In the wake of Battlefield 6 and Arc Raiders, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 suffered a much smaller launch than previous CoD games

Activision's own response to Call of Duty: Black Ops 7's release seems more muted than previous years.

Last night, the official Call of Duty social media account shared a post, congratulating developers Treyarch and Raven on the latest Call of Duty release, and thanking the community in the process.

"Across the opening weekend, we've seen a great response to the quality and depth of gameplay in Black Ops 7," it wrote, adding there will be more to come.

However, many have pointed out that the tone in this latest release post, which Activision acknowledges every year, is a little less enthusiastic than previous examples.

Last year's Black Ops 6, for example, received a post boasting about the game's stats. "#1 Total Players, #1 Hours Played, #1 Total Matches," it read, with Activision thanking the fan base for making Black Ops 6 "the biggest Call of Duty ever".

You can see the two Call of Duty: Black Ops posts side by side below.

Meanwhile, according to The Game Business' Chris Dring, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 had "a smaller UK retail launch (physical sales) than Battlefield 6" based on GfK data. Black Ops 7 also has the lowest metacritic user score for a Call of Duty game ever, while Steam player numbers have been lower than other series entries.

Black Ops 7 has also come under fire for its apparent use of generative AI. This matter was recently brought up by US Congressman Ro Khanna who responded to Activision Blizzard's AI use in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 by highlighting the need for AI regulations in the United States of America.

"A shift away from single-player leaves Call of Duty with its most lopsided and homogenous entry in decades, though what it does offer is consistently good fun when accepted on its own terms," reads Eurogamer's Black Ops 7 review.