Call of Duty MW3 sales cross $1 billion mark in 16 days, outpaces Avatar to its billionth

Written by Matt Swider on December 12, 2011

News: CoD MW3 sales numbers continue to set records, and not just within the video game industry.

Call of Duty 3: Modern Warfare 3 sales have crossed that inevitable $1 billion mark since the game's November 8 release date, according to Charttrack and retail customer sell-through data. This information was expected considering CoD MW3's $400 million first-day sales, which includes pre-orders. However, while all of the sales predictions had it breaking $1 billion mark eventually, the first-person shooter achieved this milestone in just 16 days. That means it outpaced James Cameron's film Avatar, which took an extra 24 hours to reach the coveted $1 billion at 17 days.

Further driving the point home, Activision boasts that box office revenues have so far declined in 2011, down 4% this year at $9.4 billion compared to $9.8 billion last year. Video game sales, meanwhile, are on the rise and continue to break records, CoD MW3 leading this trend. There was certainly debate as to whether or not Battlefield 3 would have an impact on Call of Duty MW3's sales this year. As Gaming Target pointed out after MW3's first 24 hours on store shelves, the MW3 vs. BF3 sales comparison was pretty much one-sided.

With more than 30 million gamers, according to Activision, Call of Duty's community now Уexceeds the combined populations of the cities of New York, London, Tokyo, Paris and Madrid.Ф We'll have to see if an inevitable Call of Duty MW4 can continue its blitzkrieg in two years and outrank the population of an additional world-famous city or two.