Battlefield 6 Caused Call of Duty Sales to Plummet 60%, Says Ex-Activision CEO
Former Activision CEO Bobby Kotick has shared his opinion on the recent performance of Call of Duty titles, as it has fallen far below the company’s expectations.
According to Bobby Kotick, sales of Call of Duty may have dropped by as much as 60% due to the growing competition from other major first-person shooters, including Battlefield 6.
Bobby Kotick Blames Battlefield 6 and Competition for Call of Duty’s 60% Sales Drop
As reported by GameFile, Kotick made the comment during a 2022 court case brought by a Swedish pension fund against Activision Blizzard. The lawsuit claims that the former CEO rushed the company’s sale in an effort to distance himself from the sexual harassment scandal that involved him directly.
Kotick explained that Activision Blizzard’s performance over the past year has been “well below” its long-term goals, mainly because of a sharp decline in Call of Duty sales compared to 2024.
In his view, this drop is the result of increasingly strong competition in the multiplayer shooter market, with Battlefield 6 cited as a direct example. He also stated that this situation contradicts one of the main arguments made by the FTC against Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard — namely, that Call of Duty had supposedly achieved a near-monopoly status due to a lack of competition in the first-person shooter genre.
Bobby Kotick led Activision from 1991 and oversaw its merger with Blizzard in 2008, transforming the company into one of the biggest names in the gaming industry, thanks to the success of series like Call of Duty and World of Warcraft.
However, his leadership was also marked by controversy over workplace culture and internal harassment allegations. Kotick left Activision Blizzard at the end of 2023, though he continued to advise management until April 2024, shortly after Microsoft completed its acquisition of the company.
MP1st’s review of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 gave it a score of 7.5 out of 10, stating, “Although the campaign is a disappointing mess, Call of Duty Black Ops 7 is overall, a solid Call of Duty experience, that builds upon, and refines its previous installment. From a multiplayer point of view, it is, in everyway, a better game than Black Ops 6.”
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