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ActivisionCall of Duty: Black Ops 6 is on track to be the most successful Call of Duty release in the franchise’s history thanks to a record-breaking launch, according to Activision and Microsoft.
The companies revealed that Black Ops 6 had the biggest three-day opening for the series by many metrics. It had the most players, most hours played, and the most total matches, according to a post on X (formerly Twitter). The game also got a shout-out during Microsoft’s quarterly earnings call on Wednesday.
“Last week’s launch of Black Ops 6 was the biggest Call of Duty release ever, setting a record for day one players, as well as Game Pass subscriber adds on launch day,” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said during the call (as reported by Variety). “Unit sales on PlayStation and Steam were also up over 60% year-over-year.”
Thank you #CallOfDuty community for making the launch of #BlackOps6 one for the record books… setting new day one and opening weekend records 🎉 pic.twitter.com/CQ1Uin0zMH
— Call of Duty (@CallofDuty) October 30, 2024
While no official numbers have been released, Circana analyst Mat Piscatella confirmed that the launch was indeed huge. He wrote that three days after launch, 52% of all active Xbox Series X/S players and 34% of active PlayStation 5 players launched into Call of Duty HQ, the series’ launcher. “Both were all-time highs for Call of Duty HQ,” Piscatella said, adding that this is “bonkers engagement.”
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 - Global Launch Gameplay Trailer
Black Ops 6 is the first Call of Duty game released following Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which was finalized last October. It’s not the first in the series to hit Xbox Game Pass (that would be 2023’s Modern Warfare 3), but it’s the first to launch day one to the service. Natella touted briefly about how good the game has been for Game Pass, which Piscatella confirms.
“Supporting data points are beginning to suggest that, yes, coming to Game Pass very likely helped boost Call of Duty engagement on Xbox Series, but it also hasn’t appeared to significantly detract from engagement across other platforms. Still early, needs more data,” Piscatella wrote.
In other Xbox financial news, content and services revenue (i.e., games and Game Pass) increased 61% year-over-year, mostly due to the Activision Blizzard acquisition. This doesn’t take into account Black Ops 6‘s release, but does factor in the new Xbox Game Pass Standard and Ultimate tiers price hike. While, hardware revenue is down 29%, Microsoft has put more of its effort into expanding the platforms for its first-party titles, as well as Xbox Game Pass. This all comes in a year where Xbox has laid off at least 2,500 workers and closed four studios.
Carli is a technology, culture, and games editor and journalist. They were the Gaming Lead and Copy Chief at Windows Central…
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6: tips and tricks to dominate the competition
In most Call of Duty games, you can rely on your aim and reflexes to get you pretty far in multiplayer, but Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will ask a lot more of you if you want to outplay the competition. Getting the feel for new weapons won't take you long, but there's a lot more you need to wrap your head around in this entry, from the completely revamped movement systems and perks to new game modes and scorestreaks.
Black Ops 6 proves that we're long past the days of this series being a simple shooter. While the campaign is great fun for a while, and Zombies has a lot to sink your teeth into as well, it is the competitive multiplayer mode that most of us spend the most time with. This is the biggest Call of Duty has been in years, so the competition has never been fiercer. If you want that edge on the battlefield, these tips and tricks will give it to you.
Master the movement
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It's Call of Duty week on Xbox Game Pass. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 launched today, and from day one, it's a part of Game Pass Ultimate's game catalog. It's one of the big payoffs of Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Depending on how it performs, it may be one of the most important games to ever come to the subscription service. On top of that, other Call of Duty games finally got Xbox Cloud Gaming support, which required collaboration with Ubisoft because of certain concessions made during the Activision Blizzard acquisition process. If you're an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscriber wondering what you should play this weekend, the obvious answer is Call of Duty.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 - Global Launch Gameplay Trailer
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All Black Ops 6 Trophies and Achievements
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All Black Ops 6 Trophies and Achievements
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