Black Ops: Cold War set a new sales record for the Call of Duty franchise

On one hand this feels like the kind of news that’s not all that surprising at all. What, Call of Duty making a boatload of cash? My 87-year-old Nana hasn’t touched a controller her entire life and even she rolls her eyes at how obvious that is. Yet what’s actually newsworthy about this event is just how impressive that sales record actually is. According to Activision, Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War, the latest entry in the military shooter franchise, has set the record for “highest first day digital sales worldwide in franchise history.” This beats out 2018’s Black Ops 4 which previously held the title.

While Activision didn’t go into any specific numbers (I’m sure we’ll hear more on those in the future) it’s safe to assume that the number must be staggeringly high. It’s also worth nothing that while digital sales broke series records, physical copies just didn’t come to the party. Boxed copies of Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War were down by 64% compared to last year’s Modern Warfare but that’s not really a surprise. The push for cheaper, digital-only consoles means companies are coming to terms with that form of distribution, and hey, maybe people didn’t feel like leaving the house to pick the game up during a global pandemic. Not like delivery is a thing but whatever, I’m not one to judge your life.

In the same post, Activision Blizzard executive Anna Malmhake stated, “We look forward to delivering an incredible amount of free post-launch content, events, and support for the entire community as Black Ops – Cold War evolves just as we did last year following the release of Modern Warfare.” Well, isn’t that just peachy of them? Just hand out free zombie maps and you’ll spread my butter as much as you please, Activision.

Last Updated: November 17, 2020