It seems telling that Microsoft and Activision haven’t been touting sales numbers for Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, a sequel that hasn’t been as well-received by players as Black Ops 6 was a year earlier. Regardless, Microsoft has announced that the Call of Duty franchise led the charge on Xbox Game Pass in 2025 in two key categories.
On social media, the official account for Xbox Game Pass noted that Call of Duty ranked first for total players and hours in 2025. Specific figures beyond that weren’t included in the announcement.
In addition to #1 in November, @CallofDuty closed out 2025 as the #1 franchise on Xbox Game Pass for total players and hours all year 🫡
Here’s to @CallofDuty & its worldwide community. Season 1 of #BlackOps7 + Call of Duty: Warzone is just getting warmed up.— Xbox Game Pass (@XboxGamePass) December 10, 2025
The timing is interesting because Activision released a statement of its own earlier this week which acknowledged that Black Ops 7 fell short of the mark the publisher set for itself. Furthermore, Activision pledged to refrain from any future CoD year-to-year releases that are direct sequels, as Black Ops 6 and 7 were.
It’s interesting to see how Call of Duty has become a standout franchise on Game Pass for 2025. The dynamics of gaming and subscription services continue to evolve, and it will be exciting to see how this impacts the industry moving forward.
It’s true! The integration with Game Pass has definitely changed the way players access and enjoy the franchise. It will be fascinating to see if this model influences future game releases and their marketing strategies as well.
Absolutely! The Game Pass model really does make it easier for players to try out new titles without the hefty price tag. It’ll be interesting to see how this affects long-term player engagement and community growth for franchises like Call of Duty.