Microsoft boss Satya Nadella has referred to as final week’s Black Ops 6 launch the “largest Name of Obligation launch ever”, saying its arrival set a file for “Recreation Move subscriber provides on launch day.”
Information of Name of Obligation: Black Ops 6’s success got here amid Microsoft’s Q1 FY2025 monetary earnings report, which noticed the corporate as soon as once more reporting notable features in gaming income, up 43 % year-over-year. That is alongside a 61 % year-on-year improve for Xbox content material and providers income, though development was primarily a results of Microsoft’s $69bn Activision Blizzard acquisition. In distinction, the corporate’s Xbox {hardware} income has continued to fall, this time by 29 % year-on-year.
Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition additionally helped present extra excellent news for traders, because of Name of Obligation: Black Ops 6’s latest arrival. Whereas opening weekend numbers noticed bodily gross sales of Black Ops 6 fall by 10 % within the UK in comparison with Trendy Warfare 3, possible as a consequence of its day one look on Recreation Move, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella trumpeted the launch in an earnings name at the moment, calling Black Ops 6 the “largest Name of Obligation launch ever”.
Whereas the Nadella did not share particular figures for example his claims, he additionally famous Black Ops 6’s launch had set a “file for day one gamers in addition to Recreation Move subscriber provides on launch day.” That Recreation Move metric was beforehand rolled out final 12 months, when Nadella introduced Bethesda’s Starfield had “set a file for probably the most Recreation Move subscriptions added on a single day ever”, indicating greater numbers of Black Ops 6. Whether or not these numbers show adequate for Microsoft, given Black Ops 6’s Recreation Move launch marked a important take a look at for its subscription service technique following acquisition of Activision Blizzard, stays to be seen.
Nadella additionally revealed Black Ops 6’s launch had attracted the very best variety of opening weekend PC gamers within the franchise’s historical past, whereas unit gross sales on PlayStation and Steam have been stated to be up 60 % year-over-year. Black Ops 6 developer Treyarch repeated a lot of Nadella’s record-setting claims in a message shared on social media earlier than throwing in a few of its personal – including Black Ops 6 had seen the very best variety of whole gamers, hours performed, and whole matches performed throughout a three-day opening weekend in Name of Obligation’s historical past.
However how has it gone down with the critics? Eurogamer’s Chris Tapsell shared his ideas on Name of Obligation: Black Ops 6’s “nonsensical, however surprisingly intimate” marketing campaign earlier this week, calling it a “return to kind for the sequence, mixing the standard, barely unsavoury real-world set dressing with cracking motion, horror twists and tongue-in-cheek appeal.” We’ll be reaching a verdict on Black Ops 6’s multiplayer part at a later date.
