COD: WAW maps net nearly $70m

By Robert Purchese Published 22 October, 2009

DLC proves profitable for Activision.

Activision has made nearly $70m just by selling map packs for Call of Duty: World at War.

The three map packs have sold, as of Mid-August, 6.5m times around the world. Each pack costs $10, and now that we're in mid-October, we can presume sales are higher.

Those sums were done by Gamasutra as part of a detailed analysis of this week's NPD figures. The aim of the article was to work out how much each American spent on Call of Duty: World at War.

Over half of World at War's 11m worldwide sales were made in the US where, concluded Gamasutra, fans spent (on average) $65 on the game.

Expect Modern Warfare 2 to follow suit, then - not to mention Guitar Hero and DJ Hero.

Activision, however, is not the only publisher that understands how important DLC can be. Bethesda's best-selling RPG Fallout 3 has expanded five times through premium additions, for instance.

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.

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Comments (41) Latest comment 2 years ago

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  • bad09 #1 2 years ago

    $70 mill just for maps? Is that why there is a need to up the retail price of MW2 then Acti? Wankers....

  • Spanky #2 2 years ago

    Imagine how much they're have made if they did them for CoD4 instead.

  • Malek86 #3 2 years ago

    So, they' would have made a decent profit even if they had given the game out for free. That's the power of DLC.

    And people wonder why the price of MW2 is higher. With this level of demand, it's only normal that they'll try and gain as much as possible from their cash cow.

  • rochyroch #4 2 years ago

    why do you think they are bringing in IW.NET for MW2,
    so they have control on game content.. PC users will be charged for map packs.
    Its all about the $$$, w*nkers.

  • muscleblade #5 2 years ago

    This is why more and more games have dlc. Its great business for the publishers and developers, but not so good business for gamers im afraid. I think some games deserves dlc but these days every game offer some DLC for a price. Its become part of the business plan now.

  • Fab4 #6 2 years ago

    You cant even sell the DLC once you are done with the game. That's how much they are laughing.

  • Toothball #7 2 years ago

    Guitar Hero versus DLC? Activision have a long way to go with that really.

  • freakzilla #8 2 years ago

    I can't say I'm happy for Activision, Cotick is being a dick and gamers hate him but a long as this shit keeps making money he's not going anywhere.

  • kipper #9 2 years ago

    It's interesting to note that you can see by the stats for the zombie maps, that as soon a a new map comes out the older ones are mostly abandoned. The original free zombie map is still more popular than the maps in pack 1 or 2. So if you do pay for DLC, it has a shorter shelflife than the free content I think.

  • LHH #10 2 years ago

    Wow, that's is a surprising amount of money for 3 map packs! A pretty good investment for them I guess. It can't have taken much to make the maps - maybe some more time developing the zombie game mode but hot damn 70 million!

  • Natversion1 #11 2 years ago

    It's gamers fault really. I haven't paid for any DLC since Halo 2, if the majority of gamers just refused to buy the dlc they would reduce the prices or make more attractive prices. At the moment gamers gobble up DLC like Pacman in an Anadin factory. And don't get me started on the avatar marketplace...

  • local_celebrity #12 2 years ago

    @Fab4

    The evil genius of DLC. It also chokes the secondary market in used games, thereby protecting their revenue streams.

  • Frumper #13 2 years ago

    Even more of an argument for them to not raise the RRP then! Sell it at the normal price, get even more copies out there and clean up with the DLC.

  • LazyDan #14 2 years ago

    I don't get the fuss with DLC - don't want it? Don't buy it. So far I've not come across a game where the DLC is anything more essential than a nice bonus for people who really like the original game and want a bit more. It's a bit annoying having to worry about what maps your mates have all got in Halo 3 and COD4/5, but it doesn't make me throw my 360 pad across the room and sob uncontrollably into my sofa cushions about how unfair DLC is to gamers.

