Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 appears to be off to a rougher start than usual when it comes to CoD launches. Particularly in Japan, where early numbers show the latest Call of Duty game has sold fewer copies during its launch than any other entry in series history.
According to numbers shared by Zuby_Tech, Black Ops 7 sold just 12,311 copies at launch, the lowest of any Call of Duty game ever, going all the way back to 2007’s Call of Duty 3. The 12,311 copies sold were all on PS5, but even with PS4 sales accounted for, which apparently amounted to fewer than 1,800, Black Ops 7 would still clock in at less than what Call of Duty 3, the previous holder of the unwanted record, managed during its own launch.
There’s no mention of Xbox numbers, which, based on how poorly the console sells in Japan, are probably so minuscule that they’re not even tracked.
Why Are Call Of Duty Sales Falling Off A Cliff In Japan?
There are a lot of things to consider here when it comes to the hows and whys of it all, and if sales numbers in Japan are something Call of Duty’s creators need to be worried about. Call of Duty isn’t as big in Japan as it is in the US and other parts of the world. However, even when considering that, 12,000 copies sold at launch is a worrying figure.
For starters, it’s well under half of what 2024’s Black Ops 6 sold, but that’s not all. Interest in Call of Duty has been on the decline in Japan since 2018. Black Ops 4 had the second-best Japanese launch weekend in the series’ history that year, selling more than 233,000 copies. That number has dropped each year, with the figure just about managing to stay above 30,000 for Modern Warfare 3 and Black Ops 6, and now plummeting to 12,000 for Black Ops 7.
Battlefield 6 Sold Twice As Many Copies As Black Ops 7 In Europe During Their Respective Opening Weeks
It’s not even close.
It’s difficult for Xbox to blame the game being on Game Pass, too, since, as already mentioned above, Xbox consoles don’t sell well in Japan. This isn’t a reflection of Japanese gamers playing Call of Duty on Xbox instead of buying the game on PS5. For the most part, it’s showing people in Japan are leaving the series behind them in their droves.
Call of Duty has been giving off a “we think we’re too big to fail” vibe for far too long. It started with Modern Warfare 3, which was criticized for being a repackaged Modern Warfare 2 expansion that was sold for full price. It bounced back somewhat thanks to Black Ops 6, but has dropped off again for Black Ops 7.
What the last few installments of CoD haven’t had is serious competition, and that might be what’s making all the difference here. Xbox and Activision likely didn’t believe that Battlefield 6 and Arc Raiders would affect Black Ops 7 sales numbers, but it looks like that’s exactly what’s happening here. Black Ops 7 topped out at a concurrent player count of 100,000 on Steam shortly after it launched. Meanwhile, Arc Raiders keeps getting close to hitting half a million, while Battlefield 6 peaked at almost 750,000.
- Released
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November 14, 2025
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Drugs
