Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 was so successful that it actually made US customers spend less money buying games

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 launched back in October 2024. It was the first Call of Duty title to arrive on Xbox Game Pass (on day-one release), and it was so successful that it broke a lot of metrics here and there.

A recent analysis by Circana, an American market research company, shows that US customers spent less money buying actual games (physical and digital) back in November, a few weeks after the Black Ops 6 release, because you could still get the game as a part of your Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass subscriptions.

“The November spending decline was driven in part by the debut of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 in October this year, while Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III (2023) launched during the November tracking month a year ago,” says gaming industry analyst Mat Piscatella.

The study also shows that there’s an 8% growth in game subscriptions compared to last year thanks to the release. At the end of the year, Black Ops 6 became the 2nd best-selling game in the US, combined across all platforms, trailing only EA Sports College Football 25.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 broke the metrics within the franchise itself. Microsoft-owned Activision previously said that the game holds the record for most players, most hours played, and most matches in the first 30 days of any Call of Duty title.

Now, you can even try Black Ops 6 for as low as $1 with PC Game Pass’ 14-day trial. Microsoft previously removed the option at the game’s launch.