We’ve already known that Call of Duty doesn’t seem to be selling all that well this year compared to other years – Pokemon seems to have taken the mantle of being the highest selling game this year with Sun/Moon – but now we have some specifics on that. While we still don’t have exact numbers, according to the NPD Group, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare sales are a staggering 51% down from last year’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 3.
Honestly, I cannot say I am surprised at all- Black Ops 3 had a lot of excitement and hype going into it, and the game looked to be one of the most ambitious titles the series has had to date. Infinite Warfare seems to be far more conservative mechanically, seems to be putting the emphasis into the single player campaign that, while appreciated, is simply not the reason people get these games, and has had a vehemently negative reception from fans ever since its reveal to begin with.
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare is also available on fewer platforms than Black Ops 3, which managed to get PS3 and Xbox 360 versions out in addition to current gen ones. That probably contributed to the decline, too. On the whole, though, I have to say that this probably comes down to Infinite Warfare just being an unappealing product.