Record breaking Call of Duty tops $3 billion

Activision Blizzard said on Friday its Call of Duty video game franchise pushed past the US$3 billion mark in global retail sales.

Overall, the Call of Duty series has sold more than 55 million units since its launch in 2003, Activision said, citing data compiled by NPD Group, Charttrack, GfK and internal company estimates.

The company released the sixth title in the series, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, earlier this month to record-breaking results.

Released on November 10, the controversial first-person shooter game recorded an estimated US$550 million in sales in its first five days on the market. It sold 4.7 million copies on the first day in the United States and United Kingdom alone. The original Modern Warfare has sold 12 million copies globally.

"If you consider the number of hours our audiences are engaged in playing Call of Duty games, it is likely to be one of the most viewed of all entertainment experiences in modern history," Activision Chief Executive Bobby Kotick said in a company release.

- Reuters