Activision, as the publisher, has said that it plans for Call of Duty: Black Ops, the first person shooter developed by Treyarch and set during the Cold War, to surpass last year's Modern Warfare 2 in terms of sales by the end of the year, with the marketing push for the game one of the main ways to accomplish this feat.

Michael Sportouch, who is the general manager of the Call of Duty series for the European market, has told MCV that, “We’ve a fantastic game and a fantastic marketing campaign so our ambition is to set another record like we did with Modern Warfare 2”.

He added, “The resources invested behind Black Ops in terms of development of the game and the marketing are the highest ever for Activision. Our ambition is not only to be the biggest game but also the biggest entertainment launch of the year.”

The first shot in the European ad campaign will arrive on Friday when a television spot of 60 second will be broadcast during the Euro 2012 qualifier match between England and Bulgaria, where a significant audience will be introduced to Call of Duty: Black Ops.

Modern Warfare 2 managed to be the best selling video game of 2009 and analysts have maintained that Black Ops will likely sell between 10 and 15 percent less copies that its predecessor.

Activision wants the new Call of Duty title to be a success because of the trouble linked with Infinity Ward, which has limited its usefulness as a developer, and to insure that gamers are still interested in one of its biggest selling brands.

Call of Duty: Black Ops is set to be released on November 9 in the United States and one day later in Europe, playable on the PlayStation 3, the Nintendo Wii, the Xbox 360 and the PC with a version for the DS handheld also being created.