Nearly 1.3m play COD4 "every day"

By Johnny Minkley Published 31 March, 2008

Halo-beating numbers online.

Infinity Ward has revealed that its Xbox Live-topping shooter Call of Duty 4 is attracting "between 1.2 and 1.3 million users every day" just on Microsoft's service - with PS3 numbers "monstrously huge".

Speaking to Eurogamer in London last week during the unveiling of the new downloadable maps for the game, producer Mark Rubin revealed that Infinity Ward had been hitting these figures "consistently for the past two-to-three months, Monday through Sunday. It's crazy."

He added: "That's just 360. There's even more on the other platforms [PS3 and PC], but we just don't have the same numbering system. Overall, even without the other consoles, we are beating the competition. PS3 numbers are monstrously huge. No other game has come close, either online current, or total unique users in a day."

The hugely popular contemporary update to the studio's previously WWII-focused war franchise has been fighting with Bungie's Halo 3 for the top spot on the Xbox Live rankings since its release, but has pulled clear in recent months. Speaking on the rivalry, Rubin commented:

"We've created a lot of heartache for a lot of companies who go up against it. I think Halo's website says they get something around 845,000 to a million [per day]."

Call of Duty is understood to have sold over 7 million units so far. While Rubin refused to confirm the percentage of online users, he admitted it had exceeded expectations:

"I don't have an exact number for you, but it turns out to be a startling number of people. For a lot this is there first time playing a multiplayer game on console or PC. We're getting really high numbers."

The Variety Map Pack for Call of Duty 4 is due for release in April. You can read the full interview with Rubin here.

Picture of Johnny.

About Johnny Minkley

Eurogamer TV's Johnny Minkley is a veteran journalist with a lifelong passion for games and the games industry. He uses Twitter more than most people use air.

Read more articles from Johnny by visiting the Johnny Minkley archive page.

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Comments (34) Latest comment 7 months ago

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

  • lambtron #1 4 years ago

    The flipside to this is everyone I know who plays COD says all the tards have moved to that from Halo3 so its not all good news ;).

  • bad09 #2 4 years ago

    COD4 (just like COD2) has ruined FPS games for me, but man it feels so good!

  • captainrentboy #3 4 years ago

    I tried to love it, but the fury of having to fight against folk 30+ levels higher than me right from the off was winding me up. Is that still the case, or do they now have an actual ranking system that's fair and works?
    I still dip in and out of Halo 3 now and again, but to be honest online MP in general just isn't my thing nowadays, too many twats on there taking it all far too seriously.

  • jonthepymm #4 4 years ago

    Fighting people 30+ levels higher isn't really a problem though, is it? I just got the game on Saturday and expected to be hammered - but I've won a third of all my free-for-all games. I don't think the level makes a lot of difference.

  • QPRHOOPS81 #5 4 years ago

    thats how i feel. I watched a friend playing Source and he was head shotting people from miles away before i had even seen them. Him and his kind are the reason i normally avoid online fps's. I just get completly owned.

  • captainrentboy #6 4 years ago

    ''Fighting people 30+ levels higher isn't really a problem though, is it?''
    ....... Yes! Especially when you're shit! :/

  • jonthepymm #7 4 years ago

    I don't think that's the game's fault...

  • Wash #8 4 years ago

    @Lambtron

    I'd agree, maybe its time to get back in to halo 3 ;)

    Good game, got boring wen asked to go into "PRESTIGE" mode.

    Deserves its success though, hopefully they can improve it for the next en as somethings are annoying as hell.

  • sickpuppysoftware #9 4 years ago

    The levels don't seem to make that much difference. I've seen people with decent prestige levels that were so bad they can only have levelled up by playing 8 hours a day every day since launch. I've also seen people on level 8 hammer everyone else, so much so I'm convinced it was somebody who'd reached top level and reset as a n00b for a laugh.

  • mcmonkeyplc #10 4 years ago

    Yes, stop rubbing it in. Even I play this.

  • mute #11 4 years ago

    "I don't have an exact number for you, but it turns out to be a startling number of people. For a lot this is their first time playing a multiplayer game on console or PC. We're getting really high numbers."

    Edited by 1 at 31/03/08 @ 15:09

  • lennon #12 4 years ago

    /is dubious of any man and his data source who cant actually say how huge monstrouslyhuge is.

  • captainrentboy #13 4 years ago

    ''So more people are playing COD4 for free than those paying £40 a year to do so.''
    Of course they are, because the PS3 only has this one title that is actually any cop online, the 360 has bloody hundreds.
    It's simple really, quite like your mind.

