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According to Activision Blizzard, more than 60 million players have parachuted into Call of Duty: Warzone in the last 52 days since its launch.
When Warzone launched on March 11, the United States was entering a pandemic blockade. Video gamers needed something to do, and in its first month, the free game received more than 50 million downloads, or the same number that Electronic Arts and Respawn saw with the Apex Legends debut last year.
In this case, social distancing and self-isolation contributed to Warzone’s success, and now the number of downloads has grown even further.
I had my first victory in Warzone on Saturday, and that’s no small feat, since you have to be the only team to survive in a battle with 150 players. In my opinion, Warzone is much more attractive than Call of Duty: Blackout, which debuted with Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII. That battle royale mode came out last year, and I didn’t think the game was that engaging.
In its first quarter earnings report for today, Activision Blizzard said it saw strong demand for Call of Duty and World of Warcraft games. In the first quarter, Activision had 102 million monthly active users.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare has sold through more copies and has more players than any previous Call of Duty title right now after its release. Direct sales (game sales to consumers, as opposed to retailers) for Modern Warfare in the first quarter was the highest for the franchise outside of a launch quarter, driven by increased demand amid conditions of home shelter, the company said.
And Modern Warfare’s net reserves in the game doubled year-over-year compared to last year’s Call of Duty: Blacks Ops IIII.
Call of Duty: Mobile continued to develop at last October’s launch with new content, features and events aimed at player engagement and retention. The game saw increased reach and engagement in March. And the Call of Duty League turned to fully digital matches. That game topped 170 million downloads, according to Sensor Tower estimates in December.
In a call, Activision Blizzard said the next “Call of Duty premium” title is still on track for release later this year.
