Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 UK boxed sales down 25% on last year

UK boxed sales for Modern Warfare 3 fell 25 percent short on last year's Modern Warfare 2 launch.

That's according to UK sales figures shared by numbers company GFK (via GamesIndustry.biz). 80 percent of boxed sales were on PlayStation, with 20 percent on Xbox.

The new Modern Warfare 3 marks the first time Activision Blizzard has double dipped on the same Call of Duty sub-brand two years running to immediately release a direct sequel to the previous year's game. But controversy has swirled around the game's development and release.

Prior to its announcement, reports claimed Modern Warfare 3 was originally pitched as a "premium expansion" to last year's game that then morphed into a standalone product.

A fresh report by Bloomberg last week stated that Modern Warfare 3 had been developed in just 16 months - roughly half the time of a standard Call of Duty launch.

Some employees at developer Sledgehammer Games said they needed to work long hours to meet deadlines in order to get the game ready on time, and expressed frustration at working on the project: a quick-fire sequel to Infinity Ward's 2022 game, rather than a title of their own.

Sledgehammer Games studio head Aaron Halon issued a public response to all this, saying the studio was "incredibly proud" to have worked on it.

"We have worked hard to deliver on this vision which has been years in the making. Anything said to the contrary is simply not true - this is our game and we cannot wait to play it online with all of you," Halon wrote.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 launched top of the UK boxed all-format games chart, with fellow new entry Football Manager 2024 scoring in fourth place.

EA Sports FC 24, Super Mario Bros. Wonder and Spider-Man 2 filled out the rest of the top five.