Modern Warfare breaks huge Call of Duty records for playtime and sales

Activision Blizzard and Infinity Ward announced on December 18 that Modern Warfare has claimed the top spot for hours played for any Call of Duty game this console generation and that sales for the newest installment have eclipsed a thoroughly impressive milestone.

As a new generation of consoles can be seen on the horizon, the Call of Duty franchise can celebrate their latest achievement with Modern Warfare.

Per an official release on December 18, 50 days after the game was released and also the day of a massive Modern Warfare patch, Activision Blizzard announced that Modern Warfare is the number one most played Call of Duty multiplayer game of this console generation. 

The generation stretches back to 2013, when the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4 were both announced as successors to the Xbox 360 and the PS3, respectively. When holiday 2020 hits a year from now, Xbox Series X and the PS5 will then replace our current generation.

But in just fifty days since its release, Modern Warfare has racked up the most hours played, hours per players, and average daily players of any Call of Duty game this generation. Roughly, that number translates to 500 million hours played and over 300 million multiplayer matches.

• Read more: Insane stats of first Modern Warfare player to hit 100,000 kills

But the latest installment of the iconic first-person shooter hasn’t just dominated playtime this generation, it’s also dominated the year in sales compared to all other games.

According to Activision Blizard, Modern Warfare is the highest selling premium game of 2019, having just crossed $1 billion in total revenue.

Also, on a separate note, Call of Duty Mobile, the franchise’s first mobile game, has done extremely well too, breaking 100 million downloads in its first week, and generating $87 million in spending across two months according to SensorTower.

• Read more: Activision Blizzard took mind-boggling amount from US taxpayers in 2018

Activision Blizzard cited the introduction of some new features as the cause for Modern Warfare’s vast success, notably its cross-progression and cross-save features, and its new content release system, which no longer requires players to purchase a season pass or DLC. 

Now, all post-launch content is available free to everyone across the three platforms at the same time, unlike in recent years when PS4 would receive content early due to Sony’s exclusivity deal with Activision.

The continued success of Modern Warfare and the Call of Duty franchise will be an interesting storyline to follow, especially as the with the start of the newly-formed Call of Duty League approaching, followed by the next generation of consoles expected to release during the 2020 holiday season.