Deconstructor of Fun Shooter Monthly #2: Call of Duty Flops, Battlefield Hops, and Arc Raiders Pops
Nov 28, 2025
Chris Sides, a passionate games industry analyst, joins Feras, an insightful co-commentator, to dissect the recent downfall of Call of Duty and the unexpected rise of Battlefield 6. They explore how poor marketing and competition impacted Black Ops 7’s launch. Dive into the extraction genre’s evolution with Arc Raiders, seen as a potential game-changer. The duo also debates skill-based matchmaking's economic implications and warns about retention risks while discussing strategies for sustaining player interest.
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Call Of Duty's Perfect Storm
- Black Ops 7 suffered a major launch decline driven by weak marketing, futuristic fatigue, and competition from Battlefield 6 and Arc Raiders.
- Activision likely reduced spend to avoid high CPIs and may shift resources to next year's title or Warzone.
SBMM Is An Economy Problem
- Skill-based matchmaking (SBMM) is often framed as a matchmaking problem but is actually a system design and economy issue.
- Designers must manage win rates, queue sizes, bots, and incentives rather than just pair similar-skill players.
Manage SBMM With Active Interventions
- When you implement SBMM, add back-end interventions like bots, occasional easier matches, or handicaps to protect retention.
- Monitor queue times, regional pools, and actively manage matchmaking rather than publicizing raw SBMM mechanics.