Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 becomes "biggest entertainment launch ever"

Activision have released sales info gathered from North America and UK retail outlets, revealing that Modern Warfare 3 sold in excess of $400 million on day one.

Activision have released sales info gathered from North America and UK retail outlets, revealing that Modern Warfare 3 sold in excess of $400 million on day one. An estimated 6.5 million copies were shifted at retail alone. Those numbers beat last year's record set by Call of Duty: Black Ops, which sold a mere $360 million on day one. Modern Warfare 2 must have barely even been trying when it sold $310 million on its first day back in 2009.

Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick says that the year on year sales of the last few Call of Duty titles puts the series ahead of the biggest film franchises of the last few decades. “Other than Call of Duty, there has never been another entertainment franchise that has set opening day records three years in a row. Life-to-date sales for the Call of Duty franchise exceed worldwide theatrical box office for “Star Wars” and “Lord of the Rings,” he says.

“Call of Duty is more than a game. It's become a major part of the pop cultural landscape," says Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg.

You can find out what we think about that particular slice of the pop cultural landscape in our Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 review. Are you one of the 6.5 million? How are you finding MW3?