Activision: MW2 sold 4.7m in one day

By Robert Purchese Published 12 November, 2009

And that's just in the UK and US.

Activision has calculated that Modern Warfare 2 sold approximately 4.7m copies across the UK and US in just one day.

That record-breaking number means the publisher made approximately $310 or £188m in 24 hours.

Activision boss Mike Griffith called the Call of Duty franchise a "cultural phenomenon", and said the "shattering" of records was due to a MW2 being "compelling, cinematic and uniquely engaging".

"Modern Warfare 2 has taken interactive experience to unprecedented heights setting a new standard for entertainment," he reckoned.

The totals are a result of "internal Activision estimates", and are close to what analyst Michael Pachter predicted. Whether that casts a shadow on the GTAIV-shattering UK sales that Chart-Track counted we don't know.

Modern Warfare 2 was released on Tuesday 10th November amidst a swarm of consumer and media hype.

Head over the Eurogamer Modern Warfare 2 review for our verdict.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (63) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • TonyHarrison #1 2 years ago

    Sigh...

  • hiddenranbir #2 2 years ago

    XD

  • kwarive #3 2 years ago

    $310 doesn't sound a lot. £188m does though. I guess the dollar has really strengthened against sterling...
    Edited by 1 at 12/11/09 @ 15:33

  • patch #4 2 years ago

    compelling, cinematic and uniquely engaging

    He left out "hyped to within an inch of it's life".
    Edited by 1 at 12/11/09 @ 15:34

  • sneetch #5 2 years ago

    Surely those who bought it didn't yet know it was "compelling, cinematic and uniquely engaging"? You wouldn't know that until you'd actually played it.

    "Well marketed and the much-anticipated sequel to one of the biggest online games ever" would have been closer to the true reason it sold.

  • Mark1412 #6 2 years ago

    I guess having played the first one you could kind of assume the sequel would be as much those things and then more.

    It's the biggest release ever, there are going to be stories about it all year. Get used to it, proverbial 'oh not another one' comments are worse and aren't going to stop the site publishing news stories. Waste of your own time crying about it.
    Edited by 1 at 12/11/09 @ 15:40

  • AphoticCosmos #7 2 years ago

    Proof, if any, that people are idiots and that marketing works.

  • skillian #8 2 years ago

    That record-breaking number means the publisher made approximately $310 or £188m in 24 hours.

    This makes no sense, unless I'm using my calculator wrong. It's suggesting that for every sale, Activision made £40 (or $66).

    As people are presumably buying the games from shops and not from Activision's head office, surely Activision only make a bit more than half that? They must be selling the games to retailers at around £25, not £40, right?

    It's such an obvious error that I can't believe Eurogamer would make it. Surely I must have done the maths wrong or something?

  • FWB #9 2 years ago

    Activision boss Mike Griffith called the Call of Duty franchise a "cultural phenomenon", and said the "shattering" of records was due to a MW2 being "compelling, cinematic and uniquely engaging".

    He forgot "marketed to the nth degree".

  • sneetch #10 2 years ago

    @skillian

    My calculator agrees with yours. £40 * 4.7m = £188m.

    Edit: also $65.95 * 4.7m = $310.

    I can only assume that there's some lazy maths involved somewhere.

    About as lazy as mine. ;)
    Edited by 1 at 12/11/09 @ 15:56

  • Flabio #11 2 years ago

    It doesn't matter what the shops charged the consumer, every shop buys their copies at a fixed price and it's *that* cash that goes to Activision. Same amount, whether the shop is selling for 26 quid or 260 quid.

  • Fightclubber #12 2 years ago

    Its amazing the results you get when you make the same game twice and stick a 2 on the end

  • stevetuck #13 2 years ago

    And i still dont want or have one *high five*

  • sneetch #14 2 years ago

    @justanotherdave

    Not really, as 3+ million of those 4.7m were sold in the states and £40 is the equivalent of approx. $65.95 so they would have to have sold it to retailers there for $66 and as retailers in the states (like Amazon and Gamestop) are selling it for $60 I doubt it (they're not going to absorb a loss of $6 on each one).

    This figure is bogus: Activision couldn't have made anything like £188m from 4.7m copies, it does not compute.

  • thesombrerokid #15 2 years ago

    supermarkets loss leaders are usually sold at cost not at a loss, because they order in bulk they usually sell them for less than smaller retailers buy them for but rarely if ever sell them under cost.

