Call of Duty Black Ops 7 Struggles on Steam Compared to Battlefield 6 and ARC Raiders

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 has completed its first full day on Steam, and the numbers tell a mixed story.

Battlefield 6 and ARC Raiders Outshine COD BO7 in Player Counts on Steam | Image via Xbox /EA/ Nexon

While the game’s release marks Treyarch’s second consecutive launch following the success of Black Ops 6, the reception this time around has been far less enthusiastic. Players have raised concerns about the inability to pause the campaign and ongoing debates around AI integration. These issues have left Black Ops 7 struggling to capture the spotlight, especially with Battlefield 6 and ARC Raiders dominating conversations in the shooter space.

According to SteamDB, Battlefield 6 recorded a massive 24‑hour launch peak of 747,440 players, while ARC Raiders managed a strong 264,673. In comparison, Black Ops 7’s peak on November 14 was just 86,652 players.

Even when grouped under the broader “Call of Duty” banner on SteamDB, which slightly inflates the numbers, the gap is hard to ignore. To put it bluntly, Battlefield 6 is still pulling in 200–250K players regularly, and ARC Raiders has already crossed the 400K mark.

At the time of writing, SteamDB charts show around 94,173 concurrent Call of Duty players on Steam, placing the franchise in the platform’s top 10 but still far below its rivals. For perspective, Black Ops 6 had nearly 230,000 players at the same point after launch in 2024. That means Black Ops 7 is generating roughly one‑third of the interest its predecessor did.

The timing hasn’t helped either. Battlefield 6 arrived with strong momentum (7m sales), and ARC Raiders unexpectedly became a multiplayer hit (4m sales) just weeks before Black Ops 7’s debut. Normally, Call of Duty enters the holiday season with little competition, but this year the market feels crowded and less forgiving.

Of course, launch weekends often bring a surge in player counts, so we might see Black Ops 7 climb higher in the coming days. Season 1 is being billed as the biggest yet, and that could help regain some ground. Still, for a franchise that usually dominates sales charts and headlines, this muted reception feels like a wake‑up call.