Positive News

Sales figures are in for CoD MW3 in the US, UK. It breaks the record number of CoD Black Ops day-one sales.

By Matt Swider on November 11, 2011 @ 09:32 AM

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has, unsurprisingly, achieved record-breaking sales figures for its first day on the market in the United States and United Kingdom, according to Activision. With an estimated sell-through of more than $400 million and 6.5 million units in 24 hours, CoD MW3 is now the biggest entertainment launch ever. Which sales king is it replacing in the number one slot? None other than last year’s Call of Duty release, CoD Black Ops. Which game did Black Ops replace last year? The previous year’s Call of Duty release, CoD MW2. I think you’re beginning to see the trend.

"We believe the launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is the biggest entertainment launch of all time in any medium, and we achieved this record with sales from only two territories," said Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick. "Other than Call of Duty, there has never been another entertainment franchise that has set opening day records three years in a row. Life-to-date sales for the Call of Duty franchise exceed worldwide theatrical box office for ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Lord of the Rings,’ two of the most successful entertainment franchises of all time."

The consecutively higher sales totals make this the third year in a row that Call of Duty has set day one launch records across all forms of entertainment. Activision boasts that “this is something no other entertainment franchise in any medium has ever accomplished.” That proud statement comes from the same company that claimed for the game that this was “the biggest video game in history” in its MW launch trailer. I guess there’s some merit to that ridiculed claim now.