    EDIT thus £26 is likely the cost to the supermarket for the sale, after tax, activision is likely getting £20-21 a copy in the UK at least.

    EDITEDIT oh that's before the printers/distributors cut too so you can take a few quid of that.
    Edited by 2 at 12/11/09 @ 16:31

  • kinky_mong #16 2 years ago

    "Waa waa waa! A game I haven't played is liked by a lot of people and sold a lot of copies! I wish everyone didn't like the previous game and also judged the sequel to be identical in spite of evidence to the contrary like I have!"

    Does that sound familiar to anyone?

  • Eighthours #17 2 years ago

    This figure is bogus: Activision couldn't have made anything like £188m from 4.7m copies, it does not compute.

    That's the estimated worldwide gross, not how much Activision have actually made. It's just been worded wrongly.

    The situation's roughly similar to how a film's opening weekend gross only tells you the ticket sales at cinemas, not how much money the studio has made. A film has to gross roughly 3 times its production costs to make a profit. In the case of MW2, these sales figures are an estimate of how much money passed through shops and online stores, not how much Activision made from unit sales.
    Edited by 1 at 12/11/09 @ 16:32

  • TheBoyChris #18 2 years ago

    The game is good, and I imagine a lot of people (except PC multiplayer gamers) are pretty happy with it, especially for £26 or whatever cut rate price they got it for. That's a bloody bargain.

    Why all the hate? Jesus H Christ. Some people are never happy! :)

  • bdaggers #19 2 years ago

    @skilian

    I made the same comment yesterday in another EG news item. There seems to be no explanation of the workings, and a confusion with Sales, Profit and Retail Price.

    The really interesting thing is volume of units moved.

  • ybfelix #20 2 years ago

    and there are "Hardened" and "Goggled" edition to cost you more money

  • guernican #21 2 years ago

    "Proof, if any, that people are idiots and that marketing works."

    Or, alternatively, that the last game was quite good and they wanted more of the same.

    I genuinely can't understand all the vitriol being pissed at this game. Reminds me of that quote... "it is not enough that I succeed... everyone else must fail". So it's a big title with an overblown marketing budget and annoying console-centric features that have honked off all the PC gamers. And yet it's still sold a bazillion copies, and everyone seems to have the hump about it.

  • TheBoyChris #22 2 years ago

    @EarlBassett

    You must be blind then - there's plenty of CoD stuff sure, but there's only 7 items (and the advertising) on the EG frontpage, one of which is classic CoD release on PS3 network, and one is a tech discussion which is fairly interesting.

    How about you get a grip?

  • Whatsfor #23 2 years ago

    Blimey thats some USD to GBP exchange rate right there...

  • Fightclubber #24 2 years ago

    I wouldn't say there's alot of hate for this game just alot of people bored of fucking hearing about it 24/7.
    If the game redefined the genre then im sure people would stfu and suck it up but the fact is its cod4 with tiny improvements.
    Ive enjoyed the game but jesus its far from perfect, the single player plays like a fucking fun fare shooting gallery and the story is like a rejected episode of 24.
    The multi player is quick and fast but apart from the perk upgrades its the same as before, actually if anything its become more frustrating by level 53 virgins launching 300 air strikes and helicopter attacks 24/7 unbalancing the game.

    Ill leave it to bad company 2 to show how you actually do a war based online shooter

  • The-Bodybuilder #25 2 years ago

    I was gonna comment and say wait for the halo/bioshock-esque backlash from the hardcore, but it looks like its already started.
    I can't judge mind, haven't played the second one (yet) nor the first. Will give it a try tonight.

  • sneetch #26 2 years ago

    @Eighthours
    This figure is bogus: Activision couldn't have made anything like £188m from 4.7m copies, it does not compute.

    That's the estimated worldwide gross, not how much Activision have actually made. It's just been worded wrongly.

    If that is the case then that's fine, my issue is with the statement that EG made: "That record-breaking number means the publisher made approximately $310 or £188m in 24 hours."

    Like I said, that figure is bogus when you apply it to that statement. I assume Activision and Infinity Ward make something more like (approx, finger in the air) £20 per copy between them, that's still a damn good profit margin (or it will be, after costs etc.).
    Edited by 1 at 12/11/09 @ 17:03

  • smelly #27 2 years ago

    Oh come on.. just how much money is activision paying you to run all these stories?

