Early indications regarding the sales and reception of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 appear promising, bolstered by recent confirmations from both Microsoft and Activision. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced in the Q1 2025 earnings call that the game has now broken records for the franchise, and was one of the largest contributors to growth in the Game Pass subscription service.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Record-Breaking Sales
With settling up with Activision Blizzard King a year under the belt, attention now turns to building a sustainable, higher-margin content and services business. That change is reflected in the results, with the company moving away from dependence on gamer revenue streams in the past. The quarter also saw a record number of monthly active users — players on Xbox also play over multiple platforms across the ecosystem. Both total revenue and average revenue per subscriber reached a new Q1 high for Game Pass. In the future, the power of their IP over studios has never been more robust.
Last week saw the release we were all waiting for in Black Ops 6, setting records for day one players and millions signed up for Game Pass as a result Moreover, game units in PlayStation and Steam sales increased by +60% YoY. This success shows the strategy of reaching gamers by giving them more games to play on the devices they play on. The active expansion of the player base means that this is also the first title from Activision Blizzard ever in terms of subsequently getting more generated revenue from paid users directly through a Game Pass launch — Subscriber growth will be much higher based on the expansion of the player base per title.
But the real question is if this will actually be more profitable long term than selling games. Activision has been excited about these milestones, sharing via an update on the studio’s official X account that Black Ops 6 had the biggest opening weekend to date based on total players and total matches played. The publisher also told The Washington Post that the franchise has sold more than 500 Million units since its inception 21 years ago.
FAQs
What records did Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 break?
The game achieved the biggest launch in franchise history, setting records for day-one players and Game Pass subscriber growth.
How has Black Ops 6 impacted Game Pass?
The game’s release contributed to a record-high revenue for Game Pass and increased the total number of active subscribers on launch day.
