Games generally tend to be the last thing that comes to your mind when we talk about cash cows. But unbeknownst to everyone, they can bring in some heavy duty numbers if done right. Pokemon and Mario are two of the most profitable game franchises in the world but they owe their sales to not just games but also selling of other merchandise. There is one game that has managed to earn a spot at the round table by the sheer numbers of the sales of its original titles. This game has enough revenue to rival the GDP of some small nations.
Yes, we are talking about the acclaimed and one & only –Call of Duty.
Also Read: God of War’s Cryptic Ending Depicts a Dark Future for Kratos in God of War 5
The Call of Duty Video Game Franchise is the world’s most popular and profitable First Person Shooter series. Published by Activision and having an army of amazing developer studios within its quiver like Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer Games and Treyarch, Call of Duty is more than just a household phenomenon. The Game series started out in the trenches of World War Two with Call of Duty in October 29, 2003. It has spanned numerous sequels and spin offs ranging from more than 16 best-selling core titles as well as standalone console and handheld titles. Call of Duty has amassed a fortune for Activision. The amount of revenue it has generated for the Santa Monica based Publisher is enough to rival the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s revenue, which is considered the world’s most profitable movie franchise.
Last Year, Call of Duty revealed its strongest sales year. It crossed the 1 Billion Dollar Mark in October after the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. The combined revenue from sales of Call of Duty titles as well as multiplayer online purchases has added to its ever-increasing revenue. Call of Duty has been consecutively voted to be one of the most played multiplayer games in PC and Console history. It was crowned the King of the Hill in that arena last year.
The Game Franchise has earned itself a surprisingly strong fan base over the years. The fan base is now large enough to rival that of both Fortnite and GTA combined according to a recent report by a prominent think tank specializing in the gaming industry of North America.
The NPD Group is another Market Research firm that has been tracking game sales since the year of 1995. Analysts from NPD claim that Call of Duty has been the most consistent game in the history of mankind, always securing the number one or number two spot each year when it releases original titles. It is the best-selling video game property in the history of the United States of America.
To top it all off, there is another startling piece of news. Last year’s Call of Duty Modern Warfare was not even their biggest hit as of yet. Even though it earned more than $600 Million in pre-sales and first day sales alone and ended up earning over a Billion Dollars over the next six months, its accomplishments still paled in comparison to Call of Duty: Black Ops III, the most successful Call of Duty game ever. Black Ops III took merely three days to reach Half a Billion Dollar in sales while last year’s Call of Duty Modern Warfare took more than 50 days to reach the coveted billion dollar mark.
Call of Duty has a lifetime sales that was more than 15 Billion Dollars as of 2016. With the recent releases of Call of Duty Advanced Warfare, Call of Duty Infinite Warfare, Call of Duty Black Ops 4, and Call of Duty WW II, that number has skyrocketed even further. The most recent figures put Call of Duty’s actual revenue way past 18 Billion Dollars. Those are some pretty serious figures.
Also Read: Bizarre Facts About Superhero Movies You Never Knew
Many reasons contribute to the success of Call of Duty in a field where there is cut throat competition and many rivals that have similar offerings. The first and foremost is that the development team for Call of Duty – Infinity Ward, has a rather strong legacy. They were originally part of the development team of the Medal of Honor series, another game franchise that started back in 1999.When Treyarch and later Sledgehammer Games took over as the core development studio for the series, Call of Duty had already capitalized on Infinity Ward’s expertise on gaming, having had generated a loyal fan following.
Another reason the series was more fun than similar games in the same category is because of its aspect of approach ability. Call of Duty does not require you to learn so much or get accustomed to the controls. The initial titles were fairly easy to play and needed little to no conditioning to get acquainted. Both the single player and multiplayer versions were captivating and engaging because they were simple and uniform in design and control.
The last and final reason was their consistency. There has never truly been a Call of Duty game that could be termed as ‘bad’. Sure there were titles that fans found questionable and had concepts that Call of Duty loyalists thought were extremely unorthodox and uncalled for like Advanced Warfare and Infinite Warfare, no game actually performed bad in the market. Every Call of Duty game raked in huge amounts of cash. This helped build up an image and momentum that no other game franchise could ever match.
Having have earned more than 18 Billion Dollars with a single franchise, Activision is not showing any signs of slowing down the First Person Shooter franchise. Rumors regarding another Call of Duty Ghosts sequel game as well Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War is rife. Let us see what the future entails for this acclaimed game franchise. We are pretty sure they are still going to keep rocking it with further installments. It is Call of Duty we are talking about after all.
