Call of Duty: Ghosts makes $1bn on first day, claims firm

Activision has claimed it shifted $1bn worth of Call of Duty: Ghosts on its first day of release.

The game, which came out on Wednesday, is sitting atop of the Xbox Live listings, meaning that it is currently the most played Xbox game online, and has set a “high watermark for average player session length”.

#GhostsLaunch is finally here... It's time to earn the mask.

Retweet this if you're playing #CODGhosts right now! pic.twitter.com/VASpiDs9PY

— Call of Duty (@CallofDuty) November 6, 2013

“Call of Duty: Ghosts Call of Duty is by far the largest console franchise of this generation,” said Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick.

“More people have played Call of Duty: Ghosts Call of Duty this year than ever before, logging four billion hours of gameplay. And in the last 12 months, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, including its digital content, generated more revenues than any other console game in a single year. Although it is too early to assess sell-through for Call of Duty: Ghosts, it’s launching at a time when the franchise has never been more popular.”

Activision will be pleased by its biggest headline number, the $1bn in sales. Rockstar’s recent high profile launch of Grand Theft Auto V (GTA 5), pulled in $800m in first day sales.

Activision and developer Infinity Ward are likely to get an additional bounty soon when the Sony Playstation 4 (PS4) and Xbox One versions are released. Activision said that it already has a good feeling about those sales.

“Ghosts is an amazing game which ushers in the next generation of Call of Duty. The team at Infinity Ward has delivered yet another epic thrill ride in the campaign, and what I think is our best multiplayer game yet,” said Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg.

“This is the must-have launch title for the next generation of consoles, and we expect Call of Duty: Ghosts to be the most successful launch title for the Xbox One and PS4 by a wide margin. In fact, according to Gamestop, Call of Duty: Ghosts is their most pre-reserved next [generation] title.”