A report suggests that no CoD has been able to generate gigantic numbers as quickly as MW2. Other metrics also suggest it was a success.

That Modern Warfare 2 would be a financial success really shouldn’t surprise anyone. CoD MW of 2019 is considered one of the best Call of Dutys ever and put the brand back on the road to success, thanks in no small part to Warzone.

Still, if the numbers in the latest report from financial magazine Barron’s turn out to be accurate, it would be a bang for the buck. According to anonymous sources familiar with the matter, Activision had already sold copies worth 600 million US dollars a few days after release. This would make Modern Warfare 2 the fastest-selling CoD in history.

These numbers are not official, but Barron’s is considered a reputable source. But even they are not automatically immune to errors, so take the information with a grain of salt. However, a huge success was already apparent – and can be estimated by means of other figures.

All signs point to mega success

Even before release, around 100,000 players were playing the campaign simultaneously on Steam alone. This was possible because pre-orderers were given access to the single-player story a week beforehand. This indicates a lot of pre-orders, since for 100,000 players active at the same time, total sales should be in the millions.

(The Steam player numbers speak a clear language. [Image source: SteamDB.info])
(The Steam player numbers speak a clear language. [Image source: SteamDB.info])

Since full release, the highest player count on Steam is 260,000, on Steam only, not including Battle.net and the brand’s traditionally strong consoles (Last and Current Gen PS and Xbox). In view of these figures, the report by Barron’s seems quite plausible.

And the biggest draw for sales has not yet been released. With Warzone 2, the new Battle Royale will follow on 16 November, which will be playable for free, act as a sales platform for skins and even attack the Extraction genre with DMZ.

Should Infinity Ward now get a grip on the numerous technical problems of CoD Modern Warfare 2, there is hardly anything standing in the way of the next success story. Provided that the fans remain loyal to the game in the long run.

In keeping with this, we want to know what you think of the new Call of Duty. Please take part in the survey so that we can draw a picture of the community’s opinion.