The launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Warzone Season 2 hasn't quite met expectations on Steam. Data reveals a substantial decrease in players, exceeding 70,000, when compared to the Season 2 update for Modern Warfare 3 in 2023. Despite the new content and enhancements introduced on January 28th, Season 2 seemingly hasn't re-engaged players who recently abandoned the shooter.
While Black Ops 6 enjoyed a triumphant launch, boasting the largest launch month in Call of Duty history according to Activision, the player base has been steadily shrinking. On Steam, the game has lost nearly half its players since its October 2024 release. With both Black Ops 6 and Warzone linked through the Call of Duty app, it's difficult to pinpoint which title has been more impacted by this decline.
Despite hopes that Season 2 would revitalize the player base on Steam, the reality fell short. Data shows Season 2 of Black Ops 6 peaking at 84,431 players, significantly lower than Modern Warfare 3's Season 2 launch, which surpassed 154,000 players. Interestingly, Black Ops 6 reclaimed the top spot on the PlayStation Store during the same week as its Season 2 launch, suggesting stronger performance on consoles. However, concrete player count figures for PlayStation and Xbox remain unavailable.
Several theories attempt to explain the exodus of Call of Duty players on Steam. The rise of free-to-play competitors like Marvel Rivals could be drawing players away. Another prominent speculation points to a pervasive cheating problem, particularly in Ranked Play, as a key factor. While Activision has implemented enhanced anti-cheat measures for Season 2, including client and server-side detection and kernel-level driver updates, player reports of cheaters persist.
This ongoing issue has also affected the Season 2 update's content. Activision prioritized gameplay adjustments, bug fixes, and quality-of-life enhancements over new content for Warzone. Consequently, Warzone received limited additions, including new Ranked Play rewards, one new perk (with another planned for mid-season), and three new weapons, while Black Ops 6 received a plethora of new maps, modes, and features.
