In the world of online gaming, player numbers are king.
Generally speaking, the more players your game has in its ecosystem, the healthier it is both in terms of revenue and coverage, which is why the numbers contained within a recent Activision investor report might be a cause of concern.
According to the report, player numbers across Call of Duty titles have dropped sharply in the past year, sinking from 150 million players in 2021 to around 100 million now, the sharpest decline the series has seen since Call of Duty: Warzone’s release in 2020.
Call of Duty Loses 50 Million Players in a Year
Taking the majority of the blame for this decline, at least in the view of the investor report, are Call of Duty: Vanguard’s lower premium sales and a simultaneous drop in engagement for Warzone.
Of these two, the free-to-play Warzone is arguably the most disappointing, as the whole point of not charging players an entry fee for a game is to ensure large player numbers within it.
On the other hand, the game is several years old now, so the decline in players isn’t necessarily as big an issue as it might seem at first, but rather a natural consequence of the game’s lifespan.
This might be a larger concern for a publisher without Activision Blizzard’s financial might, especially following its acquisition by Microsoft back in January, but it remains something that needs correcting going forwards.
Perhaps a string of interesting updates for Warzone will be all it takes to rejuvenate the game’s player ranks and keep it ticking over until the already confirmed new Warzone game being developed by Infinity Ward is released.
A sequel to 2019’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is apparently also in development and could provide some necessary relief.
Plus, according to the report, Call of Duty Mobile’s numbers have remained steady, adding at least one positive angle to some grim reading.
Make sure to follow us for more updates on Vanguard and Warzone, including guides to the best guns to use in Warzone’s Season 3, which has just begun today.