Poorly rated, criticized, rejected… but downloaded massively. This is the paradox that Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 represents. While physical sales and player ratings are in free fall, Treyarch’s latest has just established itself as the most downloaded game on PS5 in November 2025.
How can we explain such a gap between overall reception and download figures? Is the name “Call of Duty” enough to justify everything? This is what the official ranking published by Sony reveals, which places Black Ops 7 at the top despite its mediocre commercial performance.
Black Ops 7 tops PS5 downloads in November
On November 14, Black Ops 7 landed on consoles with a clear ambition: to revive interest in the Black Ops sub-series. But very quickly, the first sales analyzes fell like a blow: a 50% drop in Europe, the weakest launch in Japan in 20 years, and a historically low score on Metacritic. A catastrophic start.
And yet, on the PlayStation Store, it’s a completely different story. According to official Sony data, Black Ops 7 has been the most downloaded game on PS5 in November 2025, ahead of ARC Raiders, Battlefield 6 and even NBA 2K26. A surprising ranking given the context, but which says a lot about the attractiveness of the Call of Duty license, despite the criticism.
A digital success… inflated by the power of the brand?
Behind this domination of the PlayStation Store lies a more complex reality. The name Call of Duty still attracts a massive fan base, ready to download the game as soon as it is released, without waiting for testing. The “reflex” effect is in full swing: as soon as a new episode comes out, it skyrockets in the rankings, even if its quality leaves something to be desired.
This mechanic has already been verified in the past, but Black Ops 7 pushes the paradox even further: it dominates downloads while experiencing one of the harshest critical receptions of the franchise. The digital strategy therefore seems to be working, at least in the short term.
The Sony ranking also reveals other surprises
Beyond the Black Ops case, Sony’s rankings for November reveal some interesting trends. On PS4, Red Dead Redemption 2 remains a safe bet in mind. On the PSVR 2 side, Alien: Rogue Incursion VR is widely available. And in the free games category, Battlefield REDSEC and Where Winds Meet share the top spots, relegating Fortnite and Warzone to the background.
This panorama shows a very dynamic PSN ecosystem, where player habits can create significant gaps between critical success and download performance. Black Ops 7 is the perfect example.
Treyarch relies on SBMM to retain players
Aware of the game’s mixed reception, the Treyarch studio did not sit idly by. The first season of the game introduced more advanced SBMM (Skill-Based Matchmaking), intended to balance games based on player level and increase “engagement”. A way to retain players already acquired, even if the base could erode without more convincing content. It remains to be seen whether this PlayStation Store success will translate into long-term loyalty… or if it was just an artificial spike.