Call Of Duty: Black Ops II launch sets a new record, nets $500 million in 24 hours

Black Ops II sales put Call Of Duty franchise over Star Wars and Harry Potter in lifetime revenue, and surpasses last year's record breaking Call of Duty launch.

At this point, it was probably a foregone conclusion that Call Of Duty: Black Ops II would break the industry record for first-day sales, and that’s exactly what it did with sales totaling $500 million in its first 24 hours.

Activision announced the game’s day-one revenue today and noted that Black Ops II topped the previous record-setting revenue generated by Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, the previous installment of their military-themed Call Of Duty franchise. The original Call Of Duty: Black Ops generated more than $360 million in its first day when it hit shelves in 2010, breaking the record of $310 million set the year before by Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

And in yet another reminder of the massive share of the entertainment market that gaming represents, Activision CEO Robert Kotick noted that the franchise sales for the Call of Duty series have now topped the total box-office revenue generated by both the Star Wars and Harry Potter movie franchises.

“With first day sales of over half a billion dollars worldwide, we believe Call of Duty is the biggest entertainment launch of the year for the fourth year in a row,” said Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard, in an official statement accompanying the day-one sales report.

“Call of Duty has become more than a product people buy, it’s a brand people buy into,” added Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg. “And every November, we do more than just the launch of a game, we kick off an annual, unofficial but worldwide phenomenon called the Call of Duty season.”