  • smelly #28 2 years ago

    After hearing about how short the game is, and knowing i rarely play games online. I've decided to wait for 4 million of those 4.7 million sales to start flooding the 2nd hand market as people who dont play games online finish it and return it.. Then i can pick it up for $10 - which for me is about the right price for a 5 hour game.

  • smelly #29 2 years ago

    "Like I said, that figure is bogus when you apply it to that statement. I assume Activision and Infinity Ward make something more like (approx, finger in the air) £20 per copy between them,"


    At least 1/3rd of the price of the game goes to retail. Another large chunk goes to the platform holder (sony/msoft in this case). Then by the time you've factored in duplication, distribution, warehouse costs, marketting (all these news stories/articles dont pay for themselves), etc etc.. The publisher problably gets less than 5 quid a copy (probably less than that even)

  • gjgjg #30 2 years ago

    lesson: stop making pixar movie junk, make shoot go bang now games

  • Petulant_Radish #31 2 years ago

    Surely the headline should read:

    “Analyst Michael Pachter Almost Gets Something Right”

    That’s more newsworthy than a game selling a unit or five.

  • kangarootoo #32 2 years ago

    Those figures will be revenue, not profit for Activision. £40 a copy is about right for the average isn't it?

  • uglygamer #33 2 years ago

    I probably give this game an 8.5/10. The single player is a bit average and took me under 7 hours to complete. The multiplayer is pretty cool for the most part.

    Edited by 1 at 12/11/09 @ 17:27

  • spazmo #34 2 years ago

    How about you do one more MW2 article explaining the SP story in plain English.

  • ASHBERY76 #35 2 years ago

    It is the Transformers 2 of games.

  • Felwyn #36 2 years ago

    why is this still on top of the news? don't they have enough advertising by now?
    Edited by 1 at 12/11/09 @ 17:31

  • schnide #37 2 years ago

    This'll outsell GTA.

  • uglygamer #38 2 years ago

    This'll outsell GTA. Well its made a better start. But the question is will the next GTA outsell Modern Warfare 2?

  • smelly #39 2 years ago

    No the question is (according to the internets): Will mario outsell it?

  • Fillem #40 2 years ago

    I finished the campaign this morning. After starting it the night before.
    :(

    It was a thrilling ride, I have to admit allthough a lot of sections felt like "more of the same" compaired to MF 1. Still, some nice twists and a very, very ludicrous plot.
    This felt more like being in a Michael Bay action movie than a wargame.
    Amazing animations and very nice graphics, and it even ran well on my laptop!

  • Rodchenko #41 2 years ago

    Proof, if any, that people are idiots and that marketing works.

    +1. Proof also, that anyone who claims "I stand above hype and I am not affected by advertising" is as much of a lie as saying "I did not have sexual relations with that woman".

  • Wolverfrog #42 2 years ago

    This Friday's eurogamer article: 'First weekend since Modern Warfare 2 released!'

  • smelly #43 2 years ago

    @Rodchenko : Tell me about it. I like to think i'm not effected by hype. But here i am, I'm not a fan of fps games, i certainly dont play them online. I know the single player is short and not worth the money...

    But yet - why do i want this game so much?!? Its crazy the way that marketting/hype gets you! I'll fall for it and be disapointed.. but i've promised myself not until i can get it cheap 2nd hand...

  • Dark_Stranger #44 2 years ago

    what sneetch said, they simply built on the success of the first MW. I didnt see WAW selling this well.

  • penhalion #45 2 years ago

    L4D2 next tuesday so I really don't give a crap what happens to MW2. I would have been even happier if I didn't have an un-opened copy sitting on my table thanks to an over zealous friend. As it's a gift I can't even sell the bloody thing to CEX for a profit!

  • Rack #46 2 years ago

    *Sob*

  • Ducklord #47 2 years ago

    Why does everyone seem to hate MW2? Yeh I despise Activision as much as the next guy, but it kinda seems like alot of people are piling on the abuse just to seem above the 'mainstream'.

  • makeamazing #48 2 years ago

    I cant say that I am enjoying it at the moment, the first two levels has not been as good as i expected... hoping it gets alot more interesting and some better design decisions.

  • CB.Gamestation #49 2 years ago

    Anyone wondering about the retailer cost.

    £35 a copy is what we heard!

