[ad_1]
The successful “Call of Duty” video game franchise continues to generate huge profits for Santa Monica publisher Activision Blizzard Inc.
The company announced on December 4 that the franchise has earned more than $ 3 billion in total bookings in the past 12 months, a metric that includes product sales and in-game purchases.
The announcement comes less than a month after the release of “Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War,” the latest installment in the series. The game broke the franchise’s first day digital sales record on its debut, according to the company, and the total number of copies sold over the past 12 months is now 40% higher than in the same period last year.
Both sales and the amount of time players spend playing have skyrocketed amid the pandemic. According to the company, November was the most important month in the history of the series in terms of both total players and hours played.
Those numbers have been helped by the launch of companion titles to the main games in the series, including “Call of Duty: Mobile” and the free game “Call of Duty: Warzone.”
In all, Activision says more than 200 million people have played at least one of its “Call of Duty” games in the last year.
Activision Executive Vice President Byron Beede said in a statement that the company plans to keep current players engaged with a “continuous stream” of new content and special events.
The popularity of the “Call of Duty” series helped the company exceed industry expectations in its most recent quarterly earnings report. Activision reported that net revenue had increased to $ 1.95 billion in the third quarter of 2020, up from $ 1.28 billion during the corresponding period a year earlier.
For reprint and license requests of this article, CLICK HERE.
[ad_2]