Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is officially the best-selling release in the extensive Call of Duty back catalog. This is in large part thanks to the overwhelming success of its Battle Royale extension Warzone, which recently hit 60 million active players.
Modern Warfare - Warzone: the combo that keeps on giving
Activision announced that Modern Warfare and Warzone have over 400 million players worldwide combined - more than any Call of Duty before that. The company has earned close to $1 billion ($956 million, to be precise) in microtransactions in the first quarter of 2020 alone – a significant jump from the $794 million in the first quarter of 2019. This increase can be attributed to the release of Warzone this year… and to coronavirus.
As mentioned, Warzone surpassed the 60 million player mark, which is insane for a game released a couple of months ago. While Warzone can be played without owning Modern Warfare, all microtransactions are cross-game, so any income totals are counted towards MW as well.
Over 60 million #Warzone players. Thank you for dropping in with us. pic.twitter.com/ugbbrOEmnr
— Call of Duty (@CallofDuty) May 5, 2020
Activision actually expressed their surprise at the number of players that entered Warzone and then upgraded to Modern Warfare and when Activision are shocked by the amount of money they’re making, you know they’re making a lot of money.
The coronavirus crisis and its side-effects of keeping people home surely play a role in Modern Warfare’s success as well. What better time to spend the time than shooting someone in the head, amirite? Regardless, Activision and Infinity Ward are doing their part with regular playlist updates, cosmetic quirks, arsenal increases, etc, which keeps the game awake at all times.
Activision plan on supporting Warzone beyond CoD: Modern Warfare’s life span and why wouldn’t they? You don’t slaughter the cash cow for a good steak. So if you like the Call of Duty Battle Royale, fear not, it’s not going anywhere.