  • Sunyavadin #50 2 years ago

    So wait... Based on those figures, the price STORES buy it at from Activision is £40 a copy?

    I sincerely doubt they go for that wholesale.

    £117 million seems a much more reaosnable profit there.


    But seriously WHY DO PEOPLE CARE? IT'S NOT LIKE THIS GAME IS ANYTHING SPECIAL.
    Do we REALLY need 3 news articles about the sales figures?

    Edited by 1 at 12/11/09 @ 19:43

  • Av_k #51 2 years ago

    @skilian

    I work for a indie game shop and they paid £41.50 per copy including VAT. This explains the figures. Retail only made £3.49 per copy and supermarkets lost money.

  • Les #52 2 years ago

    "cultural phenomenon"

    What a dick.. It's a lot of money and a great achievement but let's not forget that they are extremely good at reaching a small demographic.

  • Alterego-X #53 2 years ago

    Of course it has nothing to do with the game's quality, or it being a cultural phenomenon, people enjoyed MW1, so they presumed that it will be great. They might be right or wrong.

    If a month from now, it will have accordingly great sales, I will admit that it is a popular game, but day 1 sales are just from hype.

  • makeamazing #54 2 years ago

    Well I played some more and i just am not enjoying it. The levels seem too short, and way to scripted... I really hate the over use of blood splater where you cant see anything.. The ******* level was alittle strange inside the building and wasnt really required, but was really bad when i got outside, they kept shouting get to the bus, do this, do that, and it was just not clear... i am trying not to hate this (especially as i have been so looking forward to it), but at the moment its a 6/10. The only saving grace is Lance's voice (he inclusion is worth the price of the game alone :).
    Edited by 4 at 12/11/09 @ 22:14

  • Fab4 #55 2 years ago

    WHo knew there was so many fucking sheep in the gaming world.

  • smelly #56 2 years ago

    >If a month from now, it will have accordingly great sales,

    It wont.. the games stores will be FULL of returned 2nd hand copies thanks to its short single player missions.. and the game stores will prefer to sell them over new copies (they get more money per copy sold).

    .. so no it wont continue.

  • bad09 #57 2 years ago

    "I work for a indie game shop and they paid £41.50 per copy including VAT. This explains the figures. Retail only made £3.49 per copy and supermarkets lost money."

    Judging from many of the buyers on EG, so many gamers don't really understand this is the real damage of the price increase (or care). Some even thought buying for £25 was somehow sticking it to Koteck and the increase. Bless.

  • Sunyavadin #58 2 years ago

    I'm just shocked that 100% of the retailers in my city sold it at a loss if that's the case.
    I can understand big supermarket chains doing it as part of a long-term move to dominate the market, but why would anyone else??? The only ones who potentially stood to make a profit were Gamestation with their deal on it, selling the traded games for more than the original buyers paid for them...
    Edited by 1 at 13/11/09 @ 08:18

  • muscleblade #59 2 years ago

    The game is great. The singleplayer is great. The multiplayer is great. The special ops in coop is FANTASTIC! This game deserves to sell good. Its not as good as either Halo3 or Halo ODST IMO but its still a very good game.

    L4D2 will be even more enjoyable probably, but ALL FPS fans should own them both.

  • AusFreelancer #60 2 years ago

    Farticus, I wholeheartedly agree.... I think most people complaining here don't have access to the multi-player.....banned 360s? Campaign mode is like 0.2% of the game. This'll last 2yrs easy, like the last one.

  • makeamazing #61 2 years ago

    My machine isnt modded, and I appreciate that many many people play for multiplayer, I personally play for the SP experience - which I am sure alot of other people will also... the SP so far (where ive got to) is quite poor. Should the game get marked down for a poor SP experience... I feel it should (I am sure if you play it just for MP then you probably disagree and believe it should get high marks etc).

    If i compare this to previous efforts, this isnt as good in the SP department as the previous games... so for me it should not be getting such high marks... just hoping the SP gets better the further i get into it... fingers crossed.

  • AusFreelancer #62 2 years ago

    makeamazing - I get what your saying, but it is well known MW is built around multi-player. The campaign is just a side track, a "bonus" if you like. Think the opposite of Unchartered & MGS4.

  • Gammerz #63 2 years ago

    Warehouse Staff: "4.7 million copies used to live here. Now it's a ghost town" ;)