Call of Duty delivers “better than expected” results in Activision Blizzard’s first-quarter earnings report

Shelter-in-place orders helped boost sales and popularity.

Image via Activision

Call of Duty: Warzone reached 60 million players in two months, while Modern Warfare became the best selling Call of Duty game of all time, Activision announced today.

Recommended Videos

The Call of Duty series leads the pack with “better-than-expected” results in Activision Blizzard’s first-quarter earnings report for 2020, which was released today. In the 2019 fourth-quarter report, Call of Duty: Mobile soared to the top with over 150 million downloads. Mobile may still be popular, but it’s been usurped by Warzone and Modern Warfare. 

In both earnings reports, Activision referenced increased creative commercial content for the biggest franchises: Call of Duty and, for the Blizzard side, World of Warcraft. These efforts are proving successful since Warzone and Modern Warfare top the charts in players and sales. 

https://twitter.com/CallofDuty/status/1257784185969754112?s=20

Warzone is Call of Duty’s answer to the increasing popularity of battle royale games. The free-to-play game was released on March 10. The game has already reached 60 million players in just two months, putting it on track with Mobile.

Modern Warfare is now the most successful Call of Duty game in the franchise, with more players and sales than any other title. Modern Warfare’s sales were the best in the game’s history through January and February, other than at launch. Sales increased during March. Activision credits Warzone upgrades with the sales boost as well as the near-global stay-at-home orders that are boosting video game and internet usage all over the world due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Call of Duty: Mobile is mentioned briefly in the report, too. The mobile game saw “increased outreach” due to the shelter-in-place orders. 

Author