Call of Duty Black Ops 6 has seen a 50% drop in its player base since launch, lagging behind Modern Warfare 3's retention numbers here's what we knowTech10:56, 08 Jan 2025Here's why Activision is unlikely to be too concerned(Image: Grab)Call of Duty fans seemed pretty positive on Black Ops 6 when it launched in October, but the player count has seemingly plummeted.TheGamer is reporting around a 50% drop in player count on Steam in two months as players seemingly drop the title, with SteamCharts data suggesting players have dropped from November's 165,668 to 87,000 in the last 30 days.Here's all we know about the numbers, and why Activision is unlikely to be too concerned despite it looking worse than 2023's Modern Warfare 3, which lost less of its players in the same window despite being considered an underwhelming entry by many.Call of Duty Black Ops 6 is the best CoD in years(Image: Activision)While there have been a few incidents that have upset the CoD community (we're looking at you, Squid Games Event Pass and Six-Fingered Santa Claus), one major reason for the lower player count is likely to be the game's inclusion on Xbox Game Pass.Subscribers get access to the game via the Xbox app on PC, which would mean Steam data isn't affected. That doesn't change the fact that a whole host of Steam players aren't logging in, but that could be down to how the games are packaged, too.Call of Duty's PC launcher, on Battle.net, Steam, and the Xbox app, is home to Black Ops 6, Modern Warfare 3, and Warzone (as well as a host of older titles). That means the Steam player count would have included Warzone players over the last few months, too, which means it likely factored in the spike around Season 1's launch with a new map.It's still very possible players got fed up with cheats, but there's every chance a lot of players have gone from playing Warzone on Steam to playing Black Ops 6 on Game Pass.Article continues belowSpeaking of Game Pass, there's a good chance more Call of Duty fans will flock to Microsoft's subscription service in the coming months. One report suggests 2008's World at War will be the next CoD title added to the service.For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.RECOMMENDED