Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 has finally landed, but its arrival in Europe feels strangely quiet for a franchise that usually dominates the conversation the moment a new entry drops. The game still debuted at the very top of the EU premium sales chart for the week of November 10–16, yet the underlying numbers tell a very different story from the confident headlines. For the first time in years, a mainline Call of Duty launch is not just being measured against its rivals, but found wanting when stacked up against both Battlefield 6 and last years Black Ops 6.
Launch week sales fall far short of expectations
According to GSDs aggregated European retail and digital data, Black Ops 7s launch week unit sales in the region are sharply down. 
When you line it up against Battlefield 6s first week in the EU, Black Ops 7 is trailing by around 63 percent in copies sold. Even more worrying for Activision is the internal comparison: estimates reported by The Game Business suggest that Black Ops 7 has sold more than 50 percent fewer copies in its opening week than Black Ops 6 managed over the same period just a year ago.
On paper, a chart topping launch still translates into millions of copies sold and an incredibly strong debut by any normal standard. For most publishers, a number one launch in multiple territories would be an unqualified success. But Call of Duty operates on a different scale. The series has been built on the expectation that every yearly release not only dominates the chart, but also pushes past or at least matches the previous entry. Viewed through that lens, Black Ops 7 starts to look like a blockbuster that has underperformed, a giant that has taken a noticeable step back compared to its own history.
Fatigue, timing and a crowded shooter market
There are several obvious factors that could be dragging down demand. Franchise fatigue has been creeping into player discussions for years, as shooters compete not only with each other but with long running live service titles and free to play games that constantly demand time and attention. Many players already have a go to competitive shooter or battle royale and are less willing to buy in at full price every single autumn.
The tone and positioning of Black Ops 7 may also have had an impact. The marketing push felt more subdued than earlier Call of Duty campaigns, and the game arrived in a jam packed release window where strategy titles, role playing games and sports sims all fought for the same wallets. In a year where the cost of living is biting across Europe, players are more selective, waiting for reviews, watching streams and sometimes holding off for discounts instead of preordering the latest shooter out of habit.
Strategy, sports and RPGs disrupt the usual hierarchy
Black Ops 7s softer debut becomes even more interesting when you look at what else is happening on the chart. Anno 117: Pax Romana, which launched just two days earlier, came storming into the rankings. The Game Business reports that its launch week performance more than doubled the numbers of the previous mainline entry, Anno 1800. For a complex historical city builder, beating its own predecessor so decisively shows how franchise goodwill, solid support over many years and smart evolution of the formula can pay off with a bigger and more confident sequel.
Another major story is Football Manager 26. The management sim remains in the top ten by revenue, reflecting deep engagement from a devoted audience that sinks hundreds of hours into long careers, experiments with different clubs and often invests in expansions or premium editions. Yet the game has slipped out of the top ten when ranked purely by copies sold. That gap tells its own story: Football Manager 26 had a remarkably strong opening week, but early technical issues and negative word of mouth have cooled the momentum, slowing its ability to win over new or more cautious players even as its core fanbase continues to spend.
Battlefield 6, meanwhile, continues to demonstrate impressive staying power. It still appears in both the top ten by revenue and the top ten by units sold across the EU, sitting just behind EA Sports FC 26 on both lists. That means the shooter has managed to carve out a durable position for itself even as new releases crowd the shelves and digital storefronts, extending its life far beyond the typical launch spike that many big budget games experience.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 offers another fascinating example of how smart live operations and pricing can transform a sales curve. The medieval role playing sequel remains in the top ten for both revenue and copies sold, buoyed by the carefully timed release of its third and final DLC. That content drop was lined up with a free trial weekend and a deep discount on Steam, a combination that kept the game highly visible on front pages, tempted lapsed players back to see what had changed, and finally convinced undecided newcomers to jump in.
The EU top ten by copies sold
Looking at the raw rankings, the EU top ten by copies sold for the week of November 10–16 is led by Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, followed by Anno 117: Pax Romana, EA Sports FC 26, Battlefield 6, Pokemon Legends Z A, Grand Theft Auto V, Hogwarts Legacy, Ghost of Yotei, Red Dead Redemption 2 and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. The mix of brand new releases, evergreen open world hits and late cycle revival stories underlines just how competitive and diverse the European market has become. In this landscape, even a juggernaut like Call of Duty is sharing shelf space with a decade old crime epic, family friendly wizard adventures and a niche but passionate medieval sandbox.
The EU top ten by revenue
The same weeks top ten by revenue tells a similar but not identical story. Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 again takes first place, ahead of Anno 117: Pax Romana, EA Sports FC 26 and Battlefield 6. Further down the list, Pokemon Legends Z A, Ghost of Yotei, Football Manager 26, the bundle Super Mario Galaxy plus Super Mario Galaxy 2, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 and Grand Theft Auto V round out the ranking. Higher priced editions, bundles, DLC packs and long term engagement clearly help some games punch far above their raw unit sales, proving that average spend per player is now as important as the number of copies sold.
What Black Ops 7s muted debut really means
Taken together, these numbers paint a clearer picture of where Call of Duty stands. Black Ops 7 is still the biggest release of the week by a comfortable margin, but its performance relative to Battlefield 6 and especially to Black Ops 6 sends a strong signal. Even the most powerful brands in gaming are no longer insulated from shifts in player behaviour, rising expectations around technical polish and economic pressure on household budgets. In a market where strategy titles, sports simulations and long tail role playing games can all muscle into the same top ten, simply sitting at number one for a week is no longer enough.
For Activision, the real challenge now is to turn this muted launch into a longer term success story. If Black Ops 7 can leverage post launch updates, seasonal content and strong community support to grow its audience over time, it may yet close the gap to its predecessors. If not, this launch will be remembered as the moment when Call of Duty stopped setting the pace and started chasing it, in a European market that is more varied, more demanding and more unpredictable than ever.
1 comment
maybe ppl just tired of yearly black ops, those numbers kinda say it