Activision announces that theCall of Dutyseries has hit 250 million units sold worldwide, just days afterBlack Ops 3was named as the top selling game of 2015 in the United States.
It’s no secret thatCall of Dutyis one of the biggest franchises in all of video games, being that it’s the go-to FPS for a huge swathe of the genre’s most committed fans. Now, Activision is reporting that sales figures for the series as whole have surpassed 250 million units worldwide.
This news comes shortly after the publisher announced thatBlack Ops 3had managed to end 2015 as thehighest selling video game release of the year. Moreover,Call of Dutyhas been the highest selling franchise in North America for seven consecutive years, no small feat in the competitive release schedule of today.
It seems thatCall of Dutyis firmly in the black, with legions of fans still invested in its brand of FPS action. This may seem like no big surprise, but it’s important to remember that many analysts and pundits were predicting doom for the franchise not so long ago.
Following the launch of critical and commercial underachieverGhostsback in 2013,Activision CEO Eric Hirschberg made a statementsuggesting that the series would need to reflect on the criticisms being aired to survive. At the time, this seemed like the standard corporate response to a middling product, but changes were put in place.
Crucially, Activision has implemented a schedule that sees different studios tacklingCall of Dutyinstallments in consecutive years. This has made it possible for mainline entries to enjoy the benefits of a three-year development cycle, something that we’re only starting to see the fruits of now.
In turn, that’s given the developers working on the series more opportunity to create distinct experiences with differing focusses. That contributed to thebroadly positive critical response toAdvanced Warfarein 2014, andsimilar praise that was bestowed uponBlack Ops 3last year.
It’s been almost a decade since the originalModern Warfaretransformed theCall of Dutyfranchise from a popular FPS series into one of the most recognizable names in video games. With that sort of longevity — especially considering instalments have been released annually — certain evolutions were necessary to keep fans engaged.
Activision has seemingly managed to do just that, andCall of Dutyis enjoying as much success as it ever has. With Infinity Ward expected to be at the helm of the series' 2016 release, it’ll certainly be interesting to see where things go from here on out.
