the lowest ever seen in the history of the franchise. For a $60 price point, that meager number of maps is preposterous, to say the least. 

With the advent of “Vanguard,” players, YouTube creators and Twitch streamers are playing other games such as “Elden Ring” or returning to older “CoD” games that are more polished. Such YouTube creators are Futives, ExoGhost, Handler and for a moment, ImMarksman. All four of these creators are among the most influential today, garnering millions of views on their respective channels per month. 

The opinions of these “CoD” veterans should demonstrate that loyal fans are disheartened with the current state of the franchise. 

A Possible Counter-Argument

Some may say, “Well, Brandon, isn’t ‘Warzone’ a free-to-play game? Shouldn’t we expect this to happen?” 

Yes, I will admit, free-to-play games may have masses of players enter and leave the fanbase given the fact that there is no monetary investment; yet, the point still stands that the majority of players are sad to see the direction Activision has taken the “CoD” franchise. After all, the developers did not want to place a trophy system in “Vanguard” because it wouldn’t be true to  World War II weaponry and defense technology. But, Activision is willing to release this unrealistic, silly-looking “Godzilla vs. Kong” character pack for $20! You’re killing me smalls!

Final Thoughts

It is sad to say we are no longer in the golden age of gaming when game developers and their parent publishers were more interested in producing a finished product than earning money. The past few years have taught Activision—at least I hope—that passionless games produce a passionless fan base. This whole ordeal should be a lesson to put customers first, rather than profit margins. 

Let’s hope the newly teased “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II” has more gusto in store.