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Call of Duty is back – and it’s got a lot to prove.<\/b><\/p>\n
Last year was a low point for the video game juggernaut, with poor reviews for its single-player campaign mode and multiplayer fans defecting to rival titles.<\/p>\n
So for latest instalment, Modern Warfare 4, publisher Activision is pulling out all the stops to bring fans back on board.<\/p>\n
But with increasing competition for fans’ time and attention, and the release of Grand Theft Auto 6 just weeks away, can Call of Duty still cut through?<\/p>\n
BBC Newsbeat spoke to some of those behind the game to find out, and why they see the upcoming release of GTA 6 as an “opportunity”.<\/p>\n
Since 2009, Call of Duty has been at the top – or a close second-place – in the US video game sales charts every year.<\/p>\n
But 2025’s edition, Black Ops 7, dropped to seventh place in America, according to data from analytics firm Circana. In the UK, it was the eighth best-selling game, external<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n It\u2019s thought the game\u2019s inclusion on Xbox\u2019s Game Pass subscription service, where it won\u2019t appear on release this year, hit sales.<\/p>\n But competition from long-running rival Battlefield 6 and new release Arc Raiders – a surprise success from Swedish studio Embark – put the behemoth on the back foot.<\/p>\n Fans also complained about the inclusion of novelty skins, which change the appearance of characters during multiplayer games, based on cartoons, external<\/span><\/a> and other pop culture crossovers.<\/p>\n Call of Duty’s chief marketing officer, Tyler Bahl, admits it was a tough year for the series.<\/p>\n “I think we missed expectations with our community last year,” he says.<\/p>\n “So we took a step back, we listened to them.”<\/p>\n Players now have the ability to switch off controversial cosmetic changes, and Bahl says Modern Warfare 4 is a “return to form”.<\/p>\n It’s a message they’ve been keen to get out.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n