Activision Blizzard proudly announced $3 billion in sales of its Call of Duty video game series over the past six years, with its most recent video game currently smashing sales records.
The company has collectively sold more than 55 million CoD video games since 2003, and the series is considered one of the most popular game franchises of all time.
Activision's most recent video game release, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, sold $550 million worldwide through the first five days of release. CoD: MW 2 sold 4.7 million copies in the first 24 hours in the United States and United Kingdom, as video game industry analysts predict the game could help kick start increased game sales this Christmas.
"If you consider the number of hours our audiences are engaged in playing Call of Duty games, it is likely to be one of the most viewed of all entertainment experiences in modern history," Activision CEO Bobby Kotisk noted in an official statement issued by the company.
Activision Blizzard is expected to continue trying to cash in on the popularity of the CoD later down the road, despite the difficulty of continuing a video game franchise that is closely watched and scrutinized by gamers across the world. I remember learning about and seeing CoD during E3 and GDC in the years past, and game designers were noticeably pleased with the game series. However, after chatting with the same people a few years later, even they didn’t expect to see such a joyous reception for the game studio’s titles.
The game industry has suffered throughout most of 2009, but the recent launches of CoD: Modern Warfare 2, Assassin's Creed 2, and New Super Mario Bros Wii are expected to rejuvenate the industry.
