Call of Duty has been the biggest-selling shooter in the US since 2006, but that could soon change according to industry analyst: 'This part of the market hasn't been this competitive in 20 years'

Activision's camo-clad cash cow Call of Duty has ruled the shooter roost for almost 20 years in the US, consistently topping the charts for games involving guns since 2006. But according to games industry analyst Mat Piscatella, that might just change in 2025.

Sharing some insights on Bluesky, (via GameSpot) Piscatella pointed out "the last shooter game to outsell Call of Duty in the US market over a full year was Gears of War, in 2006" according to data from the retail tracking service of his company Circana. He also noted that "The last FPS to do so was Star Wars: Battlefront 2" a year prior" and that Call of Duty "has been the US market's best-seller in 13 of the past 16 years" beaten only by Grand Theft Auto V, Hogwarts Legacy, and Red Dead Redemption 2.

This year, however, things might turn out differently. While Piscatella says we "still have some big weeks of potential sales to come," he observes that "this part of the market hasn't been this competitive in 20 years."

Indeed, the competition for Call of Duty's crown this year is particularly stiff. After a multi-year hiatus, Battlefield 6 has come back swinging by focussing on most of what originally made the series great, leading to 'the biggest launch in franchise history' as it sold more than 7 million copies in three days. This gave it better initial sales than both Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

While the competition is squarely between Call of Duty and Battlefield, complicating matters is the surprise success of Arc Raiders. While not sharing quite the same scale of success as Battlefield 6, Embark Studios' extraction shooter nonetheless proved hugely popular, selling 4 million copies in its first two weeks of launch. The fact that it landed between Battlefield and Call of Duty has likely split the pack somewhat.

Call of Duty, meanwhile, has thoroughly biffed it this year. Black Ops 7 slumped to mostly negative Steam reviews thanks to a truly abominable campaign, all-too familiar multiplayer, and ongoing blowback due to its use of generative AI (something which didn't affect Arc Raiders in the same way, though it received similar criticisms). Nova Smith lambasted Black Ops 7 as "equal parts obnoxious and exhausting" in their Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Review, awarding it a score of just 40%.

Season 01 Launch Trailer | Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 - YouTube

Watch On