Gamers in the United Kingdom appear to be losing interest in the Call of Duty series. This is according to the launch sales of the latest title, Call of Duty: Vanguard, which are down 40 percent over last year’s game. Sales of physical copies dropped 26 percent versus Black Ops Cold War, while digital sales fell by 44 percent.
From GamesIndustry.biz, which argues that the disappointment is unique to Vanguard and not indicative of the franchise slowing down any time soon:
Vanguard’s critical reception was muted, and the World War II Call of Duty games have typically performed below that of the more modern-based titles. The console hardware transition is also something that needs to be considered, alongside shooter competition from Battlefield 2042 and Halo: Infinite. Finally, there is the service-based Call of Duty: Warzone. The free-to-play battle royale game launched last year and remains hugely popular.
Despite its reduced sales, Call of Duty: Vanguard still represents the second biggest game launch of the year behind FIFA 22. GSD’s top ten for the week ending November 6, 2021:
| Last Week | This Week | Title |
|---|---|---|
| New Entry | 1 | Call of Duty: Vanguard |
| 1 | 2 | FIFA 22 |
| 2 | 3 | Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy |
| 3 | 4 | Mario Party Superstars |
| 6 | 5 | Grand Theft Auto 5 |
| 10 | 6 | Mario Kart 8: Deluxe |
| 5 | 7 | Far Cry 6 |
| 25 | 8 | Spider-Man: Miles Morales |
| 9 | 9 | Minecraft (Switch) |
| 11 | 10 | Animal Crossing: New Horizons |
Source: GSD (via GamesIndustry.biz)