Call of Duty: Warzone, the free-to-play battle royale mode introduced earlier this year, has contributed to 2019’s Modern Warfare having the highest first-year premium sales in franchise history.
Two thirds of Modern Warfare’s first-year sales were digital, pointing at a continuing shift away from physical media.
The news comes from Activision Blizzard’s most recent Q3 earnings call, during which it also revealed that Warzone and Modern Warfare combined had three times as many monthly active users than last year’s title during the same period.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s First-Year Sales Highest in Franchise History
PC in particular saw ten time as many users playing the most recent entry in the series and its battle royale mode.
“Across PC and console combined, hours played were approximately seven times higher year-over-year.” reads the document.
The Call of Duty: Black Ops - Cold War beta also attracted more players than Modern Warfare’s, the company describing anticipation for the upcoming entry as being “high” ahead of its November 13 release.
Stepping into Blizzard territory, World of Warcraft’s monthly users remain “stable year-over-year”, its upcoming Shadowlands expansion already registering pre-orders that are “well ahead of any prior expansion.”
Where Blackout – Black Ops 4’s take on battle royale – went away after the game’s year-long major update cycle conclude, Call of Duty: Warzone will continue on even after the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War.
Warzone, of course, has the advantage of being free-to-play while benefiting from the same level of quality as Modern Warfare.
Both factors alongside a steady cadence of free content very likely contributed to its quick ascent, which led to it securing a spot at the top of the battle royale hierarchy.
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