One billion dollars…it must be said like Dr. Evil in order to get the full effect. Call of Duty: Black Ops II has passed that mark in worldwide sales, according to Activision Publishing. And as incredible as it sounds, it only took 15 days to sell that many copies.
Last year, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare hit the $1 billion in sales mark in 16 days.
“The release of Call of Duty® has been one of the most significant entertainment events of each of the last six years,” stated Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard, announcing the sales figure. “Since Call of Duty was launched, cumulative franchise revenues from players around the world are greater than current worldwide box office receipts to date for the top-10 grossing films of 2012 combined. Life-to-date sales for the Call of Duty franchise have exceeded worldwide theatrical box office receipts for Harry Potter and Star Wars, the two most successful movie franchises of all time.”
And if you have a Call of Duty fan in your family, you’ll be happy to know they’ve probably contributed to the more than 150 million hours that have been logged online playing the game on Xbox® LIVE® and PlayStation Network.
“Entertainment franchises that captivate audiences for as long as Call of Duty has, on the scale that Call of Duty has, are very rare things. And it takes a lot of brilliant people working across many different disciplines to make it happen. It is incredibly humbling and gratifying to be a part of,” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing.
“In order for Call of Duty to remain the entertainment juggernaut that it is, and keep our fans coming back for more, we need to continue to bring fresh ideas and new innovations to the table every time, while always staying true to what people fell in love with in the first place. That’s what we did with Call of Duty: Black Ops II, and that’s what we intend to keep on doing. This is an incredible milestone for an incredible franchise, and I want to thank every passionate, talented, committed person on our team who made it happen.”
