It’s no secret Call of Duty is enjoying a particularly torrid time, but ex-Activision boss Bobby Kotick may have revealed just how badly latest entry Black Ops 7 is doing.
In response to a lawsuit led by investors and funded by a Swedish pension fund named AP-7, he repeated multiple times that the newest Call of Duty is down 60% compared to last year’s game, which will be sending alarm bells ringing in Redmond.
To give some context to the suit, a group of investors have essentially alleged Kotick of rushing into the deal to sell Activision to Microsoft. They claim his valuation of $95 per share (making for a total purchase price of $69 billion, as we’re sure you’ll all remember) was too low.
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They further allege that he ultimately made the decision to sell to insulate himself from widespread sexual scandals.
But in Kotick’s response, he points to lagging console hardware sales and massive declines to the Call of Duty franchise as evidence of why he made the right call.
He said, as read and reported by Game File:
“Today, given that console sales are at an all-time low and Call of Duty sales are off over 60% from the prior year, Plaintiff should be expressing extreme gratitude for the foresight Activision leadership demonstrated in consummating this transaction.”
We’re not entirely sure where Kotick is pulling his 60% figure from, but it’s safe to assume a man with his standing in the industry would have his sources.
Indeed, we know that Black Ops 7 has seen massive declines pretty much worldwide, forcing Activision to release an unprecedented statement late last year. The panicked note to players mentioned it’d never release back-to-back sub-franchise instalments ever again.
It’s also true that console sales are at an all-time low, in the US anyway, where November’s numbers were the worst on record in 30 years – despite the brand-new Switch 2 entering the market earlier in 2025.
Elsewhere in his note, Kotick went on to attack the FTC, who famously tried to stop the Activision acquisition from going through.
He pointed out:
“Call of Duty is on track to perform over 60% below last year because of intense competition from titles like Battlefield – destroying the FTC’s now defeated argument about Call of Duty’s purported monopoly and the lack of competition in the first-person action game category.”
It’s going to be fascinating to see Microsoft’s upcoming financials, as while we’re sure the company will put all of its energy and emphasis on AI, it may not be able to hide from the steep losses likely to be caused by Call of Duty’s decline.
And it’s got to go head-to-head with GTA 6 this Christmas, too. Good luck!