After two years of declining player numbers, Black Ops 6 finally restored Call of Duty to its former glory with a successful launch. However, news of just how good BO6 is has spread, and even more players are hopping in.
Modern Warfare peaked at 190,273 concurrent players on Steam during the game’s launch weekend, falling disappointingly short of MW2’s mark of 262,875. The massive drop-off raised concerns, but the seeds of dissent were planted much earlier than MW3’s official release date.
In March 2023, MW2 and Warzone 2 player count numbers plummeted to a record low of 87,000. Some community members feared the franchise was heading in the wrong direction, but Black Ops 6 restored order.
Our early BO6 review argued that gameplay feels better than ever, and players are flocking to Zombies over Multiplayer after “amazing” reviews.
That excitement showed on Steam Charts as BO6 surpassed 306,000 players, reaching the highest player count in over a year.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 reached over 306,000 players on Steam today. First time a Call of Duty has surpassed 300,000 players on Steam since 2022. pic.twitter.com/72BRgKDTLA
— CharlieIntel (@charlieINTEL) October 27, 2024
BO6 failed to eclipse the all-time peak reached just under two years ago when CoD brought in over 491,000 concurrent players, but this is certainly a step in the right direction. At the time of writing, this player count makes Call of Duty the 4th most popular game on Steam, bested only by Dota 2, Counter-Strike, and a Banana game that people just leave open in the background.
So, realistically, it’s the most popular non-valve game on the platform, and this is despite many PC players likely using Game Pass to play the game and in addition to Call of Duty’s massive console audience. To say this launch has been hugely successful is an understatement.
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“That’s what happens when Treyarch makes a good CoD,” one commenter responded.
“When you make good games good things happen to you,” a second user added.
In addition to positive sentiment around Zombies, the Campaign received glowing reviews. Because, despite being relatively short, Treyarch crammed a gripping story into a compact, 11-mission package.
Continued success moving forward depends on a heavily supported post-launch content plan and how fans feel after the honeymoon period is over. There is one part of Black Ops 6 that’s been pretty contentious: the maps.
CoD pros Dashy and Shotzzy slammed BO6’s “dogs**t” maps and pleaded for classic Black Ops map remasters. Treyarch confirmed that the iconic black Ops 1 map Nuketown is being faithfully remastered for a future update, but it’s not a good sign when players already aren’t satisfied with the current map pool.