Call Of Duty Modern Warfare II Steam Rolls A Sales Record That Stood For 20 Years

It's only been four months since launch and the remake of Activision's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II has broken yet another record. After being the fastest title in the series to reach $1B in sales, the game is now also the proud owner of the most sales in its release quarter since the very first game in the series way back in 2003.

The latest Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II was released exactly 19 years and a day after the original Call of Duty on October 29, 2022. The original title received significant acclaim and could be played on Windows, Mac OS X, N-Gage, Sony's PS3, and Microsoft's Xbox 360. The title even won numerous Game of the Year awards for 2003. It looks like Modern Warfare II is sticking to the pedigree of its forefathers.

Thanks to a fantastic Quarter 4 reported by Activision-Blizzard, the decision to open up sales via digital platforms has helped propel the title to the forefront in gaming sales. One specific piece called out by Activision Blizzard CEO, Bobby Kotick, is that the company released Modern Warfare II on Steam in the Asia-Pacific region, allowing for a significant increase in the volume of the market that the game could be distributed to.
These incredible numbers come hot on the heels of regulators pushing more and more against the acquisition of Activision-Blizzard by Microsoft. There have been numerous points in which both companies have argued in favor of the purchase. Microsoft has offered significant concessions to make it happen, like guaranteeing that Call of Duty titles remain multi-platform for many years.

Along with these strong sales numbers for Q4 of 2022, the company has also provided some excellent marketing for its other popular titles. Particularly under the Blizzard brand, Diablo IV has generated major hype and expansions for World of Warcraft continue to have substantial sales numbers despite that title nearing 19 years old. Of course, despite fan backlash, it also seems like the mobile title, Diablo: Immortal is practically printing the company money.


It's hard to say whether these numbers will favor the Microsoft acquisition. Most opponents to the move have stated that Microsoft gaining control of such a strong developer in the market would provide a monopoly therein. The UK's initial claim was that Microsoft would also gain an additional early market monopoly on the emerging cloud gaming market. All we can do is sit and wait with baited breath to see how it all plays out.