  • bag-in-box #14 4 years ago

    "Of course they are, because the PS3 only has this one title that is actually any cop online, the 360 has bloody hundreds.
    It's simple really, quite like your mind"

    Of course they are, since the rest of millions boxes are on vacation in Germany ;)

  • crozon #15 4 years ago

    according to game-monitor there are 24,000 people playing COD4 right now on the PC. Thats massive considering its "off peak" time for online gaming

  • paulf #16 4 years ago

    re number of online players
    i have a guy on my friends last who played one game and got 20 points, this puts him near the bottom of the xbox live list (id imagine) - he was something like 3,750,000 in the world last time I looked

    great game and im glad so many people are playing it

  • Skooch #17 4 years ago

    "No other game has come close, either online current, or total unique users in a day"

    This record will be trounced on April 29th.

  • BarcaAzul #18 4 years ago

    Its a monster of a game, both offline and online. Was never a fan of FPS, but since playing this, nothing else has had a look in.

  • Miths #19 4 years ago

    Aside from a few sporadic attempts with UT2003 or something like that several years ago, COD4 is the first FPS (or any non-MMO or racing game for that matter) I've taken online in my ~20 years of gaming, and I'm definately hooked :).

    I've clocked in a little over 16 hours on the PS3 version so far, and made it to level 28, and while I've yet to manage more than eight or nine kills in a match (I stick to TDM and Headquarters), because... well, I suck :p, it's still the some of the best fun I've had in a game in the last few years.
    Edited by 1 at 31/03/08 @ 16:10

  • Varsity #20 4 years ago

    "No other game has come close, either online current, or total unique users in a day"

    Rubbish. <a href="ht tp://www.steampowered.com/v/index.php?area=stats"&g t;Counter-Strike has 1.3 million <em>peak concurrent</em> players</a>. I dread to think how many people play it over the course of 24 hours!

    Edit: you'll just have to take my word for it that CS makes up the vast, vast majority of that figure.
    Edited by 1 at 31/03/08 @ 16:19

  • Skooch #21 4 years ago

    "So more people are playing COD4 for free than those paying £40 a year to do so."

    @ Headbog - I think that says far more about the scarcity of quality FPS online titles on PS3 than it does about TEH CONSOLZ WARZLOL!!!111

  • hiddenranbir #22 4 years ago

    Has this, then, finally topped CS's consistently high playing numbers at any given time of day?

  • miiiguel #23 4 years ago

    headdude, what's your problem with xbox mate? did it rape your gf or something? day in, day out you spread your problems with a... box? I mean, it could be understandable if you were going nuts with the "oh my god! so amazing" PS3, but no... your thing is "xbox is so bad, it sells so less, and Bill Gates is evil"..., I mean it's fun, but too much is kinda pathetic.
    Why?
    Edited by 1 at 31/03/08 @ 16:25

  • SeesThroughAll #24 4 years ago

    Oh the shock!

    More people play a multiplatform game online than a platform exclusive one!

  • Amoebalove #25 4 years ago

    @headbog

    You’re a cock!!!!

  • WinterSnowblind #26 4 years ago

    Headbog, perhaps you'd feel more at home at the Gametrailers forums, with the rest of the fanboys and screaming kids. I'm sure the kids over at Gamefaqs would love to take you in as well. I would just add you to my ignore list, but your responses are just so darn entertaining.

  • mattigan #27 4 years ago

    LIVE subscription is only £25 at the moment on ebay!!

  • IronGiant #28 4 years ago

    Wouldn't be a big surprise for the PS3 figures to be higher, as reported plenty of 360 owners still play Halo3 onli ne. Between COD4, Warhawk and Unreal Tournament i spend many hours online :)

  • GitSomE_UK #29 4 years ago

    Flibble

  • miiiguel #30 4 years ago

    A bit off-topic(ish), but I found it so funny: http://br.y outube.com/watch?v=ZOkF0McZKIw

  • Amoebalove #31 4 years ago

    @headbog

    And what’s wrong with loving the cock? Are you a homophobe as well as a cock?
    Edited by 1 at 31/03/08 @ 21:31

  • DjFlex52 #32 4 years ago

    If the PS3 had more games for headbog to play he wouldn't have so much time on his hands to invade every thread on EG daily spouting his BS.
    BTW, headbog, XBOX ITH NOT TEH BESTEST...
    It's just a game machine like the Wii & PS3. It's escapism not life itself.

  • CreepinJesus #33 4 years ago

    I still remember that first weekend on Halo 3 - it did say 2.4 million players were online at one point.

  • james-mw3-mw3 #34 7 months ago

    MW3, like its predecessors, is a first-person shooter. To give it a competitive edge over other games, Modern Warfare 3 runs at 60FPS! A new Special Ops mode includes one and two player cooperative play with a survival mode and new weapons and perks, so with this Modern Warfare 3 is 100x better than this game.