  • actionfitz #15 2 years ago

    "Activision, however, is not the only publisher that understands how important DLC can be."

    yeah, hence their recent move to effectively ban user made map packs for the PC version of MW2.
    Getting really sick of how blatant Activision are about being such cunts. At least EA at its worst, still tried to garner goodwill.
    I get it that they are a business, but how about not Teabagging us so much after the wallet-rape?
    :/

  • Nephirion #16 2 years ago

    Since the price increase and removal of dedicated server support and any mod support I have decided to cancel my MW2 preorder, if you care about the future of gaming on PC you will do the same.

  • dpb135 #17 2 years ago

    I never bought any of these for COD WAW. But for MW2, i will def be getting them. Already got cheap ms points ready

  • Xerx3s #18 2 years ago

    "Its all about the $$$, w*nkers. "

    Well, obviously it's all about money, they aren't a non profit organisation. Money is the sole reason that these products are being made.

    However, I do share the sentiment that in the past the pc spawned these developers who where very in bed with their fanbase and looked further than just reaping immediate profit on everything. That seems to be pretty much destroyed by consoles these days. Such a shame.

    It looks like the games industry is finally going the way of the film industry.

  • Masterless #19 2 years ago

    It's like EG are trying to make me angry! Next you will tell me they abuse little kittens and put the pictures on IW.net.

    It's bad enough that I've decided not to buy it due to the server issue, and now they are just rubbing their greedy arses on my face.

  • ps3owner #20 2 years ago

    are you sure? I've got asked by numeros ppl for my DLC stuff from COD4. I think there was some sort of file that you needed and then you could "fake" it and use it... maybe I was drunk at the time though. I can't really remember that well... damn it.

  • Xerx3s #21 2 years ago

    Sun tomorrow: "ALL GAMERS ARE BINGE DRINKERS!"

    :)

  • KiLlerKnight #22 2 years ago

    Don't blame Activision for milking their cow. I would have laugh hard if they didn't. It just makes 100% economic sense to do it. They don't care about all the negative responses either, most people buying games don't visit gamesites. They can better be hated than look like dumbasses anyway LOL.

    Also interesting is the fact that all over the internet people believing Activision is the new evil, and EA is actually not that bad.
    Remind me of a conversation I had with an Activision manager about that one of the biggest challenges for Activision as the largest game company was to avoid EA's 'evil' image.

  • freakzilla #23 2 years ago

    Keep buying these maps folks and before you know it COD 12 will ship with just 3 maps and have map pack 1 out a day before the game itself.

  • kendoji #24 2 years ago

    Yeah how dare Activision make money by putting out content that millions of people are happy to buy. The sheer nerve!!

  • JensonJet #25 2 years ago

    This is the future... all games will turn to DLC to double the profits. And we can all thank the WAW gamers (and anyone else who pays for DL content) for this. Games will get smaller and smaller, and DLC will eventually end up larger than the content out of the box. Well done whoever supported this business plan.

  • ChaK #26 2 years ago

    *shocked*

    seriously

  • DrRobotnik #27 2 years ago

    Complain as much as you want - the only way this will stop is if people 'vote with their wallets' and refuse to buy DLC, or any Activision products for that matter.

    The simple fact is that plenty of people are happy to pay for DLC. Not me, maybe not you, but enough to warrent more and more of it.

  • General_Zod #28 2 years ago

    Cant wait for the future of DLC, pay £40 for the disc, then pay £10 for part 1, £15 for the middle, £20 for the end. Multiplayer will give you 1 map and your only weapon will be a pistol, pay for any other gun or map that you want.

    People on consoles point at PC gamers and say "Well its your own fault for being pirates" when features on multi platforms get removed, well although my example is extreme this path towards DLC will get much worse and you will only have yourselves to blame. Next will not be just cosmetic guns but DLC guns that are actually better than ones you get standard with the game (I think this already happens in some games).

  • rhinoxious #29 2 years ago

    "If you care about the future of gaming on PC you will do the same"

    Unfortunately the levels of piracy on the PC prove that a helluva lot of people can't see that far ...

