Call of Duty: Warzonehas now reached astronomical success. According to a recent press release detailing the last 12 months for Activision andCall of Duty, it was revealed that the shooter franchise has reached all-time highs.Call of Duty: Warzone, specifically, has surpassed 85 million players.
From the jump,Call of Duty’s massive battle royale found huge success, asWarzonegarnered 30 million playersin just its first few weeks. After launching earlier this year, the game quickly went on to become an instant hit, but withWarzonecontinuing to find new players and now be at over 85 million, it’s also rather clear that the battle royale has legs.
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Along withWarzone’s huge numbers, Activision also revealed that in the last year, theCall of Dutyfranchise has blasted past $3 billion in net bookings. That period would include last year’sCall of Duty: Modern Warfare, the aforementioned battle royaleCall of Duty: Warzone,and the just-releasedCall of Duty: Black Ops Cold War,which is believed to even outperformModern Warfare.
IncludingCall of Duty: Mobile,which has also had huge success, over 200 million gamers have played aCall of Dutygame in the last 12 months. Activision also saw the year-to-date net bookings increase over 80% forCall of Duty, and the units sold increase over 40%. With all of these enormous numbers, Activision has also changed some of its business model strategies forCall of Duty.
In the past, players could routinely expect a newCall of Dutyeach fall, basically one entry per year. The old game would die down and the new one would take over. But with the tail-end of 2019 and into 2020, that changed. Activision launched smaller games likeCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remasteredand the hugely successfulWarzone"off-cycle" and outside of that standard fall period.
As a part of the changes for the publisher andCall of Duty, Activision also shifted into a shared ecosystem business model. In the case ofCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered, players could purchase the game directly from inside the in-game store and instantly receive new skins and gear to use inModern WarfareandWarzone. AlthoughWarzoneis free to play, it also came integrated withCall of Duty: Modern Warfare, as progression, unlocks, and more are shared between the games. And even thoughSeason 1 ofBlack Ops Cold Warhas been delayeda bit, it will also come with the next aspect of massive integration, that beingWarzoneandBlack Ops Cold War.
TheBlack Ops Cold Warintegration willreportedly come with a new map forWarzone, and players can expect to be able to use all of their favorite weapons and set-ups fromBlack Ops Cold Warmultiplayer in the massive 200 player battle royale, ensuringWarzonewill live up to at least the next mainline fallCall of Duty. Games likeCOD: MobileandCOD: Warzonehave given Activision a whole new revenue stream and business model. Yearly premium-pricedCall of Dutygames refresh the multiplayer and allow for favorites like Zombies and campaign to be enjoyed. Meanwhile, shared integration, life-cycles beyond a year, and free-to-play models work wonders in the battle royale and mobile world.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold Waris available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
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