Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is still over a month away from being released, but if the game’s beta is any indication, it will be yet another successful launch for the FPS series.
CoD was the most-played game on both PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S for the week ending on Sept. 7, according to a report by Circana’s Mat Piscatella. This was due in large part to the BO6 beta, which was available to some players from Aug. 30 to Sept. 4 and all players from Sept. 6 to 9.
On consoles, CoD HQ (the app that houses the beta, along with other titles in the franchise like Warzone) beat out the likes of Fortnite, Roblox, Grand Theft Auto 5, Madden NFL 25, EA Sports College Football 25, and the newly released NBA 2K25
On PC, meanwhile, CoD was the fourth most-played title on Steam, up four spots from eighth place. The game finished behind the hugely popular Valve games Deadlock and Counter-Strike 2, and the new release of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2.
The Circana chart lines up with Activision’s report last week that BO6 had “the biggest Call of Duty beta” ever. The publisher said the BO6 beta was number one in total players, hours played, playtime per player, and most matches played across every beta in the franchise’s history.
And now, 21 years after the series debuted, it once again shows no signs of slowing down whatsoever, with players excited for the new title not only for its multiplayer, but its return to round-based Zombies, and campaign featuring popular characters like Frank Woods.
In my review of the beta, I opined that BO6 should be a fun game, but work needs to be done before launch to make it the best it can be. With Treyarch at the helm working diligently behind the scenes before the Oct. 25 release date, I’m confident it will improve.
