The first person shooter broke all records in just 16 days

Dec 14, 2011 20:31 GMT  ·  By

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has just broken another record, this time because it reached $1 billion in sales (757 million Euro) in just 16 days, overtaking the Avatar movie, which reached this amount in 17 days.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was expected to set new sales records last month when it was released across the world and it quickly delivered, managing to sell over 6.5 million units in just 24 hours.

Now, Activision has just posted new sales statistics, right after the NPD group revealed that Modern Warfare 3 was the best selling game of the month of November. According to the company, the new Call of Duty title managed to gross over $1 billion in just 16 days, trumping James Cameron’s Avatar movie, which was released at the end of 2009 and reached $1 billion in 17 days.

"Engagement of our Call of Duty audience continues to rise around the world,” Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said. "Call of Duty as an entertainment franchise has made an indelible mark on popular culture and its broad and continued success is further validation that audiences increasingly value interactive experiences over passive experiences."

His words were echoed by Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg, who said that it’s delightful to see the franchise draw in more and more gamers with each passing year.

"Call of Duty has become that rare entertainment franchise that transcends its own genre. Core gamers love it, as our stellar reviews show. But every year, new people are drawn into Call of Duty and while the franchise continues to set records, our fans still seem to want more, demonstrated by our record setting start on Call of Duty Elite. We are committed to helping everyone connect, compete and improve their game, Call of Duty style."

According to the NPD, Modern Warfare 3 sold over 8.9 million retail copies last month in the U.S., across platforms like the PC, PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360, and is expected to have also reached impressive sales figures in other territories like Europe or Asia.