Call of Duty: Black Ops II generated over $500 million in revenue worldwide on its first day, according to sell-through information and company estimates.
The previous record for day-one sales was held by none other than Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, which was sitting pretty at $400 million. The original Black Ops hit $360 million, but both of those numbers were crushed by developer Treyarch’s latest effort.
Activision CEO Bobby Kotick addressed these strong numbers in a recent statement, claiming life-to-date sales for the entire franchise have now surpassed worldwide box office revenue for both the Harry Potter and Star Wars franchises. Even with these strong numbers, Kotick wants people to be a bit cautious moving forward.
“Given the challenged macro-economic environment, we remain cautious about the balance of 2012 and 2013,” he said.
Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg may share this hesitation, but still believes Call of Duty has grown into something unique in this industry. The new release of each title has become an event of sorts.
“Call of Duty has become more than a product people buy, it’s a brand people buy into,” Hirshberg said. “And every November, we do more than just the launch of a game, we kick off an annual, unofficial but worldwide phenomenon called the Call of Duty season.”
Call of Duty: Black Ops II is available now on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC.
Did you pick up your copy of the game? If not, will you be grabbing it for Christmas? Let us know what you think by leaving a comment below!