Call of Duty: Black Ops 7’s Steam Launch Falls Behind Battlefield 6

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 finally landed on Steam, and while its debut wasn’t disastrous, it didn’t hit the numbers many expected from one of 2025’s biggest shooters. Despite pulling in a solid first-day crowd, its 24-hour peak still came in well below Battlefield 6, giving EA’s shooter a noticeable edge on Valve’s platform.

 

Black Ops 7’s Player Count Misses the Mark

As of launch day, Black Ops 7 reached a 24-hour peak of around 89,000 players on Steam.

 

That would normally be a strong start — but not when compared to the competition. Battlefield 6, released just over a month earlier, recorded a 24-hour peak of 271,307 players this week, roughly three times Black Ops 7’s total.

 

To put it simply: Black Ops 7 managed a respectable launch, but Battlefield 6 is still commanding far more attention on Steam.

A Rough Launch Experience for Call of Duty Fans

Player sentiment also isn’t helping Black Ops 7’s momentum. The game currently sits at 58% positive reviews on Steam, landing it in “Mixed” territory. A wave of review-bombing hit immediately as players criticized several elements, including:

• A campaign that requires a constant internet connection

• No ability to pause the campaign, even when playing solo

• Allegations that Activision used AI-generated artwork for in-game Calling Cards

This pushback clouded what should have been a celebratory launch, especially with Black Ops 7 arriving alongside a major Warzone update.

 

ARC Raiders Surges Ahead of Both

While Black Ops 7 and Battlefield 6 battle it out, another shooter has stolen the spotlight: ARC Raiders. Embark Studios’ extraction shooter hit an astounding 462,488 all-time peak on November 9 and continues to sit above 390,000 active players at the moment.

 

For comparison:

• ARC Raiders current count: ~390,201 players

• Combined Battlefield 6 + Black Ops 7 24-hour total: 360,902 players

ARC Raiders isn’t just competing — it’s dominating.

Steam Isn’t the Full Picture

It’s worth noting that Steam only tells part of Black Ops 7’s story. Because the game is available on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, there’s a large chunk of its audience on console and Microsoft’s ecosystem that isn’t reflected in Steam’s stats. Black Ops titles historically perform extremely well across platforms, so the true player count is likely much higher.

The Road Ahead

Black Ops 7’s Steam debut may have fallen short of expectations, but it’s far too early to count it out. Launch-weekend numbers could climb, patches will likely smooth out rough edges, and the broader console audience may ultimately carry the game to blockbuster status.

For now, though, Battlefield 6 and ARC Raiders are the ones ruling the charts — and Black Ops 7 has some ground to make up.