• Modern Warfare 2019 was the best-selling game in 2019 despite releasing in late October.
• Modern Warfare 2019 ranks #12 in best-selling games of the last decade after just 10 weeks.

Words fail to describe the sales domination of Call Duty Modern Warfare 2019. Despite releasing in late October, Activision’s flagship series sold over 16 million copies in just three days. But the scope of the sales data continues to grow. According to NPD Games, the latest CoD set a monumental record by ranking #12 overall in the best-selling games of the last decade:

The NPD Group: U.S. Top 20 Best-Selling Games by Decade 2000 through 2019 ranked on dollar sales #videogames pic.twitter.com/5RmKgISbNi

— NPD Games (@npdgames) January 17, 2020

Analysis

Industry analysts understand that Activision’s investors have high expectations for the Call of Duty series. For example, investors expressed disappointment when Call of Duty Black Ops IIII opened with $500 million in sales during its first weekend.

In comparison, Modern Warfare 2019 opened to $600 million in the same timeframe and has been steadily increasing ever since. From a financial viewpoint, Activision took a risk by ditching the loot-box system in favor for a battle pass; however, this decision appears to be paying off. In just 10 weeks, Modern Warfare 2019 exceeded the sales dollars of giants, such as Skyrim, Mario Kart 8, Destiny, and others.

But can Activision continue to push CoD sales? Given the annual release schedule, the company likely will reveal another CoD game in the fall. This means MW has less than 10 months to surpass the sales volume of other games in the series. We will continue to follow Activision’s quarterly reports and investor’s reaction as 2020 rolls on.

Conclusion

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2019 not catch MW3′s 30 million units sold, but it is off to a good start. But perhaps the Battle Pass system will encourage players to buy the game. Time will tell if the game is the best-selling in the series.

Will MW reach 30 million in sales? While most critics believe this is possible, we here at GamingROI are skeptical. Earlier in the year, Activision revealed that Call of Duty would replace the season pass with a “battle pass”. Because this new approach appears cosmetic, the surge in Modern Warfare sales will likely taper off as 2020 games launch. GamingROI will continue to monitor the latest Call of Duty sales, but the game still has a ways to go before becoming one of the best all time.