    Even with the licensing costs publishers are paying to MS/Sony, the PC platform is looking increasingly unattractive for big budget games.

    (ps. the dedicated server does suck though, they could put in tight client security and still have dedicated servers)

  • Trikk #30 2 years ago

    Console gamers are literally owned.

  • jefranklin18 #31 2 years ago

    That's $70million worth of idiocy. Keep feeding Activision, they're a charitable concern...

  • General_Zod #32 2 years ago

    @Warzin

    Well people joke but if you had said back in late 90's early 2000's that people would be spending £10 on 3 maps they would have laughed.

  • BadBoyBonner #33 2 years ago

    Well people joke but if you had said back in late 90's early 2000's that people would be spending £10 on 3 maps they would have laughed.

    Or

    Siad to people in the eighties that the UK would consume 6 billion bottles of water a year in 2009 (whilst also pointing out to the that tap water is still drinkable in 2009).

    Surely some developers out there must be coding a CoD clone by now - how difficult can it be to have a multiplayer gameengine running at 60fps at sub HD definition? Hire some of the people from IW for tips an tricks - and make a promise of free maps for the first release in the series - job done new franchise established.
    Edited by 1 at 22/10/09 @ 15:38

  • Sanxo #34 2 years ago

    For the last couple of years, it has been quite a frequent statement of people downloading games with emule/bittorrent/whatever that they want to try the game before they buy.

    Now as far as I can see, so long as the upfront cost of the game is low then DLC is the perfect answer; if you do not like the game, then you do not have to buy all of it, if you like it, then you can (incrementally) buy it through DLC.

    For what it is worth, I do not care too much about the 2nd hand market, but as far as I can see, you can still sell the game because you do not like it and you will not have invested too much money in it to start with - why buy more DLC for a game you do not like?

    The problem here is that the publishers will not lower the upfront costs as they need to get the return on their investment ASAP, so it is the consumer that gets stiffed.

  • des #35 2 years ago

    Oh what a shock,people spend money on things they like

  • metalangel #36 2 years ago

    And then we're in episodic gaming, and remember how well that worked out? A bevy of dreary Telltale adventures, and one episode of Sin starring a perky girl with an exposed midriff fighting another girl with giant cans.

  • frankfurter209 #37 2 years ago

    I have never and probably will never pay for maps. Only DLC I ever bought was Lost and Damned

    Edit: kendoji you're a fucking moron. Kotick loves cocksuckers like you who bend over and take any bullshit DLC they throw out.
    Edited by 3 at 22/10/09 @ 21:53

  • YourMessageHere #38 2 years ago

    Now, given that there's so many games I've bought that I don't use all the features of, I'd be absolutely fine with the idea of a game where the multiplayer mode, weapons, vehicles and maps are all DLC, and I only bought the things I wanted to use - IF and only if they cost pence each. However, paying $10 for 3 maps ought to be made into something that automatically disqualifies you from being allowed into any position of responsibility. Anyone who bought them, you seriously need to sit down and re-evaluate your concept of value for money, because ultimately it's you who is losing out.

  • JahB #39 2 years ago

    wtf is with all the idiotic "don't buy DLC" nonsense?

    studio makes game. game is played online. studio makes more maps. people buy those maps. maps for a high end shooter such as cod (even WaW, at least in terms of production values) cost quite a bit to make, hence the content isn't given away for free.

    i already hear the PC crowd screaming "FREE UPDATE", but nobody complained when they paid for e.g. Starcraft or Diablo expansions, which were effectively the exact same - purchasable add on content.

  • General_Zod #40 2 years ago

    @JahB

    HAHAHAHAHAHAHA you think the content you get in expansion packs is the same as a map pack or a shiny gun? Expansion packs expanded the game with new campaigns and most of the time a continuation of the storyline. Map packs are easy to make, require meagre resources and most of the time better maps are made by the modding community anyway.

  • promba #41 2 years ago

    wow that s a lot and that just on mappacks..