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Call of Duty has rediscovered its mojo.
Modern Warfare, the latest installment of the long-running action series, sold more copies in its first three days on shelves than any Call of Duty game in the same period this console generation, pocketing $600 million in that time.
That’s $100 million more than the last two entries—Black Ops 4 and WWII.
“Call of Duty is once again the top selling new premium game of the year, proving the enduring nature of the franchise across console, PC, mobile, and esports,” said Bobby Kotick, Activision Blizzard’s Chief Executive Officer. “In its first three days of release, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare more than doubled the box office opening of Joker.”
The sell-through numbers, an industry term noting actual sales to customers, rather than orders placed by retailers, combine both physical medium sales and digital sales. Activision said the game set new records on Sony’s PlayStation Network digital storefront.
Modern Warfare also set franchise records for total players and total hours per player in the three-day launch window. That’s significant, since player engagement has become a key bellwether among publishers, as the more invested a player is in a title emotionally, the more likely they are to purchase downloadable content in the months to come, increasing the per-title margin.
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