Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 sets launch record

GAMES DEVELOPER Activision has set a sales record with its recently launched Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3.

The first person shooter has sold more than 6.5 million units in just 24 hours across North America and the UK. The company estimates revenue of more than $400 million (£248 million).

"We believe the launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is the biggest entertainment launch of all time in any medium, and we achieved this record with sales from only two territories," said Bobby Kotick, CEO at Activision. "Other than Call of Duty, there has never been another entertainment franchise that has set opening day records three years in a row."

As Kotick said, this marks the third consecutive year that CoD has set a record in its first day out of the gate. The previous title, Call of Duty: Black Ops, racked up sales of $360 million (£223 million) on its first day, and earlier, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 pulled in $310 million (£192 million) in its first 24 hours.

Hordes of gamers waited in queues for the launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, which took place on 8 November at thousands of stores. The game was so popular that the Call of Duty Elite servers were overwhelmed with players trying to sign up and log in.

The game has easily outsold its biggest rival, Battlefield 3, which launched this year prior to MW3. EA said that Battlefield 3 has been its fastest selling game ever, but with figures of 5 million in its first week the game clearly hasn't been as popular.

The INQUIRER got a copy of the fast paced shooter on launch so you can read our full review. µ