Somewhat inevitably, Activision announced today that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has earned one billion dollars in its first sixteen days on sale. This beats the current record of James Cameron’s 3D blockbuster Avatar which took seventeen days back in 2010 to break the billion dollar mark.
According to Activision, over thirty million gamers are now a part of the Call of Duty community, which “now exceeds the combined populations of the cities of New York, London, Tokyo, Paris and Madrid.” Call of Duty Elite has also attracted over six million players since launch. Activision points out that “by comparison, the premium subscription services of Netflix, Hulu Plus, Sirius XM and Xbox Live did not reach one million paid subscribers until almost one year after launch.”
“Call of Duty has become that rare entertainment franchise that transcends its own genre. Core gamers love it, as our stellar reviews show. But every year, new people are drawn into Call of Duty,” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing. “And while the franchise continues to set records, our fans still seem to want more, demonstrated by our record setting start on Call of Duty Elite. We are committed to helping everyone connect, compete and improve their game, Call of Duty style.”