Black Ops 6 plummets in February game sales charts, but it’s probably not CoD’s fault

Call of Duty’s season three is set to be a big one in hopes of driving player engagement back up after a drop-off in the holiday season, and it will need it in a big way.

Circana Group’s Mat Piscatella posted the monthly analysis of the games industry for February, showing that Black Ops 6 has dropped from the top game in January all the way down to number six on the list. But honestly, it might actually be a positive overall.

CoD’s new title fell behind to two sports games and four new games overall, so the fact that it was still in sixth place is likely a good thing. It outranked two new titles in Avowed and Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, so the juice is still there for BO6.

The new top-selling game for February was Monster Hunter Wilds, followed by Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Civilization 7, and PGA Tour 2K25, all of which are new games with lots of hype behind them. It was also outpaced by NBA 2K25, which is the only other older title on the list.

BO6 was also dethroned as the top-selling game of the year, the title it held in January. It’s been outpaced there by MH Wilds, KCD 2, and Civ 7 yet again, but is still top dog over NBA and PGA Tour in that regard.

The biggest news here for CoD, though, is that it still held strong as the most-played game on Xbox platforms, and the second-most played game on PS5 in February, meaning that regardless of the inevitable sales drop, it’s still getting a good amount of player engagement ahead of season three, in spite of negativity surrounding the game.

CoD’s season three will reintroduce Verdansk to Warzone, along with a new BO6 Zombies map Shattered Veil, and additional multiplayer content. Still, the biggest issue the game still faces is an ongoing battle with cheaters and hackers against its RICOCHET Anti-Cheat system, which will hopefully see a big improvement next month.

Warzone players have been especially vocal about needing a big change in the game, including moving away from the “ugly, boring” current map of Urzikstan. CoD’s battle royale mode celebrated its fifth anniversary last week, and many players are longing for the simpler, nostalgic times of yesteryear.

CoD’s season three begins on April 3, so we should know shortly after if the franchise has delivered on that want.