In several key ways, Call of Duty Black Ops 6 will be the start of “something new” for both Activision Blizzard and the platforms it’s on. After all, this game is the first released through Activision Blizzard after being bought by Microsoft and Xbox. The new “power dynamic” that will come through remains to be seen, but we are already seeing key changes to how people are reacting to the franchise and where they might get it. For example, we know the shooter will be a “Day One Entry” on Xbox Game Pass, which might bump up the player count at launch.
We also know that Activision Blizzard is attempting to “go big or go home” with the game due to the reception of last year’s entry, which was hailed as one of the worst games in the series and broke the series streak of being the best-selling game in the US. So, when the Call of Duty Black Ops 6 beta hit recently, it was going to be curious to see just how many players were interested in participating. On the franchise’s official Twitter handle, they made it clear that it wasn’t just a big reception; it was the biggest beta they had ever done!
Those are some impressive stats that are hard to deny. Just the player count and the match time count alone would make this a successful beta, so when you add in the other stats, you can see why the publisher is gushing about this.
You could further argue that Microsoft is eager to see how these numbers will translate to both plays and sales on the Xbox line of consoles. After all, why the game isn’t exclusive to them, despite fears it might be after the sale, you know that they want the ‘vast majority’ of them to hit the console instead of PC or PS5. They want this franchise to be “rooted” in the Xbox line so that it can get more attention and more sales. It’s not wrong for them to want that, especially after all they’ve tried and failed to do to get people to buy the Xbox Series X/S, which is floundering in sales in every metric that matters.
No matter what happens with this game, people will judge it critically due to past issues and the behind-the-scenes drama with the Activision Blizzard merger with Microsoft. Only time will tell how history reflects on this game and others down the line.
