Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 has achieved the highest Metacritic score for a game in the franchise in 15 years, garnering praise for its campaign and positive early impressions of its DMZ and multiplayer modes. However, Activision has adopted a notably reserved stance regarding its sales performance following the shooter’s first full launch weekend. While Xbox CEO Asha Sharma announced the franchise has surpassed $40 billion in lifetime revenue, this milestone offers no insight into the current sales of Microsoft's major 2026 release. IMAGE4
Despite the positive reception, Modern Warfare 4 is reporting lower concurrent player numbers on Steam compared to Black Ops 6, a situation not helped by its absence from Game Pass on day one this year. While concurrent player counts on a single platform do not present the full picture, Activision has yet to release any official sales data or highlight any new launch records for the title. This quietude aligns with the company's communication strategy for Black Ops 7's launch in 2025 and marks a significant departure from its previous practice of boasting about surpassing Hollywood blockbusters' opening weekend box office revenues.
The franchise's best-selling title to date is reportedly Black Ops 3, which sold 43 million copies. Activision declared that game's opening weekend as the year's biggest entertainment launch, generating $550 million in total sales. The 2019 iteration of Modern Warfare ranks as the second best-selling entry with 41 million copies sold, and Activision confirmed it was the biggest Call of Duty launch of the PlayStation 4/Xbox One generation, with its launch weekend sales reportedly "more than doubling the box office opening of Joker."
In contrast, Sharma's recent statement regarding Modern Warfare 4 described it as "one of the most celebrated Call of Duty games in its 24-year history, and now $40B in lifetime franchise revenue." The statement concluded with "An incredible milestone. Congrats to the Activision team. And to the players, thank you for being with us." Further details on the game's performance may emerge during Microsoft's next earnings call on October 28.
Activision's approach to announcing sales figures has evolved considerably over the past two decades.
Early Milestones
For the launch of Modern Warfare 2 in 2009, Activision reported an estimated $310 million in sell-through sales in North America and the United Kingdom within the first 24 hours, with approximately 4.7 million copies sold in those regions. Black Ops, released in 2010, set a new record as the biggest entertainment launch ever, with an estimated $360 million in sell-through in North America and the United Kingdom in its first day, selling around 5.6 million copies. By November 2011, Modern Warfare 3 had surpassed $1 billion in sales worldwide just 16 days after its release, a milestone that bested the feature film "Avatar."
Record-Breaking Launches
Black Ops 2 achieved an estimated $500 million in worldwide sell-through in its first 24 hours, with Activision CEO Bobby Kotick at the time stating it was the biggest entertainment launch of the year for the fourth consecutive year. Ghosts, released in 2013, sold more than $1 billion to retailers worldwide on its first day. Advanced Warfare in 2014 was declared the biggest entertainment launch of the year, surpassing all other video games, movies, music, and books. Black Ops 3 exceeded $550 million in worldwide sell-through in its first three days in 2015, marking the biggest entertainment launch of that year and setting new engagement records for the franchise.
Shifting Metrics
Infinite Warfare, launched in 2016, was reported as the number one top-selling console video game in the U.S. year-to-date based on physical unit sales. Call of Duty: WWII surpassed $500 million in worldwide sell-through in its first three days in 2017, doubling year-over-year unit sales at launch and setting a digital sales record on PlayStation 4. Black Ops 4 also generated over $500 million in worldwide sell-through in its first three days in 2018, while setting new franchise records for player engagement across its various modes.
Modern Warfare (2019) achieved more than $600 million in worldwide sell-through in its first three days, becoming the top-selling premium game of 2019 and setting a record for Activision's digital opening. Black Ops Cold War set a franchise record for first-day digital sales worldwide in 2020. Call of Duty: Vanguard, released in 2021, focused on its content depth across single-player, multiplayer, and Zombies, with deep integration into Warzone. Modern Warfare II (2022) became the franchise's highest-grossing opening weekend ever, with over $800 million in worldwide sell-through in its first three days, surpassing the combined box office openings of "Top Gun: Maverick" and "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness."
More recently, Modern Warfare 3 (2023) players reportedly engaged with the game more hours per player than any new premium Call of Duty release since 2019 during the holiday weekend. Black Ops 6, launched last week, was described as the biggest Call of Duty release ever, setting records for day-one players and Game Pass subscriber additions, with PlayStation and Steam unit sales up over 60 percent year-over-year. In contrast, the communication for Black Ops 7's opening weekend was limited to a statement noting a "great response to the quality and depth of gameplay."