Call of Duty just broke unwanted record ahead of Verdansk’s return

With Season 3 and the return of Verdansk right around the corner in Black Ops 6 and Warzone, Call of Duty just broke a worrying record.

It’s no secret that Call of Duty, and particularly Warzone, has been struggling in recent months. Ongoing bugs and issues with hackers have caused the devs to shift focus, meaning that new content has been minimal in the last couple of major updates.

That’s all set to change in Season 3, with Verdansk and a number of classic guns due to return. But it may have already taken its toll, as the game’s player count just hit a new low.

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CoD player count hits record low on Steam

According to Steam Charts, Call of Duty had an average player count of 54,575 in the month of February. This is the lowest since the site started tracking data all the way back in October 2022, with the previous low being around 55,0000 in September 2023.

While it’s normal for interest to drop off toward the end of a game’s lifecycle, such as the final months of MW2, it’s unusual for the player count to struggle this much so soon.

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This time last year, during MW3’s time in the spotlight, CoD averaged 83,220 players daily after 96,141 in 2023.

Steam Charts

It’s worth noting that these figures don’t tell the full story, as they only cover Steam and not Xbox, PlayStation, or Battle.net. However, given that the Call of Duty app holds every entry in the series since 2020, this is still a concerning trend.

Black Ops 6 multiplayer and Zombies remain fairly popular within the community after well-received launches, but it’s clear that Warzone’s issues have had a significant impact on the stats.

Related

Warzone leak is great news for players who love Verdansk

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It’s not all doom and gloom, though, as the Season 3 update is expected to bring many players back who had started looking elsewhere. Verdansk is returning for the first time since 2021, giving long-time fans more reason than ever to give Warzone a second chance.

However, there are still those who fear that even the OG map coming back won’t be enough to turn the tide. We’ll have to wait until March 20 to see if Verdansk can have a large enough impact.

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Release Date

25/10/2024

Genre

First-person shooter

Platforms

PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

Modes

Multiplayer, Single Player

Developers

Raven Software, Treyarch

Publisher

Activision

Franchise

Call of Duty: Black Ops